YOGESWARI

Yogeswari is one of the most experienced and senior teachers of the Jivamukti Yoga method in the world. She studied directly under its founders, Sharon Gannon and David Life, and has 25 years of experience offering Jivamukti yoga classes, workshops, retreats, immersions, and teacher trainings worldwide.
Recognized by Sonima as one of the 100 most influential yoga teachers in the United States, Yogeswari is known for her vigorous and fluid Vinyasa sequencing, as well as for her philosophical teachings that inspire reflection and social engagement. With a background in dance and choreography, she brings vitality and a vibrant energy to all her work.
Yogeswari is also the founder and president of the Azahar Foundation, an international non-profit organization dedicated to promoting intercultural dialogue and the non-violent resolution of conflicts through Yoga and the Arts, with special attention to underserved communities, as well as women and children in conflict contexts (Cambodia, Rwanda, Ukraine).

MARTA
CARRASCAL

Graduated in Psychology and specialized in Gestalt Therapy and Psychopharmacology of Addictions. She traveled to India for the first time the same year she graduated for a volunteering experience that literally changed the course of her life. It was there she attended her first yoga class. During this journey, she spent the last month at the Sivananda Ashram in Kerala, and since then, she has continued her training and learning. Since 2011, she has dedicated herself exclusively to yoga, sharing what she has learned in her personal journey. Recently, her interest has focused on the practice and state of yoga nidra, also known as the yoga of sleep.

JULIA
NAPIER

Julia Napier is an Ashtanga yoga instructor who offers regular asana and philosophy classes. As a practitioner, she has studied closely with Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor, and has also trained with Tim Miller, Eddie Stern, Ty Landrum, and Kathy Cooper. She studies Tibetan Buddhism with Dr. Robert Thurman and Dr. Jules Levinson.
Julia is also the editor of the Ananta Collection, a series of books on contemplative practices published by El Hilo de Ariadna.As a literary translator, she has worked with the writings of Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor, Dr. Christine Caldwell, Pattabhi Jois, Eddie Stern, Sharon Salzberg, Dr. Robert Thurman, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
She is the author of two books: En la práctica and En casa. She co-directs the Ashtanga de Corazón school with Gero Guerineau and offers international seminars. She lives in Buenos Aires with her family.

CANDIDA
VIVALDA

Originally from Rome, Candida has been studying and practicing yoga and meditation for over twenty years with renowned teachers from various traditions. She has spent long periods in retreat and service at ashrams in India, Buddhist monasteries, and Christian communities, cultivating a broad vision of the spiritual path — one that is both contemplative and active.

She is an Advanced Certified Jivamukti Yoga Teacher, a Senior Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Facilitator with the Rādika Foundation, and an Instructor in the MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) program from Brown University. She also completed the Advanced Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness training with David Treleaven.
Candida has explored compassion through a Buddhist lens and deepened her understanding through internationally recognized programs such as “Compassion Cultivation Training” (CCT) from Stanford University, “Compassionate Mind Training” (CMT) and “Mindful Self-Compassion” (MSC).

LUCAS
MASCIANO

He has been involved in music since long time ago. He is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer from the Buenos Aires Music School (EMBA-1999). He discovered the world of yoga, sound, and mantra in 2010 during a personal crisis, when he participated as a student at the Kundalini Yoga School in Barcelona. His work is based the Bhakti Yoga, or devotional yoga, approach. Along with Marta, he creates intimate and immersive Yoga Nidra sessions through the project El descanso de ti.

ROCÍO
LUQUE

Born in Seville, she grew up with a deep sensitivity to spirituality, a constant presence in her life from a very young age. She began practicing yoga at the age of 19 while living in Buenos Aires, and since then the practice has become her salvation: the mat has always been the place to return to when she felt lost, a mirror in which to see and feel herself, and the space where she could recognize what she needed to sustain herself and remain in balance.
She studied Advertising and Public Relations and worked for more than ten years in international agencies. In 2020, she decided to dedicate herself exclusively to sharing her path in yoga. She currently offers in-person classes in Seville, online classes, and organizes retreats and experiences around the world.
She is a certified teacher in Hatha, Vinyasa, and Meditation, with a special focus on supporting women through their different life cycles. She is also a Gestalt therapist and is currently studying Psychology, expanding her resources to facilitate personal development and self-awareness processes, which she integrates into retreats, gatherings, and ongoing programs, both on and off the mat.
She feels deeply grateful and happy to walk this path and to accompany others on theirs, sharing from what is felt, what is authentic, and from the heart.

KELA
VACAS

Born in Madrid and a professional in the health field, Kela Sánchez Vacas discovered yoga while living in France in 2017. The practice has accompanied her ever since, leading her to find refuge and answers in the teachings of yoga.
Since childhood, she has felt a strong need for justice and unity among all beings, and she continues to fight daily for a kinder world. To this end, she remains active against social inequalities, human supremacy over animals, and the suffering of the planet.
With a firm belief in preserving tradition and a deep respect for the practice, Kela considers herself a lifelong student. She has trained in Jivamukti Yoga in India, studied Vipassana meditation, and continues to deepen her path.
Meditation, asana practice, spirituality, silence, and observation have become the pillars she relies on to work every day toward the ultimate goal of any spiritual and conscious practice: to serve the world.

ORIOL
GINESTÀ

With nearly twenty years of experience in the field of inner care, they have been forging a path in which nature and simplicity are deeply present. They offer concerts that blend therapeutic sounds with mantras and singer-songwriter music, as well as yoga practices, courses, and other activities from a gentle approach designed to awaken instinct and foster a deep connection with one’s life path.

Their work seeks to create spaces of calm and presence where people can listen to themselves and reconnect with their truth.

They have released five albums and a book about the power of sensitivity.

TERESA
FORCADES

Teresa Forcades is a Benedictine nun at the Monastery of Sant Benet de Montserrat, theologian and physician, recognized for her social activism, critical analyses of public health, and contributions to feminist theology.

She studied Medicine at the University of Barcelona and specialized in Internal Medicine at the State University of New York. She earned a Master at Harvard University and completed two doctorates: one in Public Health on alternative medicines and another in Theology on the concept of the person in the Trinitarian tradition. She has also conducted postdoctoral research at Humboldt University, Berlin.

She is the author of several books exploring the intersection of faith, social justice, and theological critique.

She has had a prominent public presence in debates on public health and the pharmaceutical industry. In 2013, she co-founded the Procés Constituent movement with economist Arcadi Oliveres, promoting profound political and social change in Catalonia based on social justice and self-determination.

Her career combines religious commitment, scientific training, and activism, and she is internationally recognized as a critical voice on social justice and feminist theology.

LAMA
NGAWANG NORBU

Lama Norbu is a Vajrayāna Buddhism teacher of the Sakya tradition, guiding practice through community life, retreats, and teachings. He encountered Buddhism in 2008 and has been practicing within the Sakya lineage under the guidance of various masters since 2010. In 2014, with the blessing of Gongma Trichen Rinpoche, he founded Casa Virupa, where he serves as spiritual director, and in 2020 he was formally recognized as a lama by Gongma Trichen himself.

He has received essential transmissions of the lineage, including the complete Lamdré cycle from Ratna Vajra Rinpoche, along with core teachings and texts. He has completed the retreats required to teach as a master and continues to deepen his study and practice through regular travel.

He is also director of Casa Virupa’s training programs and founder of the Laboratori d’Arts Contemplatives (LAC), a space where practice dialogues with contemporary arts, combining the depth of traditional teachings with a clear and approachable style, emphasizing quality and direct guidance of the community. His work seeks to translate Buddhism to the sensibilities of our culture, embodying a “Mediterranean Buddhism” faithful to tradition yet attentive to contemporary challenges.

TESS&SHUNYATA

Tess & Shunyata share a deep exploration of sound as a pathway to presence, connection and transformation.
Tess comes to music from a long career dedicated to care. A qualified nurse, she worked for more than four decades in Switzerland and Catalonia, combining clinical practice with teaching. Her journey of self-discovery also led her to train in Gestalt and different meditation practices. A few years ago, she discovered the handpan, an instrument she experienced as a new way of exploring sounds, vibrations and melodies, and of expressing and sharing her inner world. She is currently continuing her training in Transpersonal Music Therapy and Expanded States of Consciousness Therapy.
Shunyata is a percussionist and sound therapist, specialising in vibrational experiences, handpan and sound journeys. He is passionate about creating spaces where sound and rhythm facilitate processes of transformation, presence and connection. Trained in Transpersonal Music Therapy and in the use of gongs, overtone singing, African and Arabic percussion, handpan and other musical disciplines. He is also a facilitator of Active Meditations and Thai Massage, and a creator of sound-receptive experiences, with more than ten years of experience. He is currently involved in therapeutic sound, the creation of musical environments and Trance dance projects through live percussion, while continually developing his creative musical expression.

JOSE MANUEL
LEAL

A percussionist by birth and a seeker by vocation, he grew up in a family deeply connected to Latin American folklore, where rhythm is an everyday language. His musical background also embraces the versatility of styles such as rock, rumba, reggae, and cumbia — a sonic richness he now places in service of devotional singing.
For over five years, he has been actively contributing to the expansion of Bhakti Yoga. His percussion is not merely technical; it is a vibration and a heartbeat that has accompanied various musicians and facilitators in practices, concerts, and festivals around the world.

ESTELA
BENITA BERNÉS

Violinist and music educator, she explores the connection between music, improvisation and spirituality. She has developed her career alongside various contemporary and experimental music orchestras and ensembles across Europe.
Convinced of the transformative power of art, since 2017 she has combined performance with educational and social work, participating in projects such as Riborquestra and 4cordes. In 2019, she discovered Bhakti Yoga, beginning a journey of exploration between music, spirituality and improvisation.
Since then, she has collaborated with artists such as Luca’Spirit, Kevin James, Jaya Deva, Ganesha Project and Manu Om, participating in festivals and gatherings of devotional music. Estela is also a practitioner of yoga and meditation.

MARCELO
SCHNOCK

Born in Argentina in 1985, Marcelo Schnock is a composer, pianist and writer. He has been developing his project “Olec Mün” since 2018, the year he released his first album. He studied piano, jazz, harmony and composition with teachers such as Nicolás Guerschberg, Francisco Sicilia, Guillermo Romero and Paula Suarez.
Beyond the piano, he has been nourished by travels and studies of world music, both in northern India and western Africa, studying with masters from these lands and drawing inspiration from ancient cultures that give music a healing and spiritual place. Seven years after his first work, he now has seven albums released and more than fifteen million plays on online platforms. For the composer, music is a path of searching and an inquiry into identity, an identity that contains as many layers and nuances as questions.
His music is balm and connection, enabling those who listen to connect with a deeper feeling and with the beauty of life. Marcelo currently lives in Barcelona, from where he travels throughout Europe, bringing his music and message.

SOMATRANCE

Somatrance is a project by Manel Castillejo (Shunyata), Jordi Vinyoles and Laura García.
Manel is a specialist in vibrational experiences, handpan and sound journeys. Passionate about creating spaces where sound and rhythm facilitate processes of transformation, presence and connection.
Jordi is a specialist in group rhythms and connection dynamics through live percussion. His energy encourages participation, play and the collective power of rhythm.
Laura is a facilitator of energy therapy and accompaniment. She integrates conscious movement, breathing and listening to facilitate deep and transformative experiences.

YOGESWARI

Yogeswari is an international yoga teacher and former dancer and choreographer from Switzerland. Her discovery of yoga at the age of sixteen coincided with a time of deep cultural and social transformation — the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights and Feminist Movements, and the desegregation of schools in the United States. These events, together with her early readings on Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, profoundly shaped her worldview. The principle of Ahimsa (non-violence) became a cornerstone of her life, instilling in her a visceral opposition to discrimination and injustice in all its forms.
She studied ethnology, theater, and dance in Madrid, Berlin, and the United States, and built a vibrant career in New York’s avant-garde dance scene, where her collaborations and immersion in African and Afro-Caribbean traditions enriched her understanding of rhythm, community, and ancestral wisdom that continues to inform her teaching today.
In 1994, Yogeswari stepped into the Jivamukti Yoga Center in New York’s East Village for the first time. The method’s integration of art, spirituality, and advocacy spoke directly to her life experience. After completing her teacher training in 1999, she became one of Jivamukti Yoga’s leading senior teachers. For more than two decades, she has taught and mentored teachers worldwide, facilitating Jivamukti teacher trainings, workshops, and immersions across continents. Her teachings emphasize yoga as a path toward inner freedom and collective awakening, grounded in compassion, justice, and cultural awareness.
In 2007, she founded the AZAHAR Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting a culture of peace in post-conflict regions through yoga, meditation, and the arts. With projects in Cambodia, Rwanda, Ukraine and beyond, AZAHAR provides education, scholarships, and cross-cultural exchange. Through this work Yogeswari continues to bridge yoga, human rights, and peacebuilding, advocating for a world where inner transformation fuels social change.

STEWART
GILCHRIST

Stewart Gilchrist is a radical traditionalist living the principles he teaches—as a yogi, activist, scholar, and educator. Originally from Scotland and now based in East London, he is a senior registered yoga teacher recognized internationally for his dynamic, authentic, and innovative classes that combine high-energy vinyasa with yogic philosophy, breathwork, and precise physical adjustments.

Holding an MA in Traditions of Yoga and Meditation and currently pursuing a Ph.D. in yoga-related research at SOAS University London, Stewart applies the timeless teachings of yoga to the modern world, creating deeply thought-provoking and transformative experiences. His own sādhanā, shaped by decades of study in aṣṭāṅga and Jivamukti Yoga, has taken him across the globe to train with teachers who profoundly influenced his distinctive approach.

A committed activist, Stewart embodies ahimsa in both practice and politics. He supports organizations and charities defending human and non-human life and protecting the planet, believing that all genuine yoga rests on the foundation of integral morality. Through his teaching and activist work on the ground, he seeks to catalyze radical change in a world urgently in need of it.

GONZALO
BRITO

Gonzalo Brito Pons is a Clinical Psychologist from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and holds a PhD in Psychology from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (United States), with over twenty years integrating Western and Buddhist psychology. His work connects mindfulness, compassion, and emotional regulation across clinical, educational, and community contexts, including projects for resilience and collective care in activism.
He is a certified instructor and international trainer in Compassion Cultivation Training (Stanford University), leading trainings in Spanish for professionals in mental health and education. Gonzalo specializes in Compassion-Focused Therapy, mindfulness applications, and trauma prevention, offering practical tools for burnout prevention, emotional balance, and compassionate leadership in high-demand environments.
He offers international trainings in Western and Buddhist psychology, mindfulness, compassion, and emotional regulation, designed for both professionals and the general public. He has authored several academic and non-academic publications.
Gonzalo’s way of teaching blends scientific evidence with experiential practices, emphasizing ethical, inclusive, and culturally sensitive approaches, accessible to both professionals and the general public. His work inspires sustainable personal and collective transformation for individuals and communities engaged in social change.

DINA
GHANDOUR

Dina Ghandour is a Palestinian healer, yoga teacher, and guide based in Dubai, UAE. She is deeply passionate about women’s health, energy, movement, and the decolonisation of wellness. Dina creates thoughtful, compassionate, and nurturing spaces where participants are invited to show up fully and be held as their whole, beautifully imperfect selves.
She is a 300-hour certified Jivamukti Yoga teacher, certified Birth Doula, Usui Reiki Master, and Womb and Fertility Massage Therapist. Her work bridges embodied practice, energy medicine, and spiritual inquiry, offering a holistic approach to healing that is both grounded and intuitive.
Dina teaches weekly yoga classes and offers one-to-one bodywork and energy healing sessions alongside experiential workshops in conscious touch, hands-on assisting, massage, and subtle energy work. She has facilitated over 20 international retreats, weaving together yoga, meditation, and now decolonial perspectives to support personal and collective transformation.
Rooted in a deep connection to spirit and community, Dina’s work is shaped by the lived experiences and needs that arise within the spaces she holds. She believes that individual healing is inseparable from our collective liberation and that wellness must engage both the inner and the social body.
Most recently, she is studying decolonising spirituality under the guidance of Dr. Rocío Rosales Mesa, expanding her ongoing exploration of how ancestral wisdom, energy, and embodied practices can restore wholeness in a world marked by disconnection.

CYNTHIA
BOURGEAULT

Cynthia Bourgeault is a mystic, minister/priest, occasional hermit, writer, teacher, and internationally renowned retreat leader, dedicated to reviving the ancient Christian contemplative and Wisdom traditions and bringing them into practice in contemporary life.
She has a broad and inclusive theological vision: her roots are firmly planted in the Benedictine monastic tradition, her wings soar in the Christian mystical lineage, and her wisdom is tempered by daily mindfulness and embodiment.
Cynthia is a core faculty emeritus at the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico and founding director of the international network of Wisdom Schools. Cynthia’s articles and essays have appeared in many journals and publications, and she is the author of numerous books, including Eye of the Heart, The Wisdom Jesus, The Meaning of Mary Magdalene, The Holy Trinity and the Law of Three, and The Heart of Centering Prayer. She was honored by the annual Watkins Review as one of the 100 most spiritually influential living people in 2021.

VIKRAM
SINGH

Born and raised in Rishikesh, India, Vikram comes from a family of yoga teachers and practitioners. The profound influence of his parents, Surinder Singh and Avtar Kaur, along with his life by the Ganges River and the Himalayas, shaped his upbringing and education, serving as living sources of spiritual and philosophical learning.
He holds an international 500-hour RYT certification and a specialization in Yoga Therapy from the prestigious Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute & Research Center in Lonavala, India—one of the world’s leading institutions in yoga education and research. He also completed university studies in Psychology, deepening his understanding of the connection between body, mind, and consciousness.
Following in the footsteps of his father, Surinder Singh, Vikram has embraced and adapted these teachings to modern times while always preserving the essence and depth of traditional Hatha Yoga. He has extensive experience teaching yoga teacher trainings and Yoga Therapy courses at his school, Swasti Yogashala in Rishikesh, and travels internationally to lead retreats and in-depth programs for yoga teachers.
His approach integrates traditional Hatha Yoga with the principles of Iyengar and Vinyasa Yoga, combining a strong somatic methodology, mindfulness, conscious breathing, alignment, and the use of props to create a practice that is deep yet accessible to all. His teaching encourages both outer and inner exploration, extending beyond the physical practice to inspire students to embody awareness, compassion, and discipline in daily life.
Recognized for his depth of knowledge, clarity, and presence, Vikram Singh is dedicated to preserving the essence of traditional yoga while guiding students toward conscious evolution and liberation.

CANDIDA
VIVALDA

Originally from Rome, Candida has been studying and practicing yoga and meditation for over twenty years with renowned teachers from various traditions. She has spent long periods in retreat and service at ashrams in India, Buddhist monasteries, and Christian communities, cultivating a broad vision of the spiritual path — one that is both contemplative and active.
She is an Advanced Certified Jivamukti Yoga Teacher, a Senior Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Facilitator with the Rādika Foundation, and an Instructor in the MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) program from Brown University. She also completed the Advanced Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness training with David Treleaven.
Candida has explored compassion through a Buddhist lens and deepened her understanding through internationally recognized programs such as “Compassion Cultivation Training” (CCT) from Stanford University, “Compassionate Mind Training” (CMT) and “Mindful Self-Compassion” (MSC). She also completed the “Embodied Social Justice” program at The Embody Lab, exploring the intersections of embodiment, equity and social transformation.
Candida trains teachers in Jivamukti Yoga, Trauma-Sensitive Yoga and Meditation, sharing a way of practicing and teaching that unites depth with purpose, inner silence with meaningful action. She also facilitates programs in Mindfulness and Compassion, weaving together spirituality, psychology, science and activism. In the past two years, she has offered Trauma-Sensitive Yoga training to over 50 Ukrainian yoga teachers through the program “Healing the Wounds of War.”
Recently, Candida has been rediscovering Christianity with a fresh heart — drawn to the authentic, radical, and transformative message of Jesus as a path of courage and love in action. Her mission is to spread the universal message of compassion, the vital force our world urgently needs, as widely and deeply as possible.

GABRIEL
PENA-BALLESTE

Specialized in Strategic Brand and Communication Management (ESADE) and in Digital Business (ESADE), he worked for years in communication and cultural management before undertaking a vital and professional shift.
He is the founder and director of The Yoga Gallery, a movement that promotes yoga as a tool for social transformation. From this platform, he leads international festivals, creative laboratories, and training programs designed to cultivate agents of change through yoga, art, and activism. Yoga teacher trained with master Surinder Singh in Rishikesh, he combines spiritual practice with a critical and contemporary vision of the world. His work and trajectory are deeply inspired by the thought of Jesus of Nazareth as a figure of spiritual revolt, and by voices who have turned their art or their lives into acts of awareness: Franco Battiato, Tracy Chapman, Lluís Llach, Silvio Rodríguez, and figures such as Angela Davis and Pepe Mujica.
Poet and writer with several published works and collaborations in outlets such as The New Barcelona Post. In all his work, Gabriel seeks a single thread: the pursuit of a living truth that unites body, word, and action.

REBECA
RECATERO

Born in Madrid, Rebeca was first introduced to the philosophy of yoga by her grandmother, a practitioner and teacher during the 1980s. She began her formal yoga studies at the Jivamukti School in Sydney, Australia. Inspired by her first practice, she continues to study regularly with her teachers.
Teaching the philosophy of yoga is her way of inspiring a heartfelt compassion toward all beings. She shares her teachings as a reflection of her dedicated daily practice and her attentive observation of the natural world.
Rebeca is the founder and director of the Jivamukti Yoga Madrid school. As a senior teacher and mentor, she trains yoga teachers within the Jivamukti lineage, sharing not only methods and techniques but also a living spirit of inquiry and a deep commitment to creating positive change in the world.
Her life’s work is devoted to advocating for animal rights, and teaching yoga is her heartfelt way of contributing to a life of happiness and freedom for all beings. She founded the For Them Foundation — a project that envisions yoga and art as means to inspire people to reconsider their relationships with the beings around them and to recognize how our choices shape their lives.
Rebeca’s intention is to continue sharing the practice of yoga as deeply and widely as possible, nurturing awareness, compassion, and meaningful change in the world.

BOB
PECK

Bob Peck is a festival award-winning filmmaker, author, lawnmower, meditator, and a spiritual student of Christ, Krishna, the Buddha, and Paramahansa Yogananda. With bachelor’s degrees in Religious Studies & Radio-TV-Film from the University of Texas, he has made ‘conscious films’—spiritual & advocacy documentaries—since graduating in 2011. He’s also a Kriya Yoga practitioner through KYI and a certified mindfulness & meditation teacher. His day job is centered around ads and mindfulness in Big Tech. A native Austinite, he lives with his wife and young son in Austin, Texas. Original Sin Is A Lie is his first book.

KAREN
PRATS

Karen is a conscious tech entrepreneur, coach, and author with over 15 years of experience in the global startup and innovation ecosystem. She inspires individuals, organizations, and communities to reach their fullest potential and create lasting, positive change in the world. Shortlisted as one of the ‘20 candidates to lead the next business decade in Spain’ (2018) and named European Web Woman Entrepreneur (2015), she has a strong background in marketing, PR, and business growth, complemented by a master’s in graphic design and the Business Growth program at IESE Business School.
She co-founded Go—PopUp, the leading international marketplace for Pop Up Stores, and circles.house, a global co-living platform for conscious entrepreneurs. Currently based in Germany, she is building Consciously Academy, an AI-based education platform to elevate collective consciousness, and leading the Founders Wellbeing Track for the AI Founders Program at Campus Founders in Heilbronn.
Her purpose is to share her knowledge and experience with individuals and organizations driving change, helping them cultivate self-awareness, build sustainable and thriving communities, and turn business into a force for good in the world.