Kate Herrera Jenkins, Co-Founder/ Executive Director

Birmingham, AL

Kate Herrera Jenkins (Shu-wah-mitz) is a member of Cochiti Pueblo.

She is the founder of Native Strength Revolution.

 Kate attended Loyola University in New Orleans and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Music Therapy.  She moved to New York City in 1998.  While pursuing a career in Music Therapy in NYC, Kate developed a love to serve kids with special needs and also developed a passion for working with the elderly.

She continued to serve the elderly through movement, music and recreation until 2008.  

In 2008, she discovered hot yoga and immediately wanted to share this healing modality with the world.  She attended 9 weeks of yoga teacher training in CA with Bikram Choudhury. She has Also studied Yin Yoga with Bernie Clark and Vinyasa with Ryan Leier. In 2010, she founded Kiva Hot Yoga in Birmingham, AL.  In 2014, she became affiliated with Yoga Alliance as a Registered Yoga School and started to certify yoga teachers,  Also in 2014, she and her husband, Kerry, former NFL player, opened Iron Tribe Fitness, a group fitness gym, in downtown New Orleans.  

Kate was a 3 term ambassador with lululemon athletica and this partnership led her create a powerful vision and goals which would eventually help create NSR.  

In 2014, Native Strength Revolution was born.  Through fundraising, NSR has been able to provide continuing ed opportunities for other Native Yoga teachers and now lead trainings specifically for Indigenous people.  

She loves staying active and learning new ways of moving.  In addition to yoga and weight-lifting, Kate loves long-distance running! She's always up for the challenge of a marathon or half.

She recently received her Ministry Leadership certificate at Highlands College in Birmingham and sees every moment as an opportunity in ministry.

Birmingham, AL

Kerry is an 8 year NFL veteran, SB XXXVII champion, and wellness advocate.

He was able to keep ideal playing weight as an offensive lineman in college (LSU/ Troy) and the NFL (NYJ & TB).  Affer retiring, his weight skyrocketed and his health plummetted.  Through yoga, he started on a path (along with nutrition and weightlifting/ cross-training) to lose 100lbs and feel like a new human.  He and his wife opened a yoga studio and a gym to help others experience life-changing results as well.  

His passion is motorcycles. He is a certified motorcycle mechanic AND leads motorcycle safety foundation coursed to help others learn to ride and stay safe on the road.

He completed the NSR YTT training in 2020 to become a yoga teacher and help others discover a new dimension of health and wellness.

Phoenix, AZ

Preston is a member of the Navajo Nation. As a professional dancer with a career in the entertainment industry, Preston is excited to add Yoga Teacher to his arsenal. Born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico Preston made a name for himself in Phoenix and Los Angeles through dance and film. Preston uses what he learned in the dance industry to teach a program, fully founded by him, offering hip hip, jazz, ballet and modern dance classes to kids in remote locations on the Navajo Nation as well as high school students in Winslow and Holbrook, Arizona. The program builds skills such as confidence, self-esteem, respect for authority, teamwork and self-expression in addition to the benefits dance has for the brain and body. In this program, Preston sees the need for emotional release by children and young adults. In these classes, he creates a safe space linking dance with music and ones own story, frustration, emotion or feeling. Preston also knows yoga can offer the same healing. Preston infuses yoga in his program that is currently serving the youth of the Navajo Nation.  Preston is a natural healer and understands the effect yoga has on happiness.  He is honored to be a facilitator through that. Preston loves and is very intrigued by the philosophy yoga has to offer and is very exited to share that with his students. Hózhó Náhásdlíí’ - Walk In Beauty

Mesa, AZ

Johanna is of the Maya People and was born in Southern California. Johanna has been blessed with two amazing daughters who are her motivating foundation. From young adulthood to present, Johanna has believed in the power of nutrition (healing the gut/body from the inside out), movement, and connection with Mother Earth- through plant medicines, healthy eating, and movement within the body. This passion has led her on a journey, seeking knowledge that she believes can help remind others of their healing path from past traumas. Her hope is that these  powerful tools she's learned can be shared throughout your communities. Enhancing Johanna's sense of connection to spirituality, self-awareness, and the Universe she became certified with Native Strength Revolution; RYT 200 Hr. Training. Incorporating an all over whole-listic approach to healing with nutrition and movement as medicine.

 One of Johanna’s greatest passions is working with people and helping them create a healthy lifestyle that they can thrive through. This has led her on her path to working with those in recovery, facilitating in body~mind practices. Johanna is a graduate of Southwest Institute of Healing arts as a Wellness Practitioner in- Holistic Nutrition, Life Coaching, and Fitness Nutrition Education- (Certified through NASM). Johanna also has a deep-rooted passion for working with youth and has begun her certification in Vinyasa (Trauma Informed) Yoga for Youth. In addition, Johanna has also completed a 25 hr. certificate for Trauma Sensitive Informed Yoga and is in the process of completing the full 200 hr. certification. Her approach to wellness has been to first address her own childhood traumas, start the healing process, and to share through a trauma informed lens, reminding others that our first responsibility is to ourselves. Johanna invites you to be patient with yourself, to honor yourself, respect, love, and show up for yourselves first; to stay in the present moment (while also establishing goals), focus on your breath, and to ignite healing that best serves you. Her hopes are to offer an experience of balance, flow, a spirit of playfulness and a dose of inspiration that will help deepen your practice, and to remind you to meet yourself where you are currently at. Johanna, a continued student of life believes that yoga is an ancient medicine and hopes that when you step off your mat you are feeling refreshed, and that she can assist in creating a safe space for healing, and much more. Johanna teaches online classes, in person, and at different events, and hopes to continue on her wellness path of sharing movement as medicine for many years to come.  

Mesa, AZ

Waylon Pahona Jr. is Motivational Speaker, Health/Wellness Trainer and Certified Yoga Instructor through Native Strength Revolution. Waylon is Hopi/Tewa/Maricopa Pee Posh. He is well known for transforming his life and being the founder/Creator of Healthy Active Natives (HAN’s). The HAN’s social networking group on Facebook currently has over 74,500 HAN members nationally and internationally.  In 2013 Waylon also received the Healthy Innovation award by IHS Indian Health Services for his social media group.   Waylon is currently teaching/facilitating yoga and wellness classes with Warriors Code Inc. Outpatient Treatment Center and The Strong Men's Program. He is also an Ambassador to Tanka Bar jerky. 

So Cal

PANTHER TIWA (Taos Pueblo/Raramuri) is an award winning educator, author and athlete whose many accomplishments include Teacher of the Year for the Alvord Unified School District, Riverside Community College Americorps Program Mentor Teacher of the Year (2008), National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) SLATE Affiliate Intellectual Freedom Award (2013), California Indian Teacher of the Year (2014), California Teachers Association (CTA) and Jim Clark American Indian, Alaskan Native Human Rights Award (2014). The author of the children’s book Kiki’s Journey and a volume of poetry, Reclamation Road (both books listed on the California Teacher’s Association website as must-reads in multicultural literature), Panther was a Fellow at the Creative Writing Project at the University of California Riverside and has presented at conferences both nationally and internationally. Her own story of adoption and finding home in both her family of origin and family by adoption is well-chronicled and gives her strong voice to aid others who are claiming their roots and branches of their family trees. 

An accomplished athlete, Panther has been active her entire life: softball and track and field gave way to Muay Thai kickboxing, bodybuilding, and stunt work. She has trained with former Mr. America Rory Liedelmeyer, and switched from competitive power lifting to figure class in bodybuilding, and serves as a mentor for countless American Indians and others who are making health and fitness a part of their daily routines to combat illnesses affecting American Indians and people of color such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Currently, Panther trains with Canadian stuntman Clayton Haskell, specializing in blades and hand to hand combat for film and television.

As a musician, Panther has performed across North America and has written songs in the Tewa language, which have been compiled on cd’s by the all-women drum group, The Mankillers, of which she is a founding member. As a presenter, Panther is engaging and knowledgeable on topics including writing as a healing process, women’s issues, wellness and cultural competency. As part of her own journey to wellness, Panther , as a survivor, has come to terms with family violence, both emotional and physical, as well as mental, and her message of hope and healing through wellness resonates across Indian Country and beyond.

Listuguj, Quebec, Canada

Paige Isaac is Mi'gmaq from Listuguj First Nation in Quebec, Canada.  She is a queer, gardening, cat mama who loves to laugh.  You can find her and her partner in the garden, hiking in the woods, canoeing down the river or cooking up a storm. She has been practicing yoga for over 10 years but with more time on her hands when the pandemic hit, she was inspired to take a teacher training course. She is thrilled to have found Native Strength Revolution and to be part of a group of amazing leaders all motivated to share the gifts of yoga with their communities. 

She studied at McGill University where she earned a bachelor’s degree of science in biology and continued to work there for nearly a decade as the Director of the First Peoples’ House, an Indigenous Student Service Center on campus.  She moved back to her home community in 2018 with her partner where they reside on the beautiful shores of the Restigouche River.  She co-founded Ta’n Wetapegsulti’gw (Ancestral Roots, in Mi'gmaw), a youth-led initiative on a mission to build community, enhance well-being and connect to the land, while nurturing their cultural roots.  She also co-founded a non-profit called Nous Trois - Nesisieg - We Three, a group dedicated to organizing community tri-cultural events, including a yearly festival, with programming that brings together and celebrates francophone, Mi’gmaq and anglophone cultures in Gespe'gewa'gi, the territory she belongs. 

Paige is excited to bring her skills and experiences to a new role as Cultural Coordinator for the Listuguj Education, Training and Employment Directorate. 

She looks forward to making connections near and far through yoga and hopefully seeing you in one of her classes! 

Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada

  Hi everyone, my name is Brenda Brizuela.  I am from El Salvador and currently live in Canada on an Island in Lake Huron called Manitoulin Island. 

My relationship with yoga started when I was 17 and it was on and off for 20 years mostly because I felt awkward at times since my body was not flexible so how could I possibly practice yoga? As I gained more life experience I started to understand that flexibility is not a requirement to practice Yoga, all I needed was a willingness to try.  Yoga encouraged me to recognise my physical limitations, work on expanding them and accept where I was on my journey.   

I became a Thai Massage Practitioner in 2006. Since that time, I have been helping people improve their mobility and quality of life thru Thai Massage. I love helping people rediscover how amazing their bodies are and assisting them to reach their physical potential.  Training to be a Yoga Instructor was a natural next step, I completed the 200 hr Indigenous Vinyasa Flow teacher training thru Native Strength Revolution in March 2021.   

Over the years I have had the opportunity to learn from several spiritual leaders of different traditions from around the world, and this has helped me carve my own path.  I love encouraging others to do the same, to find their own voice and path that speaks to their hearts.  

Yoga is a beautiful practice that can help you bring balance into your life, because it braids together physical fitness, mental clarity and spiritual awareness.  

Ile-a-la Crosse, Saskatchewan, Canada

Bio coming soon!

British Columbia, Canada

Dionne Paul (Ximiq) *pronoun she/her* is a shíshálh (Sechelt Nation) and nuxalkmc (Bella Coola) artist. She is a member of the Eagle Clan and her ancestral name is Ximiq and translates to the first eyelash of sunlight that comes over the mountain to greet everyone in the morning.  

Mrs. Paul is an artist and has a Master of Applied Arts Degree from Emily Carr University of Art and Design. She currently works full time as Community Health Rep for the Sechelt Nation and part time as Indigenous Faculty Advisor for Capilano University kalax-ay campus. 

Mrs. Paul has learned about plant medicines from my father Thomas Paul since childhood. As a young adult she mentored under female Hereditary Chief Rhonda Schooner Sandoval where she learning how to harvest, prepare and preserve traditional plant medicines and remedies. She has started a medicine company called Domestic Shaman, which offers all natural, handmade, biodynamic cleaning products, teas, jams and salves to my local community.

She is a mother to five children (3 bio and 2 step) and lives and works on the Sunshine Coast in Shishalh Nation territory, 

She  completed the Indigenous Yoga Instructor Training Course in New Orleans with Native Strength Revolution.  She will start her yoga teaching practice online and work towards starting a sweatlodge style hot yoga. 

Mescalero, NM

Hilary serves the Mescalero Apache Tribe in New Mexico. She has worked as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor at Four Directions Treatment and Recovery Center, practicing play therapy with Native children and providing counseling and classes to adults and families. Currently, she is the Elementary School Counselor at Mescalero Apache Schools and a certified kids’ yoga instructor. As an RYT-200, Hilary brings yoga to the adult community through the Wellness Center and Recovery Center. She also offers yoga to school staff, high school athletic teams and elementary students. Hilary’s greatest hope is to inspire tribal members to become certified yoga instructors through Native Strength Revolution so they can lead their people into health and well-being. In the mean time, she is beyond honored to be trusted in the roles of advocate and ally.

Red Lake, MN

Elizabeth is a member of the Red Lake Band of Ojibwe in Minnesota. She resides both on the Red Lake Reservation in upper Minnesota and in the metropolis of Minneapolis. She is joined by her four children and significant other. Elizabeth has been a student of yoga for almost a decade and recently completed her 200 hour Indigenous Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training in March 2020. She has a background in social work and community development, working as both a direct care service provider and as an administrator of various educational and cultural programs. One of her passions is language and cultural revitalization as she was one of the founders of the Waasabiik Ojibwemotaadiwin Immersion Preschool Program. Elizabeth aims to incorporate her yoga teachings into her overall wellness interventions at work and continues to incorporate a yogi lifestyle at home with her family.

Sioux City, SD

Bio coming Soon!

Los Angeles, CA

Debbie’s yoga journey began in 2017 in Mid City, Los Angeles where she attended free yoga classes at a local museum, The Underground Museum. When she moved to Northern California to attend UC Davis she continued her practice by following Maris Aylward’s yoga videos and attending classes hosted by the Yoga Club at UC Davis. After years of her yoga practice she applied for the 2021 Indigenous Yoga 200 hour Vinyasa Teacher Training Digital Edition with Native Strength Revolution. As a new yoga instructor she looks forward to learning more about yoga’s roots, trauma informed yoga, Y12SR, and ways to bring wellness and healing to every body through the practice of yoga. Currently she teaches yoga in spaces dedicated to Indigenous wellness, Womxn and femmes, and the Andean community. She is starting her personal project, Kallpayoq’s Runa Gathering (kallpayoqsrunagathering@gmail.com), to interweave the Andean culture with yoga and bring community among her fellow Runas. In the future, Debbie hopes to offer courses in Spanish and teach children and elders.

Newton, MA

Lizz is a biracial Irish and Kanien'kehá ka (Mohawk) woman on a continuous journey to reconnect to her Indigenous heritage each day. She currently lives on the unceded and occupied lands of the Wampanoag people, teaching middle school math and coaching high school volleyball. She has always sought to understand the world around her, studying education and cognitive science, and yet always felt that something was missing - the disconnect that she felt with the world around her could not be explained away. Then, through programs like Native Strength Revolution, she began to understand what true connection looks and feels like, through the lens of Indigenous wisdom buried deep in her DNA. She is a proud sister, daughter, Auntie, teacher, coach, granddaughter, niece, and friend striving for right relations with all. Outside of work and yoga, Lizz loves to curl up under a cozy blanket with a good book, her sweet pup, Molly, and a sweetgrass candle burning nearby. She can also often be found crafting and creating, and she is slowly learning to engage in these, and all, activities, for the joy and challenge of the process, and not for the product or outcome. This is a lesson she learned deeply during yoga training that she tries to carry forward into all aspects of her life. As COVID restrictions lift and vaccination rates increase, Lizz is most looking forward to connecting with Indigenous communities in person and not just over screens.

Chandler, AZ

Tohono O'odham Bio coming soon!

St. Louis Park, MN

Carla Drumbeater is a member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and lives in St Louis Park, MN. She joined the Army out of high school and served as an Army Medic in Erlangen, Germany and Washington DC. She trained as a respiratory therapist while serving 12 years in the Army Reserves and currently works as a respiratory therapist . She is a Mother of three and a grandmother of one. She started practicing yoga about 10 years ago on and off. She is an Insulin Dependent Diabetic and has witnessed the complications Diabetics have with Covid.infection. Yoga has always made her feel good and makes her body and mind strong. She decided to commit to yoga teacher training to keep her mind and body strong while working as a respiratory therapist through the pandemic. She completed her 200 hour yoga teacher training through Native Strength Revolution in March of 2021. She enjoys practicing yoga daily and has a hobby of Ballroom dancing. She loves that she can do yoga everywhere and shares yoga with her coworkers and patients to keep their minds and bodies strong. Her Diabetes is the best it has been since diagnosed in 2007 with a daily yoga practice.

Mankato, MN

Bemidji, MN

 Bio coming soon!

Minneapolis, MN

 Bio coming soon!

 Albuquerque, New Mexico 

Ms. Whitehair’s life beyond Yoga includes a background in Emergency Medical Services, Fire-Fighting on the Dine’ Nation, providing patient care in Emergency Rooms, and Emergency Response Team training. Currently, Rose provides training on how to prepare for and manage disaster response and recovery, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2010, Rose discovered the healing and balance that Yoga provides. Her practice has helped her heal from hip replacement, scoliosis, thyroid issues, and work-related stress and trauma. She gained her certification through Native Strength Revolution. As an instructor, Rose guides us with Vinyasa flow to reconnect us to our inner selves while building strength and stability.


Anatomy Instructor BIO:

Rose not only teaches First Aid & CPR in her Tribal Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Team classes, but she also has taught splinting, suturing and Emergency Room techniques to medical personnel, while providing Continuing Education Credits for her students. After 16 years of patient care experience, Rose is blessed and excited with this opportunity to continue teaching Anatomy but with a yoga nexus.

Bozeman, MT

Carmen  small-scale food grower from the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in Fort Hall, Idaho. She is transitioning into the larger food market and exploring options in food sovereignty to integrate into tribal communities in Montana, Idaho and Arizona.  She’s a current PATHS (Pathways to Agriculture and Native foods, Tribal Health and Sovereignty) participant with Montana State University and sees this program as a catalyst to large scale change. This work, paralleled with a personal healing journey have served as the spark to reignite the dormant dreams that have long been housed in her heart. She is passionate about sharing her spark with all communities she is apart of and to nourish a nation hungry for change and healing. Carmen is also a beginning yogini, TEDx Bozeman 2019 speaker, undercover poet/comedian and is the mother of 3 sons, Steven, Liam and Dominic. She currently resides with her family in Bozeman, Montana.

SLC, UT/ Pine Ridge, SD

Canté was té nape ciyuzapo

Wakán wahté wín, emaciyapi 

I greet you from my heart 

My name is lives holy

I am from the Oglala Lakota people.

I am lucky to be the mother to four beautiful children. Who are my foundation and drive me crazy. 

What brought me to yoga... was a article I skimmed through about how it helps with running.  I also love long distance running. 

Through my exploration of yoga I found that it’s more than just movement.  It helps work through trauma.

That was it for me, I dove in... I had to learn more.  Trauma is a big part of my life.. learning to acknowledge it, rather than hide it and be ashamed of it. That was a big way for me learn to breathe. 

I’m so blessed to be given an opportunity to try and help my Native people- help them navigate, acknowledge their traumas, and use them as a tool. That is my goal.

Wopila 

Thank you 

Ponca City, OK

Samantha is a member of the Grayhorse District of the Osage Nation and descendent of the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma. She has served both of her tribes in a social services capacity for years. It was through this service that she discovered her passion to help others. She most recently was employed at the Ponca Tribe Wellness Center and received her Fitness Trainer and Nutritionist certification from the International Sports Science Association (ISSA). She fell in love with weight lifting but after an injury found it difficult. When researching different ways to rehab her injury, she discovered the healing practice of yoga. She then attended 200 hour Indigenous Vinyasa Yoga Teacher training and is now a RYT-200. She volunteers her time teaching free online yoga classes to her community. She has dreams to continue serving her tribal community by making wellness more available and sustainable for all ages. She resides in Ponca City, Oklahoma and enjoys cooking and spending time with her family. She is the mother of three beautiful children that have been the biggest inspiration in her wellness journey. She hopes by sharing her journey she will inspire and recruit others in her community so they may reach more people.

Sudbury, Ontario, Canada 

Aanii !  I'm Zara Contin; an Ojibwa Anishnaabekwe from Henvey Inlet First Nation Ontario, Canada and Certified Yoga teacher. Currently residing in Sudbury Ontario. I am a teacher for the Natural Sciences, mother, and outdoor enthusiast I have a close connection to our Mother Earth and everything she teaches us. During my time at University I suffered anxiety and panic attacks stemming from my childhood abuse and trauma. This is when I learned to incorporate yoga into my daily practice along with meditation.  I travelled to other areas of the country, where I found the joy of incorporating yoga into my every day life, while on my travels learning about my culture and identity as an Anishnaabekwe. 

Deepening my sense of connection to my spirituality and energy I took it upon my self to do a 200 HR training program for Vinyasa Flow. I like to incorporate a holistic approach through the medicine wheel and using therapeutic tools like sharing, active listening and traditional medicines during a class. The sole purpose is to feel that deepening connection not only to ourselves, but with the people around us. I love to explore how we can decolonize, reclaim and honour our own practices while continuing to focus on yoga as the main tool to help heal ourselves and how we can honour ourselves by bringing it back to our communities so that we can all begin to move our bodies and heal from the sickness that surrounds our people.

Shawnee, OK

Bio Coming Soon!

Portland, OR

In March 2020, my mind, body and soul yearned for deeper healing. This is when I began to look into Yoga – I attended a few classes, but knew I wanted more, and that my Spirit wanted to learn the historical practice of Yoga – in December of 2020 I came across the Native Strength Revolution training program. I started the program in January of 2021, and since completion, I have Yoga in my daily life. 

In July 2021, my youngest daughter and I were involved in a serious, high-speed car accident, while on a road-trip on vacation in California and my life, and body are not the same – the one thing that remains in my healing, is Yoga. I am looking forward to bringing healing to you.

Yoga and meditation feed my soul – and as I am a beginner in my practice, my heart desires to bring the healing, and balance to the Spirits and lives of others, to my Native communities, Elders, youth and those who are on their healing journey, as yoga brought healing to me. I can’t wait to do yoga with you! 

Birmingham, AL

As a passionate learner, Brianna hopes to walk along side others on their healing journey, helping in any way that she can. Brianna found yoga and meditation after a physical injury left her mentally and spiritually depleated. She began practicing to heal her body but found that her mind and spirit were also restored by the grace of God. She gained her 200hr certification through the Carson Calhoun Academy and has trainings in Yoga Therapy. Brianna believes that everyone has something to teach as well as something to learn. She strives to meet people where they are on their path to co-create an accessible practice of physical, mental, and spiritual healing.

Minneapolis, MN

 Bio coming soon!

 Albuquerque, New Mexico 

Ms. Whitehair’s life beyond Yoga includes a background in Emergency Medical Services, Fire-Fighting on the Dine’ Nation, providing patient care in Emergency Rooms, and Emergency Response Team training. Currently, Rose provides training on how to prepare for and manage disaster response and recovery, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2010, Rose discovered the healing and balance that Yoga provides. Her practice has helped her heal from hip replacement, scoliosis, thyroid issues, and work-related stress and trauma. She gained her certification through Native Strength Revolution. As an instructor, Rose guides us with Vinyasa flow to reconnect us to our inner selves while building strength and stability.


Anatomy Instructor BIO:

Rose not only teaches First Aid & CPR in her Tribal Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Team classes, but she also has taught splinting, suturing and Emergency Room techniques to medical personnel, while providing Continuing Education Credits for her students. After 16 years of patient care experience, Rose is blessed and excited with this opportunity to continue teaching Anatomy but with a yoga nexus.

Bozeman, MT

Carmen  small-scale food grower from the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in Fort Hall, Idaho. She is transitioning into the larger food market and exploring options in food sovereignty to integrate into tribal communities in Montana, Idaho and Arizona.  She’s a current PATHS (Pathways to Agriculture and Native foods, Tribal Health and Sovereignty) participant with Montana State University and sees this program as a catalyst to large scale change. This work, paralleled with a personal healing journey have served as the spark to reignite the dormant dreams that have long been housed in her heart. She is passionate about sharing her spark with all communities she is apart of and to nourish a nation hungry for change and healing. Carmen is also a beginning yogini, TEDx Bozeman 2019 speaker, undercover poet/comedian and is the mother of 3 sons, Steven, Liam and Dominic. She currently resides with her family in Bozeman, Montana.

SLC, UT/ Pine Ridge, SD

Canté was té nape ciyuzapo

Wakán wahté wín, emaciyapi 

I greet you from my heart 

My name is lives holy

I am from the Oglala Lakota people.

I am lucky to be the mother to four beautiful children. Who are my foundation and drive me crazy. 

What brought me to yoga... was a article I skimmed through about how it helps with running.  I also love long distance running. 

Through my exploration of yoga I found that it’s more than just movement.  It helps work through trauma.

That was it for me, I dove in... I had to learn more.  Trauma is a big part of my life.. learning to acknowledge it, rather than hide it and be ashamed of it. That was a big way for me learn to breathe. 

I’m so blessed to be given an opportunity to try and help my Native people- help them navigate, acknowledge their traumas, and use them as a tool. That is my goal.

Wopila 

Thank you 

Ponca City, OK

Samantha is a member of the Grayhorse District of the Osage Nation and descendent of the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma. She has served both of her tribes in a social services capacity for years. It was through this service that she discovered her passion to help others. She most recently was employed at the Ponca Tribe Wellness Center and received her Fitness Trainer and Nutritionist certification from the International Sports Science Association (ISSA). She fell in love with weight lifting but after an injury found it difficult. When researching different ways to rehab her injury, she discovered the healing practice of yoga. She then attended 200 hour Indigenous Vinyasa Yoga Teacher training and is now a RYT-200. She volunteers her time teaching free online yoga classes to her community. She has dreams to continue serving her tribal community by making wellness more available and sustainable for all ages. She resides in Ponca City, Oklahoma and enjoys cooking and spending time with her family. She is the mother of three beautiful children that have been the biggest inspiration in her wellness journey. She hopes by sharing her journey she will inspire and recruit others in her community so they may reach more people.

Sudbury, Ontario, Canada 

Aanii !  I'm Zara Contin; an Ojibwa Anishnaabekwe from Henvey Inlet First Nation Ontario, Canada and Certified Yoga teacher. Currently residing in Sudbury Ontario. I am a teacher for the Natural Sciences, mother, and outdoor enthusiast I have a close connection to our Mother Earth and everything she teaches us. During my time at University I suffered anxiety and panic attacks stemming from my childhood abuse and trauma. This is when I learned to incorporate yoga into my daily practice along with meditation.  I travelled to other areas of the country, where I found the joy of incorporating yoga into my every day life, while on my travels learning about my culture and identity as an Anishnaabekwe. 

Deepening my sense of connection to my spirituality and energy I took it upon my self to do a 200 HR training program for Vinyasa Flow. I like to incorporate a holistic approach through the medicine wheel and using therapeutic tools like sharing, active listening and traditional medicines during a class. The sole purpose is to feel that deepening connection not only to ourselves, but with the people around us. I love to explore how we can decolonize, reclaim and honour our own practices while continuing to focus on yoga as the main tool to help heal ourselves and how we can honour ourselves by bringing it back to our communities so that we can all begin to move our bodies and heal from the sickness that surrounds our people.

Shawnee, OK

Bio Coming Soon!

Portland, OR

In March 2020, my mind, body and soul yearned for deeper healing. This is when I began to look into Yoga – I attended a few classes, but knew I wanted more, and that my Spirit wanted to learn the historical practice of Yoga – in December of 2020 I came across the Native Strength Revolution training program. I started the program in January of 2021, and since completion, I have Yoga in my daily life. 

In July 2021, my youngest daughter and I were involved in a serious, high-speed car accident, while on a road-trip on vacation in California and my life, and body are not the same – the one thing that remains in my healing, is Yoga. I am looking forward to bringing healing to you.

Yoga and meditation feed my soul – and as I am a beginner in my practice, my heart desires to bring the healing, and balance to the Spirits and lives of others, to my Native communities, Elders, youth and those who are on their healing journey, as yoga brought healing to me. I can’t wait to do yoga with you!