I enjoy the playful styles of yoga. In yoga – as in life – I believe in trying, falling, laughing and getting up again. The foundation of my yoga is Vinyasa Flow – I love flowing sequences and the fusion of movement and breath. Using the techniques of Vinyasa Flow, I’ve expanded my practice into SUP yoga, aerial yoga and acro-yoga; these styles give me the opportunity to experiment, to practise and to play.

I’m 500hrs certified by Yoga Alliance. I did my first 200hrs teacher training with Karuna Yoga Journeys in Vinyasa Flow on the island of Lamu, Kenya. I followed this with 200hrs teacher training with ULU Yoga in multi-styles – aerial yoga, acro-yoga, SUP yoga and Hatha – on the island of Koh Phan Ngan, Thailand. And most recently I did 200hrs teacher training with Karuna Yoga Journeys in Yin Yoga.

As well as yoga, the two things I enjoy most in life are reading and travelling. Complete immersion in a book to the point where I feel I’m living with its characters is one of my greatest joys. And I will never get tired of arriving in a new place, discovering a different culture and experiencing new things.

I’ve enjoyed dance and gymnastics all my life. As a child I loved backflipping into water, or jumping off cliffs into rockpools, and I still enjoy the rush of excitement this brings. I believe that when we try new things, we focus entirely on the fresh activity and let go of all outside distractions. This is a form of meditation in motion, which is the basis of yoga. I also believe that when we incorporate this movement and breathing into our days, it becomes a way of life not a part-time activity. Yoga isn’t just on the mat – or on the SUP – it’s all day, every day. Health, mindfulness, movement and fun fuse to form yoga.

So many yogis in so many countries have helped me along my yoga path and I owe my love of yoga to all of them.

Join me in Karura Forest, Nairobi, or online on zoom, every Sunday at 11am East Africa Time.

Tamara is leading three sessions:
Friday, 9.30-10.30am: SUP (stand up paddleboard) Yoga
Saturday, 9.30-10.30am: SUP Yoga
Sunday, 9.30-10.30am: SUP Yoga

Tamara’s sessions are in Kilifi Creek, at 3 Degrees South Water Sports Centre, at Mnarani Resort. Allow at least 30 minutes to get to the venue and be ready for the session.

SUP sessions have to be pre-booked, and can only take nine people per session.

I have done various trainings in the healing arts since 2013, which has evolved into my own way of teaching movement, mindfulness and inner connection.

I am a trained Health Coach with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, 200hr Yoga alliance Certified Hatha Yoga Teacher, Laughter Yoga Leader, Tension and Trauma Release Provider, Energy & Intuitive Bodywork Practitioner (combining my training in Reiki, Pranic healing, Crystal healing, Essential oils, Acupressure points, EFT and Massage) I’m now delving into the healing power of sounds, shapes and colours to use in meditation.

I love teaching soulful classes, where people come out feeling better about themselves, more centred and connected. My approach is based on mindfulness, curiosity and alignment, designed to give the student the experience of meditation in motion allowing them to gain more self-awareness no matter their ‘skill level’.

After many years of sporadically doing yoga for fitness, I realised the true benefit of conscious movement after a debilitating back injury. Having difficulty walking and being my active self as a sailor and kite surfer, I discovered conscious movement and the deep connection of mind, emotion and the body. My first teacher profoundly helped me with Feldenkrais and Yoga, creating an awareness of myself I had never experienced before. How we move is how we live. My physical healing journey began, which led to big shifts and realisations in my mental / emotional world and after several yoga workshops, meditation retreats and a steady home practice, the shifts have been profound and ongoing.

I had an inner voice telling me I needed to share the power of yoga, awareness and connection to oneself and to others, so I travelled to India to complete my 200 hrs teacher training in the peacefulness of an Ashram close to the Himalayas – again with profound insights.

I’ve had many teachers along the way who taught me and am continuously learning about myself, my environment and how to do things better. Life is a teacher and it never stops sharing its wisdom – keeping your curiosity is vital.

Sandra is leading two sessions:
Thursday, 5-6.30pm: Injury Prevention through Awareness
Friday, 3-4pm: Laughter Yoga

David, a.k.a Davie Dancer, is a well-known performing artist. He is a dancer and choreographer in contemporary dance, ballet, modern jazz, Afro-fusion, salsa and traditional dances. Having studied at the prestigious KenyaArts, Davie has a strong professional background as a Theatrical Performing Artist. He became passionate about mastering different forms of body control in dance, and immersed himself in the world of Body Movements. He studied and got certified in yoga to support his love for creative dance and to become more individual and unique in his performances.

Davie is also a certified zumba Instructor and is trained in gymnastics and calisthenics (bodyweight strength training); he incorporates his diverse knowledge of each of these disciplines in his coaching career. Davie is open to sharing his years of experiences and skills with passionate individuals, especially kids in ballet, dance, contemporary and gymnastics, and adults in yoga and zumba. He is a full-time trainer in schools, private institutions and is a personal trainer offering one-on-one coaching.

David is leading four sessions:
Saturday, 9.30-10.30am: Zumba
Saturday, 12-1pm: Kids’ dance fun
Saturday 2.30-3.30pm: Salsa
Sunday, 9.30-10.30: Contemporary Dance

Saddam has practiced yoga for over eight years, which prepared him for his Yoga Teacher Training at Africa Yoga Project (AYP) graduating with certificates in level 2 and 500-hour teacher training, trauma sensitive: Mind Body Well-being, acro-yoga and Your Own Determination (YOD). He describes his personality as fun, kind and patient, with his teaching style as energising and one that fosters personal growth. When not in the studio you may find Saddam performing both nationally and internationally in contortion, juggling, fire and acrobatics. This self-trained artist possesses the motivation and discipline to accomplish his dreams and push boundaries. Credits include Circus 254 Kenya, Chimelong Circus Company China and Techno phone 8 Launch Sarova Stanley, Baobab Beach Resort, and Beneath the Baobabs New Year Party in Kilifi. Saddam has also been an active performer for Sarakasi and AER Africa. Saddam also enrolled to a Med School: have a question about anatomy or injury prevention? Saddam’s your guy!

Saddam is leading four sessions:
Friday, 9.30-10.30am: Aerial Yoga and Circus Arts
Saturday, 9.30-10.30am: Aerial Yoga and Circus Arts
Saturday, 10.45-11.45am: Kids’ Aerial Acrobatics
Sunday, 9.30-10.30am: Aerial Yoga and Circus Arts

Aerial yoga sessions have to be pre-booked, and only take 12 people per session.

Neha is an intuit, healer, teacher and consultant. She is also the founder of Spolosophy - an amalgalm of Spiritual-Political-Philosophy. She believes that the wisdom and knowledge of the meta-physical realm contains the keys for us to transform our lives and the world in which we live.

Neha works with individuals, groups and organisations to help them realise their highest potential and create abundance for all. She is guided by the wisdom that all power is within. Neha has been exploring and working with spiritual teachings for 15 years, and has been teaching for eight.

Neha works with individuals on a one-to-one basis in ‘deep transformation’ programmes; she runs courses, workshops and tailored experiences for groups and organisations; and she advises and consults for different organisations and initiatives, helping them to apply spiritual principles to deepen and elevate their work in the world.

Neha is leading three sessions:
Friday, 7.45-8.45am: You are the Light (So Shine!)
Friday, 11am-1pm: The Jewel is You: Finding your Value (with Paula)
Sunday, 11.15am-1pm: Building your Dream: The Way of Yang

Victor is the owner and founder of Fit Like Vic Watamu Fitness Centre. He is a personal trainer who specialises in bodyweight workouts, mobility, deep stretching, HIIT and cardio workouts.

Victor is leading two sessions:
Saturday, 7.45-8.45am: Abs
Sunday, 7.45-8.45am: Mobility and Deep Stretching

Mujer Naturaleza (Woman Nature), lover of nature and ancient wisdom, music, dancing, travelling, painting and enjoying life. Certified Life Coach specialised in women, Menstrual Therapist and Integral Masculine Cyclicality, Healing of Uterine Memories, Teacher of Ovarian Breathing, Feminine Alchemy, Feminine Sexuality and Alchemical Breathing, Sacred Sexuality, Tantra and Herbalist.

She accompanies women and men in their journeys of Self-Knowledge and Healing, remembering our Feminine Nature, Wisdom and Healing Power that each of us have within, the Divine Expression that we are, connecting with our bodies: the temple where the Alchemy and Magic can happen. A journey to open and bloom, to reconnect with our Divine Feminine and Masculine, the Sexual and Creative Energy, open our Hearts and Elevate our Consciousness, experiencing and embodying the integration of ourselves as a whole to remember us complete. She does it through meditation, breath work, movement, dance, yoni eggs, medicinal herbs, oracles and art-therapy.

Paula is leading four sessions:
Friday, 11am-1pm: The Jewel is You: Finding your Value (with Neha)
Friday, 3-4pm: Sacred Sexuality
Saturday, 11.15am-1pm: Alchemic Breathing
Sunday: 6-6.45pm: Cacao Ceremony

Please pre-book the Cacao Ceremony to ensure enough cacao is prepared.

Nadine discovered Bikram Yoga in Hamburg in 2007. After suffering from burnout and depression and attending Teaching Training in Acapulco in 2017, she left her corporate job to combine her passion for Yoga and travelling and became a full-time Travel Yoga Teacher. She has dedicated her life to sharing its transformative power with others and has since travelled to over 50 countries, teaching in more than 30 different studios on four continents.

Each studio, student, country and culture teaches her something new about herself. She runs Yoga retreats in Portugal, Kenya, Mexico, Bali & India, and she can’t wait to meet you at the Kilifi Wellness Festival and teach a hot Bikram Yoga class.

BIKRAM YOGA is a unique yoga practice, consisting of 26 Hatha Yoga postures and two breathing exercises, it is usually practised at a room temperature of 40 degrees Celsius and a humidity of 40%, making every movement a rejuvenating and invigorating experience.  Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced yogi, this practice will stretch, lengthen, and strengthen your entire body, promoting overall health and wellness. With each pose, you’ll massage your internal organs, support optimal function, and stimulate circulation, metabolism, and the immune system.

Nadine is leading three sessions:
Thursday, 5-6.30pm: Bikram Yoga
Friday, 11am-12.30pm: Bikram Yoga
Sunday, 11.15-1pm: Connection Games

Rachael is on a personal health journey and she is starting to share her experience of navigating the cancer world through allopathic and alternative healing spaces and hopes to inspire others on a path to wellness.

Rachael spent 23 years running an eco-lodge, Diamond Beach Village on Manda island, Lamu. Deciding to sell her hotel and focus on herself she is currently taking a year off and sitting in the space of the unknown while diving deeper into the importance of water, the mind-body connection, food and rest.  Through healing the physical and etheric body on a micro level, the shift in cellular function will simultaneously allow the macro world to heal. Rachael will share some basic tips on how to help kick-start a health routine in your own life.

A huge part of Rachael’s life has been dancing and she’s recently launched Body & Beats, an ecstatic dance event in her home town Kilifi. We’ll be hosting the Beats side of the event to close the festival on Sunday at the beach.

Rachael is leading two sessions:
Thursday, 3.45-4.45pm: Simple Living Health Hacks
Sunday, 7pm: Ecstatic Dance

My name is Bernard Gitonga AKA Benfire. I am a certified Yoga Teacher from Africa Yoga Project in Kenya, and have been practicing and teaching since 2009. I specialise in Aerial, Acro and partner yoga, and I am also a trained acrobat.

Acroyoga is a mindfulness exercise. It fuses yoga and acrobatics with the goal of calming the mind while building strength and balance. In Acroyoga you don’t move alone, you move with another person proving great interpersonal and emotional benefits as you work on trusting yourself and others. I teach with passion, kindness and focus.

Bernard is leading three sessions:
Friday, 4.30-5.30pm: Acroyoga
Saturday, 11.15-1pm: Inversions and Arm Balances (with Paige)
Saturday, 2.30-3.30pm: Kids’ acrobatics

Paige, Founder of Africa Yoga Project, Ashoka Fellow, and recipient of the 2017 Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Global Citizen Award, has been fortunate to contribute to wellbeing initiatives in Africa for nearly two decades. With a background as a former Wall Street consultant, Paige’s earlier work allowed her to embrace the beauty of teaching yoga to students across 22 African countries through Africa Yoga Project programmes. She has always held the belief that yoga is a practice for anyone who feels drawn to it, particularly cherishing the opportunity to guide beginners on their journey.

Paige also collaborated on lululemon’s Yoga in Factories programme and co-authored two articles on trauma-informed yoga interventions in sub-Saharan Africa. Grateful for her journey and the support of partners such as UNICEF, lululemon, Laureus Sport for Good, Comic Relief, and Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Initiative, Paige continues to advocate for inclusive wellbeing opportunities. Her dedication to positive global change remains a source of inspiration.

Paige is leading two sessions:
Friday, 7.45-8.45am: Introduction to Yoga
Saturday, 11.15am-1pm: Inversions and Arm Balances (with Bernard)

Alai k is a musician, singer, songwriter, music producer, product trainer for Native instruments, and DJ. He mixes traditional music instruments from East Africa with electronic instruments.

I’m a Tibetan sound bowl healer and yoga teacher. I teach yoga for human bodies. Not only the flexible, bendy bodies, but the bodies we all share with their kricks and cracks and resistances and emotions. I have been learning from the sacred yogic knowledge for six years, and went to do my 200hr Teacher Training in Nepal in September 2022. A couple of months after I came back, I quit my job, and dedicated my purpose to sharing all the powerful lessons that yoga has taught me, in hopes of transforming your lives, just as yoga did mine.

I specialise mostly in Vinyasa and Yin, and regularly fuse them together. But I also teach Hatha, and Ashtanga. I will be journeying for my 300hr training in 2024, this time in India. I can only hope that my practice will take you beyond and into the depths of your true being, the ‘you’ that exists far within your centre. I am so excited to see you on the mat.

Ornella leading two sessions:
Thursday, 2.30-3.30pm: Partner Yoga: Connection and Inner Joy (warning: laughter incoming!)
Sunday, 11.15am-1pm: The Elements: Yoga and Free Writing (with Shalini)

Ornella is also a therapist and can be booked for private sessions.

Olivia is an American who has been living in Africa for over 17 years and a resident of Kenya for about 8 years. She has been practicing meditation since 1997 when she started with Vipassana and Insight Meditation in Seattle. She started facilitating Non-Duality/ Direct Path Meditation in 2017 at Ikigai Workspace. During Covid she offered 20-minute, online sits, six days a week, to members of the community who were stressed about what was happening in the world. 

She is now facilitating weekly meditations in Nairobi at Wonder House in Spring Valley, and in Loresho and works full-time as a home-schooling mom and an artist.

Olivia is leading two dawn meditations:
Both sessions will be half-hour guided meditation pointing at the Awakened self that you already are, followed by a short discussion
Saturday, 6.30-7.30am
Sunday, 7.45-845am

Morning walks on the beach after these sessions are recommended.

Mwanase, a global citizen with roots on Lamu Island, has journeyed through living in the United States, France, Central America and Senegal before returning to her homeland of Kenya. As the visionary CEO of Distant Relatives Ecolodge and Backpackers in Kilifi, she combines her rich cultural experiences with a deep passion for sustainable tourism, integrating social, ethical and environmental responsibility at the core.

As a pioneer with over ten years of experience in the ecotourism industry, Mwanase has been featured in numerous interviews, podcasts, panels, articles, and conferences, both regionally and internationally. Mwanase brings a unique perspective, fostering a harmonious blend of ecological awareness, community empowerment and unity, and enriching travel experiences through positive social & environmental activities.

Mwanase is leading two sessions:
Saturday, 9.30-10.30am: Kids’ Hula Hoop
Saturday, 2.30-4pm: Practical Permaculture and Sustainable Lifestyle Tips
NB: this session is at Distant Relatives Eco-lodge and Backpackers. Anyone who attends, and who is joining the Dhow Cruise, will be picked up by the Dhow from Distant Relatives Beach.

Raj is a gifted psychic and Akashic Channel with nine years’ experience in the field of alternative & energy healing space. Her rich experience has awarded her features in Discovery+ and ZoomTv back in India. Raj is also an internationally certified Access Bars Facilitator, Life Coach, Soul Regressionist, Angel Therapist & Oracle/Tarot Card Reader.

Raj Kamal is leading two sessions, both with Husein:
Friday, 11am-1pm: Anger & Lies: Decoding Self Sabotage Belief Systems
Saturday, 11.15am-1pm: Forgiveness Meditation & Healing in the Akashic Records

Raj Kamal is also a therapist, and can be booked for private sessions.

Sharing a special connection with animals since his childhood, Husein discovered that his life purpose is to work with them at the spiritual/energetic level. He has been working with cats, dogs, birds, horses and other animals for the last seven years. He is also an internationally certified Access Bars practitioner, Bach Flower Therapist & Bowen Therapist.

Husein is leading two sessions, both with Raj Kamal:
Friday, 11am-1pm: Anger & Lies: Decoding Self Sabotage Belief Systems
Saturday, 11.15am-1pm: Forgiveness Meditation & Healing in the Akashic Records

Husein is also a therapist and can be booked for private sessions.

Shalini Gidoomal is a freelance journalist and writer who has worked on various UK and international magazines and newspapers, including The Independent,  Sunday Mirror, Today, FHM, GQ and Architectural Digest. Her short stories and non-fiction have been published in various Caine Prize anthologies in collections of African short stories, and in the Kenyan journal Kwani.

She developed an interest in using writing for exploration and therapeutic means, combining particuar writing processes with yoga, psychodrama and sociometrics. She has found that through an interaction of mind, body and pen, often unexpected and revealing insights appear.

Certified in Gabor Mate’s Compassionate Inquiry,  Dr Janina Fisher’s ‘parts work approach’ (Trauma Informed Stabilisation Treatment) and Family Constellations, Shalini can help you uncover and shift persistently stuck patterns that prevent you from living a full life.

By holding safe space for you to explore, and using an array of primarily somatic tools,  she can help to guide you into the body where the real work of change is done. Through investigating the origins of perceptions, beliefs, behavioural patterns and values, its possible to increase awareness and access wisdom that exists inside of us.

We all long to be seen, heard, and loved for who we truly are. Shalini’s own journey through trauma and healing has deepened her sense of compassion for people and has provided capacity to support others navigate their process.

Shalini is leading two sessions:
Thursday, 3.45-4.45pm: Treasure Hunt through your Feelings
Sunday, 11.15am-1pm: The Elements: Yoga and Free Writing (with Ornella)

Shalini is also a therapist and can be booked for private sessions.

Ketan Ram MHS, MAc, LAc is a USA licensed Chinese Medicine practitioner living and working in Kenya since 2007. She brings together Acupuncture, Constitutional Nutrition Therapy and Qi Gong as her three ‘stool legs’ to return to balance and wellbeing. Chinese Medicine plays a pivotal role in helping individuals ‘downshift’ their Qi or energy, thereby returning to a parasympathetic nervous system state. This state is ideal for restoration and rejuvenation. This together with cleaner eating, and breath/movement exercises (qi gong) can be transformative in regaining mindbodyspirit wellness.

Ketan is leading two sessions:
Thursday, 2.30-3.30pm: Qi Gong
Friday, 4.30-5.30pm: Qi Gong

Ketan is also a therapist, and can be booked for private sessions

My name is Arafa Iddi. I’m a 200hr certified Baptiste yoga teacher, with almost seven years’ teaching experience. Having a balance of both teaching and practicing is important to me as a teacher.

Once upon a time, in a world filled with colours and creativity, an artist named Flora Frezghi stepped into the spotlight. With the delicate touch of her hands and the power of her imagination, Flora has been a dot mandala artist for the past eight years. Through her unique art form, she has discovered the true beauty of living in the present moment and embracing the here and now.

Flora’s workshop is more than just an art class. It is a gateway to a realm where symmetry, geometry, colour, number and intention come together to create pure magic. She believes that by becoming aware of these attributes and consciously combining them, we could unlock a world of mindfulness through the shape of a mandala.

And so, dear seeker, come and surrender to the present moment, to indulge in the beauty of symmetry, geometry, colour, number and intention. As Flora herself would say, embrace the art of ‘Order in Chaos’ and find your path to tranquility.