Black Yoga Teachers

BIPOC, Black Yoga Teacher, Tony Eason in San Francisco.

Within my 27+ years of yoga practice, I have yet to attended nor teach a yoga class where there were more than 3 black yoga students or BIPOC in attendance.  Therefore, I would like to lessen the disconnect between people of color and the worldwide yoga  community.


“While there is no single live national database that tracks the exact real-time percentage of African American yoga students by region, current industry research and academic studies provide a clear picture of the demographic trends and regional concentrations.

The most recent data (2025–2026) indicates that while yoga participation among Black adults has grown significantly from its 2.5% baseline in 2012, it still faces regional disparities linked to studio accessibility and socioeconomic factors.”

National Demographic Overview

MetricParticipation Rate (Estimated)
Total Black Participation~5.6% – 8% (up from 2.5% in 2012)
Average Studio Attendance< 10% in high-density Black neighborhoods
Boutique/Heated Yoga~2% of students identify as Black/African American

National Demographics (2022–2024)

“According to the CDC’s National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), black yoga participation has increased significantly across all groups.”

Demographic GroupPercentage Practicing Yoga (National)
Total U.S. Adults16.9%
Asian (non-Hispanic)22.5%
White (non-Hispanic)19.3%
Black (non-Hispanic)12.6%
Hispanic10.5%
  • The following Afro American Yoga Teachers  & Wellness Practitioners are posted on ynottony.com as a public service to the worldwide yoga community.
  • For detailed class description, yoga class schedule changes, or detailed yoga teacher biography, please contact each individual directly.

Yoga Teachers of Color – BIPOC.

1. Tony Eason

  • Synopsis: A seasoned yoga teacher and endurance athlete (marathon runner, road cyclist, and swimmer) who has been practicing for over 27 years and teaching for over 20 years. He apprenticed under Senior Iyengar Teacher Janet MacLeod and graduated from the Two-Year Advanced Teacher Training Program of the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco. He curates the ynottony platform to help bridge the gap between people of color and the broader yoga community.
  • Styles of Yoga Taught: Hatha / Iyengar Yoga
  • Website: ynottony.com

2. Nkechi Deanna Njaka

  • Synopsis: A neuroscientist, choreographer, writer, and mindfulness expert based in San Francisco. She majored in neuroscience and dance at Scripps College and earned an MSc in Neuroscience from the University of Edinburgh. As the founder of the NDN lifestyle studio and an lululemon ambassador, she focuses heavily on somatic practices, meditation, and the scientific integration of the brain and body.
  • Styles of Yoga Taught: Mindfulness, Meditation, and Somatic Movement
  • Website: Nkechi Deanna Njaka Official Website

3. Jaki Nett

  • Synopsis: A world-renowned yoga instructor, author, and educator with over 40 years of experience. She holds a Master’s degree in Humanistic Psychology and has traveled to Pune, India, over 25 times to study directly under B.K.S. Iyengar and Geeta Iyengar. She is also the creator of the Felt Sense Method® for pelvic floor health and co-operates Iyengar Yoga Napa Valley.
  • Styles of Yoga Taught: Iyengar Yoga
  • Website: Iyengar Yoga Napa Valley (IYNV)

4. Nadine Johnson

  • Synopsis: A San Francisco-based wellness leader and founder of “Go Well Beyond.” She began practicing yoga to manage a high-stress corporate career involving heavy travel. Her teaching heavily integrates practices that support mobility, deep sleep, and athletic cross-training, drawing on her background in Ashtanga, Yin, Restorative Yoga, and aerial arts.
  • Styles of Yoga Taught: Ashtanga, Yin, Restorative, and Vinyasa Flow
  • Website: Go Well Beyond

5. Ben Thomas

  • Synopsis: A senior certified Iyengar yoga teacher who has been practicing since 1976 and teaching for over 25 years. He received his original certifications directly from Dr. B.K.S. Iyengar in 1983 and has traveled to the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in Pune, India, on multiple occasions to study under the Iyengar family.
  • Styles of Yoga Taught: Iyengar Yoga
  • Website: Featured via ynottony.com Ben Thomas Profile

6. Yogi Cecily

  • Synopsis: A veteran yoga and fitness instructor based in San Francisco, dedicated to helping students improve their well-being through movement, meditation, wellness programs, and live in-person events. Along with teaching yoga, she offers specialized mobility training, weight management, core conditioning, and hosts immersive seasonal wellness retreats.
  • Styles of Yoga Taught: Hatha Yoga, Mobility Training, Core Conditioning, and Restorative Movement
  • Website: Cecily’s Yoga Retreats

7. Dr. Juko Holiday, Ph.D.

  • Synopsis: A psychotherapist, associate marriage and family therapist, and long-time practitioner based in California with over thirty years of meditation experience. Her therapeutic and wellness approach deeply integrates contemplative practice, somatic therapy, and breathwork, helping individuals stay present and grounded through grief, trauma recovery, major life transitions, and somatic alignment.
  • Styles of Yoga Taught: Somatic Therapy, Contemplative Movement, and Mindfulness/Meditation Practice
  • Website: Dr. Juko Holiday Practice

8. Phoenix Soleil

  • Synopsis: A certified trainer in Nonviolent Communication (NVC), organizational consultant, and mindfulness facilitator who integrates insight meditation, somatic awareness, and community-building. She has led workshops and meditation spaces for organizations like UC Berkeley, the Insight Meditation Society, and the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, utilizing creative play and relational practices to support team culture and emotional intelligence.
  • Styles of Yoga Taught: Insight Meditation, Mindfulness, and Contemplative Movement Practices
  • Website: Phoenix Soleil Official Website

9. Saeeda Hafiz

  • Synopsis: A yoga teacher, holistic health educator, speaker, and author of the memoir The Healing: One Woman’s Journey from Poverty to Inner Riches. Certified through the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers and the Natural Gourmet Institute, she has spent over 25 years promoting physical and mental wellness, whole-food nutrition, and self-care practices. He has served as a wellness educator with the San Francisco Unified School District and teaches holistic wellness and Yin yoga.
  • Styles of Yoga Taught: Sivananda Yoga, Yin Yoga, and Holistic Nutrition/Mindfulness
  • Website: Saeeda Hafiz Official Website

10. Jessamyn Stanley

  • Synopsis: An award-winning yoga instructor, body-positive advocate, and author of Every Body Yoga and Yoke: My Yoga of Self-Acceptance. She is also the founder of The Underbelly, a virtual yoga and wellness studio designed to make practice inclusive and accessible for practitioners of all backgrounds, shapes, and experience levels. Her approach emphasizes emotional release, self-acceptance, and redefining modern wellness norms.
  • Styles of Yoga Taught: Vinyasa Flow, Inclusive Asana, and Mindfulness Practice
  • Website: Jessamyn Stanley Official Website

11. Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts

  • Synopsis: An internationally recognized yoga educator, researcher, and Peloton instructor who earned her Ph.D. in Educational Studies from Emory University. Her work bridges yoga, storytelling, and youth literacy, notably founding the Yoga, Literature, and Art Camp at Spelman College Museum of Fine Art. She specializes in inclusive slow-flow and restorative practices, frequently weaving contemporary music and creative reflection into her teaching.
  • Styles of Yoga Taught: Slow-Flow Yoga, Restorative Yoga, Meditation, and Inner Literacy
  • Website: Chelsea Loves Yoga

12. Dianne Bondy

  • Synopsis: A social justice activist, author, accessible yoga teacher, and leader of the international “Yoga for All” movement. With over 30 years of experience in movement and fitness, she has dedicated her career to advocating for inclusivity, body-positive practices, and accessibility in yoga spaces regardless of shape, size, ethnicity, or ability level. She is the co-author of Yoga for Everyone and Yoga Where You Are.
  • Styles of Yoga Taught: Accessible Yoga, Body-Positive Asana, and Inclusive Hatha Flow
  • Website: Dianne Bondy Yoga

13. Shawn J.R.

  • Synopsis: A San Francisco-based yoga instructor teaching across Folk Yoga’s community-centered spaces (including Mission, NOPA, and Richmond). Trained through Folk’s certification programs, his teaching style focuses on grounding students in breath, self-awareness, and compassion, helping practitioners cultivate resilience, calm, and bodily connection.
  • Styles of Yoga Taught: Vinyasa Flow, Flow & Restore, and Restorative Yoga
  • Website: Folk Yoga SF – Shawn J.R. Profile

14. Tangela London-Henderson

  • Synopsis: A Memphis-based community yoga instructor and graduate of the Integral Yoga Institute San Francisco (IYISF) BIPOC 200-hour teacher training program. Passionate about literacy education and youth development, she focuses on building inclusive, safe, and welcoming spaces for practitioners of all backgrounds while writing and advocating for equitable community resources.
  • Styles of Yoga Taught: Integral Hatha Level 1 and Gentle Community Yoga
  • Website: Yogaville Teacher Profile – Tangela London-Henderson

15. Ashley Rideaux

  • Synopsis: A Los Angeles–based senior yoga teacher, mentor, and teacher trainer with deep experience leading 200-hour and 300-hour certifications (including co-creating training for Center for Yoga Los Angeles alongside Lisa Walford). Beyond traditional studios, she has taught therapeutic yoga in eating disorder treatment facilities, worked with seniors with neurological disorders, and emphasized mindfulness, precise structural alignment, and accessibility for all practitioners.
  • Styles of Yoga Taught: Alignment-Based Vinyasa, Therapeutic Flow, and Gentle Asana
  • Website: Yoga with Ashley

16. Laruga Glaser

  • Synopsis: A globally recognized, certified Level 2 / Advanced B Ashtanga yoga teacher based out of Stockholm, Sweden. With over 30 years of continuous practice and more than 20 study trips to Mysore, India, under the guidance of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and R. Sharath Jois, she leads international workshops, retreats, and online instruction rooted in the traditional Ashtanga lineage.
  • Styles of Yoga Taught: Ashtanga Yoga
  • Website: Laruga Yoga

17. Jonelle Lewis

  • Synopsis: A London-based (originally from Philadelphia) senior yoga teacher, mentor, teacher trainer, and retreat leader with over 15 years of personal practice and 5+ years of teaching experience. Known for warm, energetic, and empowering classes infused with music and spiritual studies, she champions inclusive and accessible movement, teacher mentorship, and community-building.
  • Styles of Yoga Taught: Vinyasa Flow, Empowered Asana, and Spiritual Meditation
  • Website: Jonelle Lewis Yoga

18. Kofi Busia

  • Synopsis: A renowned senior Iyengar yoga teacher and scholar who studied directly under B.K.S. Iyengar. Known for his profound anatomical precision, philosophical depth, and mastery of Sanskrit and mantra chanting, he teaches workshops, classes, and teacher trainings internationally, emphasizing the rigorous spiritual and structural discipline of the Iyengar method.
  • Styles of Yoga Taught: Iyengar Yoga, Philosophy, and Sanskrit/Mantra Studies
  • Website: Kofi Busia Yoga

19. Boys of Yoga

  • Synopsis: A global lifestyle movement and initiative founded to smash male yoga stereotypes, challenge cultural perceptions, and demonstrate that yoga is for every body. Showcasing an international collective of male practitioners, teachers, and athletes (including Daniel Scott, Dustin Brown, Mike Aidala, and others), the platform provides free tutorials, media resources, book publications like Sit Down, Be Quiet, and community pathways designed to make yoga accessible, grounded, and normal for men.
  • Styles of Yoga Taught: Diverse Cross-Disciplinary Movement, Vinyasa, Asana Foundations, and Mindfulness
  • Website: Boys of Yoga
Nkechi Njaka, Black Women Yoga Teacher.
Cecily. Black Female Yoga Teacher.
Zoom Online African American Male Yoga Teacher. Tony Eason sitting on chair.
Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher, African American, Jaki Nett.
Person of Color Yoga Teacher, Nadine Johnson
Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher, African American Man, Ben Thomas
Chelsea Black Yoga Teacher
Dianne Boni. Female Black Yoga Teacher
Shawn Jr is a San Francisco-based yoga teacher.
Tangela London-Henderson , BIPOC Yoga Teacher.
Ashley Adams, FEMAL BLACK YOGA TEACHER IN STANDING POSE.

Yoga for BIPOC Issues:

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