Yogeswari is a senior Jivamukti teacher and founder and president of AZAHAR Foundation, a non-profit committed to empowering others through yoga and community development in war and conflict-torn countries.

Learn more about the acclaimed teacher below.

NAME

Yogeswari

TITLE

Founder and president of AZAHAR Foundation; Advanced, Certified, Senior Jivamukti Yoga Teacher

MISSION

Bringing people together to make the world a better place

HOMETOWN

Berne, Switzerland

EDUCATION

Universidad Complutense (Madrid); Freie Universität (Berlin); Temple University (Magna cum Laude, Philadelphia); Merce Cunningham School (New York); New York University’s Gallatin School (MA, choreography, dance and feminist sports psychology); Jivamukti teacher training (New York)

EARLY CAREER

Started as a dancer and choreographer; danced with improvisational dance troupe El Grupo Schinca (Madrid); was a founding member of the Tanzfabrik Berlin; performed with Seminole Works Dance Company (Philadelphia); and co-founded KOO Dance with Dutch visual artist Erik Schurink.

Performance highlights include the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Spoleto Festival, Yale Dance Theater Workshop, the Swiss Cultural Institute NYC, and the Swiss Embassy in Washington, DC.

Received the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Choreography.

YOGA BACKGROUND

1993 - Meets first spiritual teacher, Shirley Sweet.

1994 - Begins taking lessons at the Jivamukti Yoga Center in New York City.

1999 - Starts certification training to become a Jivamukti yoga teacher.

Besides studying with Sharon Gannon and David Life for 20 years, Yogeswari has studied Ashtanga Yoga with Saraswati Jois in Mysore and Iyengar Yoga with Patricia Walden and Lucienne Viday in the US. She also studies Sanskrit and yoga philosophy with Dr. MA Jayashree and Professor MA Narasimhan in Mysore, India. Her main Buddhist influence comes from the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh.

2007 - Founds AZAHAR Foundation, her non-profit that promotes peace and community development through yoga, meditation and arts.

HIGHLIGHTS

* She currently is a resident teacher at SOUK Studio in New York and Love Supreme Projects in London, and she is on the faculty for the international 300-hour Jivamukti yoga teacher trainings 

* Empowering others through the practice of yoga around the world, including in war and conflict-torn countries such as Rwanda, Cambodia and Ukraine.

* In connection with Jivamukti Global, AZAHAR has awarded scholarships to yoga teachers from Colombia, Lebanon, Cambodia, Rwanda, Ivory Coast and Syria. 

OTHER INTERESTS

Dance, world music and all art forms, history & politics, peace & conflict studies, non-violent communication, philosophy, cross-culturalism, travel and languages, environment & gardening.

CONTACTS

🌐 Yogeswari

🌐 AZAHAR Foundation

LEAD-IN IMAGE

Yogeswari