Lindsay Gibson, MS (she/her)
Lindsay Gibson, MS
Lindsay Gibson is the founder of Majestic Yoga Studio in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which she has successfully run for the past three decades. She is also the visionary behind Majestic Community Wellness, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing yoga, mindfulness, and holistic wellness education to marginalized communities.
A sought-after yoga and mindfulness expert, Lindsay has designed and implemented wellness programs for prestigious institutions, including Mount Auburn and Emerson hospitals, Harvard Business School, and Athena Health. Her retreats and mindfulness programs have transformed countless lives by integrating ancient yogic wisdom with Western modalities of therapeutic movement, biomechanics, Pilates, and Somatics.
Lindsay's innovative Movement Therapy method stems from her cutting-edge research during her M.S. in Applied Anatomy and Physiology and her expertise in advanced therapeutics. As a lifelong student of the ancient yogic teachings of India, she seamlessly blends empirically derived knowledge with Eastern wisdom traditions to create transformative healing experiences.
Driven by her belief that wellness should be inclusive, accessible, and diverse, Lindsay has dedicated more than 15 years to training and mentoring BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and marginalized individuals to become yoga teachers and wellness leaders. Discouraged by the wellness industry's exclusionary focus on a largely white, heteronormative, and well-to-do population, she pioneered an inclusive mentorship program to break down these barriers.
In 2024, Lindsay founded Majestic Community Wellness to expand her mission beyond the walls of Majestic Yoga Studio. The nonprofit partners with community leaders to make yoga and wellness available to all, regardless of age, body type, ability, ethnicity, or income. Through Majestic Community Wellness, Lindsay continues to train the next generation of wellness leaders, providing them with the tools to serve their communities and inspire meaningful change.
Caia Lee (she/they)
Valentine Zand (she/they)
Valentine is a current Yoga Teacher Trainee with MCW and the administrative assistant for the organization. She hopes to use her certification in tandem with her B.S. in Sociology to help disenfranchised people achieve some level of peace within their struggles. Her main goal is to become a lawyer and volunteer as a trauma informed yoga teacher in prisons so that she can provide support within the carceral system without contributing to its harms.
Selena Isles (she/her)
A yoga practitioner in the Hatha yoga tradition, co-founder of Legendary Yoga & Wellness , E-RYT 500, Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT), and certified Clinical Ayurvedic Practitioner, she runs 200/500 Yoga Trainings. She has more than a decade of Meditation, Ayurveda, Hatha Yoga and Ashtanga Vinyasa training from masters in India as well as 500 hour Ayurvedic Certification from Kerala.
Linda Sparrowe (she/her)
Linda is a writer, editor, speaker, and mentor in holistic healing, with a special emphasis on women’s health. She is the former editor-in-chief of Yoga International magazine and past managing editor of Yoga Journal, as such she has been instrumental in bringing the authentic voice of yoga to thousands of practitioners and teachers. Linda is also on the advisory board of the Yoga and Body Image Coalition. Linda co-leads the Courageous Women, Fearless Living retreats for women touched by cancer. She also gives talks and provides workshops for women who are facing any number of challenges, including body issues, pregnancy, anxiety, depression, menopause and more.
Meera Dhawan (she/her)
Meera is Trauma-Informed Yoga Educator (E-RYT 500) and Masters of Counseling Student (MFT) focused on integrating Eastern & Western modalities for mental and spiritual liberation. As a trauma-informed Yoga teacher, She empowers others using the Eight Limbs of Yoga (Pranayama, Asana, Meditation, etc.) and philosophy.
Devoted to sharing Yoga in a way that is true to her lineage, her mission is to empower students to unleash the transformative benefits of integrating Yoga into their day-to-day life. Her approach is personalized and consists of integrating yogic practices & wisdom based on student’s unique constituents & goals.
Michelle Cassandra Johnson (she/her)
Michelle Cassandra Johnson is an activist, social justice warrior, author, anti-racism consultant and trainer, intuitive healer, and yoga teacher and practitioner.
She has led dismantling racism work in many settings for over two decades and has a background and two decades of practice as a clinical social worker.
Michelle’s work centers on healing from individual and collective trauma, coming back into wholeness and aligning the mind, body, spirit, and heart.
She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of William and Mary and a Masters degree in Social Work from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
She has worked in several non-profits and served as an elected official and on many non-profit boards of directors. She has led Dismantling Racism Trainings with large corporations, small non-profits, and community groups, including the ACLU-WA, Duke University, Google, This American Life, The Center for Equity and Inclusion, Auburn Seminary, Kripalu, Yoga Alliance, and Lululemon, and many others.
Michelle published Skill in Action: Radicalizing Your Yoga Practice to Create a Just World in 2017, and Finding Refuge: Heart Work for Healing Collective Grief in 2021. In 2023, Michelle released two books, We Heal Together: Rituals & Practices for Building Community & Connection and A Space for Us: A Guide for Leading Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Affinity Groups. Her latest book, Illuminating Our True Nature: Yogic Practices for Personal and Collective Healing, published by Shambhala Publications is available now. She teaches workshops in yoga studios and community spaces nationwide and is on the faculty of Off the Mat, Into the World. She was a Tedx speaker at Wake Forest University in 2019 and has been interviewed on several podcasts in which she explores the premise and foundation of Skill in Action, along with embodied approaches to racial equity work, creating ritual in justice spaces, our divine connection with nature and Spirit, and how we as a culture can heal. In 2020, she created her own podcast, Finding Refuge, which explores collective grief and liberation and serves as a reminder about all the ways we can find refuge during unsettling and uncertain times and of the resilience and joy that comes from allowing ourselves to find refuge.
Nikki Myers (she/her)
Nikki Myers is an accomplished speaker and teacher, MBA, E-RYT 500, Yoga Therapist, Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner, Addictions Recovery Specialist, and Ayurvedic Specialist. Born from her struggles with addiction and work with countless students, Nikki is the founder of Y12SR, Yoga of 12-Step Recovery. Based on its theme ‘the issues live in the tissues’, Y12SR is a relapse prevention program that weaves the art & science of yoga with the practical tools of 12-step programs.
Y12SR meetings are available internationally and the curriculum has rapidly become a feature of addiction recovery treatment centers.
Nikki’s work has been featured in the New York Times, Black Enterprise, The Huffington Post, Origin Magazine, CBSnews.com, and countless podcasts. She is honored to be a co-founder of the annual Yoga, Meditation and Recovery Conferences at Esalen Institute and Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. Nikki has been featured as a keynote speaker at the International Association of Yoga Therapist (IAYT) conference and the International Conference on Integrative Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She was named a Yoga Journal Game Changer and is an honored recipient of the esteemed NUVO Cultural Visionary Award.
Anjali Rao (she/her)
Anjali Rao (she/her) offers insight into the teachings of yoga with a multi disciplinary approach in integrating yoga philosophy and history, with storytelling, imagery and poetry.
She is an Indian American immigrant, a cancer survivor, and is on the faculty of many continuing education yoga programs.
She serves as the President of the Board of Directors of Accessible Yoga, and is the host of The Love of Yoga podcast that connects to the expansiveness of the teachings of yoga through thought provoking conversations with yoga scholars and activists on the frontlines of liberatory movements. scription goes here
Tristan Katz (they/he)
I am a writer, educator, digital strategist, and equity-inclusion facilitator specializing in culturally competent marketing and LGBTQ+ Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging (DEIB) training and consulting. My intention is to share this work with an anti-oppression and intersectional lens.
I was named one of the game-changers in yoga by Yoga Journal magazine in 2021 and I spent several years serving on the Board of Directors at Accessible Yoga before the non-profit dissolved in early 2024. My clients are at the forefront of creating more access and inclusion in the yoga industry with social media audiences of 20k and above; many of them have been featured in NPR, the New York Times, NBC, and USA Today, and have worked with companies like Google, the Met, and TikTok.
I’m honored to facilitate equity-inclusion work in yoga spaces and beyond, and I’ve worked with organizations like Portland Public Schools, HubSpot, Stanford University’s YogaX program, Northwest Harvest, Breathe for Change, Williston Northampton School, and many more.
As a longtime student of social movements and social justice, my work centers on values-focused content development, the exploration of power, privilege, and oppression, and the intersection between solidarity and marketing.