Maya Breuer, Vice President of Cross-Cultural Advancement
Yoga Alliance
Maya Breuer is co-founder, and Emeritus President, of the Black Yoga Teachers Alliance, an Emeritus Trustee of the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, and creator of the Yoga Retreat for Women of ColorTM. Maya began studying yoga in 1986, and in 1992 she received her yoga teacher certification from Kripalu. Her knowledge and understanding of the philosophy of yoga were deepened through advanced studies at the Lakulish School in Gujarat, India. Combining traditional yogic forms and philosophies with her own indigenous wisdom, Maya encourages individuals to use yoga to renew their spirit, change their consciousness, and move toward healthy living.
Through the Santosha School of Yoga; which she founded in 2001, Maya has offered the Yoga Alliance registered 200 and 300-hour teacher training and certification courses. As a yoga consultant and educator, Maya served as a member of the Data Safety Monitoring Board for BMC in Boston from 2010–2015; she coauthored “Back to Health: Yoga vs. Physical Therapy for Minorities with Chronic Low Back Pain,” an NIH-funded study conducted by BMC in Boston
In addition to having been featured in Yoga Journal Magazine and on Awakin.org, Maya was celebrated by Black Enterprise Magazine as one of America’s most distinguished black yogis. She has also written articles about the benefits of yoga for people of color for the New England Journal, Black Women’s Health.com, Feministing.com, common ground magazine, etc. In November 2018, Maya was the recipient of the YWCA’s Women of Achievement Award.