SYF2026 Presenter Applications Are Open!
Each year, we are seeking presenters, faculty, and teachers who are passionate about what they offer and are skilled at providing insights, tools, and inspirations to SYF attendees, who range from a beginner who is seeking authentic yoga to experienced yoga and wellness professionals (65% of attendees!).
Fill out the form for details on how to submit your proposal.
Meet the SYF Presenter Programming Team
Arundhati Baitmangalkur
Arundhati, born and raised in India, is an ex-Bollywood dancer turned yoga educator, podcaster, studio business owner, and content creator for all things yoga. Arundhati’s core area of focus is two-fold. She offers continuing education to yoga teachers via her teacher training, weekly podcast, “Let’s Talk Yoga” & her blog. While her yoga studio, Aham Yoga has been offering yoga for the past 9 years to the local community of Redmond, WA.
Arundhati has been voted as one of the top 20 POC yoga teachers of color by Yogawalla. Her work aims to raise the standards of education for yoga teachers. She mentors yoga teachers all over the world on a regular basis and When not teaching or podcasting, Arundhati can be found leading yoga teacher training & group yoga classes online and at Aham Yoga, Seattle. She also guest lectures at other yoga teacher training, likes to blog, runs her BollyWorks dance studio, and champions representation in the yoga world.
Reggie Hubbard
Reggie is the founder/chief serving officer of Active Peace LLC. His yoga and meditation practice has served as a sanctuary of peace and perspective while navigating the stresses of being a black man in the world and serving in pressure-filled jobs at the height of US politics.
Through Active Peace, he offers classes, strategies, and techniques to help others nurture peace of mind, creativity, and equanimity in spirit and physical health – helping people nurture well-being as foundational, rather than an afterthought. Reggie has taught Members of Congress, Congressional Staff, major labor unions, leading corporations, progressive organizations, and individuals from all walks of life – simple tools for managing stress and bringing peace to mind, body, and spirit.
In addition to his yogic and meditative practices (teaching and personal), Reggie has held many senior strategic and logistical roles across a variety of fields, ranging from global marketing, digital and community organizing, government relations, and international education to Presidential campaigning (John Kerry for President, Kerry/Edwards 2004 and Bernie Sanders 2016). He has been a featured speaker and thought leader on political strategy, new consciousness, well-being and social justice, and civic engagement for leading publications, podcasts, and platforms including Be Here Now Network, The Hill, Mind and Life Institute, SoundsTrue Foundation, Upaya Zen Center, Wanderlust, Yoga Alliance, and Yoga Journal.
Heather Sheree Sanders
Heather has produced and directed the annual Sedona Yoga Festival in beautiful Sedona, AZ since 2013, where she has hosted a Yoga for PTSD 20-hour training for yoga teachers annually. She co-created Aumbase Sedona, a multi-disciplinary studio and adventure guide service for yoga on the red rocks. Heather has been a practitioner of yoga since 1996 and studies in the Hatha Tantra tradition and has been certified to teach since 2010. She is passionate about bringing authentic yoga to the globally conscious community across a variety of platforms. Her commitment to building community and offering service in the field of yoga, arts, and consciousness is reflected in decades of community building, community event and festival creation and direction, and program development dedicated to mentorship, civic engagement, and collaboration. E-RYT-200 / YACEP
Johanna Beekman
JOHANNA BEEKMAN (ERYT 500 YACEP ) is a singer/songwriter, producer, and International chant artist, and has served as a pollinator of Bhakti and Yoga circuits for over a decade. Most recently CO-FOUNDER OF BHAKTI LOVE REUNION Festival, During the pandemic she produced an acclaimed international music video and the online One Heart festival, Mantra Sangha Health and Healing, highlighting 24 Bhakti artists, including Krishna Das & other prominent international teachers. She also founded Shakti United USA Festival, Lullaby Yoga, and is a strong advocate for under-represented people, and is a dedicated fundraiser for children’s education in Nepal. During her career as a touring Bhakti troubadour, she has forged friendships throughout the country with yoga studios, interfaith churches, festivals, and musicians. Her body of chant music was recently released by three-time Grammy-winning Be Why Records, also home to Snatam Kaur, Shimshai, and other prominent New Age artists who create music to uplift humanity.
Andrew Ecker
Andrew Ecker author, speaker, coach with an understanding that community is based around people and a principle that communities’ whether business, social or spiritual retain and gain people by meeting needs. Andrew has focused his life on meeting the needs of people and building relationships in the market place of life by focusing on people and relationships. A strong desire to help people connect led Andrew to train with prominent mind/body/wellness and community drum circle facilitators including Arthur Hull who is considered the father of facilitated drumming (www.drumcircle.com/about/arthur-bio.), Christine Stevens, MA MSW (www.ubdrumcircles.com), Dr. Barry Bittman , MD (www.mind-body.org/bittman.html), and Larry Dickson MA, LPC, NCC (www.remo.com/portal/hr/index.html).
Mr. Ecker holds certificates of training completion from “Village Music Circles”, “Health Rhythms Adolescent Protocol” “Health Rhythms Group Empowerment Drumming” and “Health Rhythms Advanced Strategies” protocol – the very first evidenced-based healing modality utilizing recreational music. Andrew has had the honor of working with an expansive group of clients including: “The Havasupai Nation”, “Blue Cross Blue Shield” “Care first Insurance” ““Cancer Treatment Centers of America”, the “Phoenix Zoo”, “City of Phoenix” “City of Mesa” “City of Tempe” “City Gilbert” “Veterans Administration”, “Area Agency on Aging” “Friendship Village” “John C Lincoln Hospital” “Palm Valley Hospital” “Lucidity Music and Arts festival “ . Andrew currently works with diverse clients some of which are Churches, City, State and Federal Governments Non-profits businesses schools, youth and children’s groups. The scope of diversity within the work that Andrew does has led him to unique understanding of group social, spiritual and physical mechanics this understanding has fostered a development of real life skills that transforms any environment that Andrew Chooses to work in.
