Yoga Day

Keynote, Music & Panelists/Instructors

Keynote Address

Dr. Balaji R, MBBS, MD (AM), FCD, M.Phil (YT), PhD (YT)

Dr. Balaji R is a physician and yoga therapy academic. His work combines conventional medical training with yoga-based therapeutic approaches. He holds an MBBS and an MD in Alternative Medicine. He also holds a Fellowship in Clinical Diabetology (FCD), an M.Phil and a PhD in Yoga Therapy. He has received the titles Yoga Thilakam and Yoga Chikitsa Acharya in recognition of his work in yoga and yoga therapy. He is an Assistant Professor at the School of Yoga Therapy, Institute of Salutogenesis & Complementary Medicine (ISCM), Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (SBV), Pillaiyarkuppam, Pondicherry. There he teaches, mentors students and carries out research on the therapeutic applications of yoga. Alongside his academic role, Dr. Balaji practices clinically. He is Medical Consultant at Mother Care Foundation, a center for alcohol and cannabis de-addiction and rehabilitation in Sedarapet, Pondicherry. He is also Senior Medical Officer at KVR Specialty Hospital, Kottakuppam, Tamil Nadu. Together these roles let him apply integrative, evidence-informed approaches to patient care, including addiction recovery.

Thomas Klepper

Thomas holds an MA from Loyola Marymount University, where he studied English Literature and Creative Writing, alongside advanced training in somatic therapy, yoga therapy, and addiction treatment. His clinical credentials include RYT-500 and E-RYT-200, Yoga Alliance; Holistic Addiction Treatment Professional, Embodied Regulation Therapy certification and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner Candidate (SEP Candidate) He has worked as an independent contractor across multiple mental health and addiction treatment settings in Los Angeles while building his private practice. Additionally, Thomas is a sitarist studying Indian classical music. His interest in raga, musicology, and the relationship between sound and nervous system states informs his sound healing work, including sound baths featuring custom singing bowls tuned to specific ragas alongside sitar, tanpura, and various ethnic instruments. 

Panelists

Francesca Gold 

Francesca Gold's introduction to Yoga was through self-inquiry. Over twenty years later, she continues to pull at this thread. She holds a Master of Arts in Yoga Studies, a clinical Yoga Therapy certification, is the founder and owner of Breathe Ojai Yoga Studio, Gold Yoga School, and is a co-founder of The Vriddhi Foundation, a 501c3 which funds young women's education in rural India. From a recovery lens, she's worked in recovery centers off and on for a decade, has led countless donation based yoga classes and 11th step meetings in her community, and has conducted research on the topic of codependency and empowerment. Study with her in her upcoming 200 hour yoga teacher training beginning in April 2027. She has personal ties to this work and she's delighted to share and learn alongside everyone at LMU'S Yoga Day.

Alison Guerrero

Alison Guerrero is a mother, yoga practitioner, long-distance runner, and longtime member of the LMU community, where she serves on staff in the Athletic Department. She recently completed her M.A. in Yoga Studies at LMU, and her thesis, Sticks in a Bundle: Kinship as a Force for Resilience in Yoga, Jainism, Sikhism, and Ignatian Spirituality, explores how our connection to one another makes us more resilient.

Durga Leela

Durga Leela is an internationally-recognized yoga therapist, educator, and founder of the Yoga of Recovery approach. Durga Leela holds the RYT-500 qualification, having completed both the Sivananda Yoga Teachers Training Course and the Advanced Yoga Training. Durga is a Clinical Ayurvedic and Pancha Karma Specialist, trained both in the US (at CCA) and India and served as the Director of the Ayurveda Programs at the Yoga Farm in California for many years. She is on the faculty of the Sivananda Yoga Health Educator Training (SYHET).
Durga Leela is author of the book Yoga of Recovery: Integrating Yoga & Ayurveda with modern recovery tools for addiction. Yoga of Recovery is a comprehensive program that integrates Ayurveda and Yoga with recovery tools for a holistic mind, body and spirit approach for all those affected by addiction and self-destructive behaviors. It is currently offered as workshops, retreats and certificate courses in the US and internationally.

Bradley Smith

Bradley Smith is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), a Licensed Advanced Alcohol and other Drug Counselor (LAADC), a Certified Addictions Treatment Counselor - Level Four, and the Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) Specialist at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles. At LMU, where he also teaches, he is the Director of the Collegiate Recovery Program, responsible for implementing programs that address Prevention, Early Intervention, Education, and Harm Reduction for SUDs and other toxic relationships.

A board-certified addictions counselor since 2005, Mr. Smith is an expert in Reality Therapy and Choice Theory, a Disaster Mental Health counselor with the American Red Cross, and a psychotherapist in private practice.

Musical Talent

Dakini Miao & The Phoenix Rising

Initiated into esoteric Buddhism and Primordial Wisdom by her Himalayan grandmother, an esoteric Buddhist master, Dakini Yuan Miao bears the venerated Skydancer lineage of Himalayan and celestial masters. Widely considered an emanation of Guanyin Bodhisattva, she will be accompanied by Phoenix Rising, a band of accomplished musicians and sound healers.

Phoenix Rising mantric concerts still the mind, awaken the heart, and invoke our Primordial Nature. An emblem of humanity's resilience and Divine potential, it is the Phoenix that courageously soars beyond illusion to the infinite, propelled by the ashes of human existence. It is said that when the Phoenix once again appears upon the horizon, the world will be peaceful.

Through a combination of Primodial Sound, innate healing energy and sacred mantras, Dakini Yuan Miao and the Phoenix Rising band spontaneously invoke personal and collective healing. We return to the Source as embodiments of pure vibration and the ineffable: emptiness
wisdom.

Born I

Based in Washington, DC, Born I creates at the intersection of hip-hop and mindfulness, blending lyricism, spirituality, and cultural storytelling into a body of work that’s both innovative and deeply human. His influences span Wu-Tang Clan, Ka, André 3000, Alice Coltrane, and Buddhist teachers like Thích Nhất Hạnh, and his music has garnered over 20 million streams worldwide.

Born I’s most recent album, Komorebi (2025), has been hailed by listeners as “a missing piece in hip-hop,” praised for its meditative flow and spiritual depth. The companion book, Lyrical Dharma: Hip-Hop as Mindfulness (Parallax Press), arrives with a foreword by Pulitzer Prize winner Alice Walker, further cementing Born I as a unique voice at the intersection of art and contemplative practice.

A certified meditation teacher, Born I is also the male voice on the Balance app, where his teachings reach millions of listeners daily. He regularly leads retreats, concerts, and hybrid events that weave live hip-hop with meditation and sound baths – including performances at the Kennedy Center, Buddhist Arts & Film Festival, and alongside the monks of Plum Village Monastery.

Instructors

Joe Cadiff

Joe Cadiff, M.A. is a meditation teacher, transformational coach, and graduate of Loyola Marymount University's Master of Arts in Yoga Studies program. His work bridges the wisdom of Buddhist and Yogic philosophy and contemplative practice with practical approaches to personal transformation, emotional resilience, and human flourishing. Joe leads weekly Dharma teachings and meditation sessions at the Hill Street Center in Santa Monica, exploring the nature of mind, the roots of human suffering, and the cultivation of wisdom and compassion. He also serves as a Head Male Coach at Wide Awake Life Coaching,
where he supports young people and families in developing greater self-awareness, inner freedom, and purposeful living. At the heart of his work is a dedication to helping others transcend suffering and awaken to a life of freedom, joy, and compassionate purpose.

Tasheena Medina Chavez

Tasheena Medina is an embodied wellbeing educator, movement artist, speaker, and creator of Intuitive Movement Meditation™ (IMM™), a research-informed approach integrating accessible movement, breath, body awareness, and reflection to cultivate self-awareness, connection, and resilience. Holding a Master of Arts in Yoga Studies from Loyola Marymount University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Theatre, Tasheena brings together contemplative traditions, somatic inquiry, and creative expression. Her work invites participants to move beyond prescribed forms and reconnect with their body's innate capacity for awareness, choice, and intuitive movement. Through workshops, retreats, speaking engagements, and community experiences, she creates inclusive spaces where movement becomes a pathway for personal exploration, embodied
presence, and sustainable wellbeing.

Alex Cline

Born in Los Angeles, where he still resides, Alex Cline, Chân Phật Sơn (True Buddha Mountain), discovered a profound connection to Zen Buddhism while in his late teens but, after a traveling a somewhat circuitous spiritual path, didn’t reconnect with it until decades later, when he encountered the teachings of Thích Nhất Hạnh and became a dedicated student of his. Besides being a lay dharma teacher, Alex is an internationally recognized drummer-percussionist-composer with a career in music spanning fifty years. Alex’s experience in music includes work with some of the most important and creative artists in the jazz and new music worlds as well as numerous projects and recordings presenting his own music, much of it distinctly dharma influenced.

Dana Flynn

Dana Flynn is a “Teachers’ Teacher” with three decades of devotion to yoga as a mentor, community builder, and influential voice. As the heart of New York City’s legendary Laughing Lotus Yoga Center, she helped shape a generation of practitioners. Her joyful, expressive teaching weaves fluid movement, music, breath, and meditation into a practice centered on joy, courage, and freedom.

Sathu Jois

Sathu Jois is an Ashtanga Yoga teacher and dancer from Encinitas, California. Trained by her father, Manju Jois, son of yoga guru Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, she has assisted him on tours across 34 countries. A dancer since age two, she trained in multiple styles and earned a BA in Dance with honors from Loyola Marymount University in 2024. She is pursuing an MA in Yoga Therapy and Philosophy while teaching with compassion and joy. Sathu blends yoga, dance, and activism to create a holistic, expressive practice where students feel valued and free to grow.

Rebecca LaBarge

Rebecca became certified as a yoga instructor last spring through LMU's Lion's Breath teacher
training. She loves practicing yoga as a way to build community, strength, and flexibility. She is
excited to continue to learn and grow in her practice as well as her teaching!

Soundara

Angela Saucedo – Soundara: Angela will lead participants through an immersive journey through sound and consciousness, guided breathwork, movement,
layered soundscapes, evolving rhythmic textures, and synchronized visuals that take participants from grounding to introspection to renewed energy.

Disha Sanjanwala

Disha Sanjanwala holds degrees in Master of Educational Leadership and Post Graduate Diploma in Primary Teaching from the University of Auckland, with teaching experience in Mainstream and Special Education classrooms. Additionally, I have been a team leader and mentor to beginning teachers. I have worked in a special education school in Palo Alto,
California. I am currently the Grade 3 Elementary Head Teacher at Turning Point School in Culver City, Los Angeles, USA. With degrees in Sociology and Film Making, I am passionate about integrating the Arts within the curriculum to make the learning process creatively engaging and fun for my students. Music, dance, drama, visual arts, yoga, meditation and gardening are explored in our learning journey together. I am also a certified Yoga and Meditation teacher, conducted classes and assisted with yoga and meditation teacher trainings and workshops.

Utkarsh Sanjanwala

Yogiraj Utkarsh Sanjanwala is a Los Angeles–based master yoga and meditation teacher, Founder of the Venice Yoga Festival and CEO of the World Yoga Federation. A direct disciple of Sri Swami Vidyanand, he was trained in the traditional Guru–Shishya parampara and is dedicated to sharing authentic yoga and meditation with diverse communities. His experience includes teaching yoga and meditation at Stanford University, presenting at TEDx, collaborating with the Consulate General of India in Los Angeles, and serving as an award-winning lecturer at Unitec Institute of Technology in New Zealand. Through the World Yoga Federation and Meditation Alliance International, he promotes inclusive, trauma-informed wellness education, with a particular passion for supporting neurodiverse learners through yoga, meditation, and life-skills development.

Melissa Townsend

Welcome! I'm Melissa Townsend, an Artist, Author, Psychic & Astrologer, and I live in San Francisco with my husband, Gordon, and my son, Jesse. 

I’ve been a practitioner of Yoga for over 35 years, I’ve studied Sanskrit for over 15 years, and I now teach the language to others. I’ve also translated the Yoga Sutras, which I’ve been working with via painting the sutras, since 2011. My paintings, translations, and commentary of the Yoga Sutras, Book One and Book Two, have been published in full-color, soft-bound books.

You might also know me from my YouTube videos on Astrology and the Tarot, or from my artwork, including my Tarot decks.

So what’s the unifying force behind all of this? Well, Everything that I do is the product of asking and trying to answer those age-old questions, the ones that push us onto the spiritual path, “Who am I?” and “Why am I here?” All of this is a way to engage with each other, as we all ask and try to answer those questions.