Mentors
Biggest takeaway as a cohort 1 grad?
Although I was not a cohort 1 grad, I have never experienced a YTT that offers job opportunities upon graduation. I believe this is an amazing opportunity to assist graduates of a yoga teacher training program the opportunity to obtain employment. Yoga teaching jobs can be a very competitive market and there are not many training programs who assist graduates with entering this market. This is a huge opportunity for graduates to begin utilizing their training and begin to create income, while offering decolonized yoga to a community of marginalized individuals. This makes yoga not only beneficial to our community but also to the graduate.
What Hawai'i means to you?
Hawai'i means peace to me. Coming from the mainland, I have experienced racism, womanizing, and treats to nervous system which I was not able to regulate until I came to Hawai'i. Here I am free, I have peace, and I am at ease. I have experienced more aloha in Hawai'i than I have every experienced anywhere in my whole life. I send aloha to all of those who have not found their peace and have gratitude that I have finally found mine.
What Yoga means to you?
Yoga is the path. The path to ease, the path to awareness, the path around me, through me, and inside me. Without yoga, I am an empty shell. The eight limbs of yoga consistently brings me back to me, so that I can be the best human in this experience called life.
Who should consider joining this cohort?
Individuals who are looking for family should join this cohort, because you gain yoga brothers and sisters. You also gain mentorship and continued support in life and yoga even after the program. If you are seeking to diversify yoga in Hawai'i and offer another being an opportunity to experience ease, if even for a moment, this is the cohort for you!
Jamel Soltau (PKY Teacher)
Keith Okazaki (2022 Grad)
Happily retired local guy leading a simple, peaceful life. Enjoy practicing yoga, giving (and receiving) lomi lomi, growing pakalolo, playing ukulele, going to the beach, reading books, and spending quality tine with my kids and friends. Being a part of PKY's first cohort is one of my greatest experiences, and I'm so honored to be returning as a mentor for PKY's next cohort.
Biggest takeaway
Before PKY, my greatest discomfort with yoga was how haolefied most yoga spaces seemed to be. My biggest takeaway from PKY was learning how to decolonize yoga and honor its South Asian roots, but also figure out how to localize and indigenize my practice in a way I feel is both respectful but also comfortable.
What does Hawaii mean to me?
Hawaii is at the same time both the ancestral and occupied lands of the Kanaka Mauoli, but also my home to a mixed plate of Hawaiian, Haole, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Portuguese, Korean and now even many more ethnic groups and their cultures. If you live in Hawaii, and know how fo get along with yo neighbors, you Local.
What does yoga mean to you?
Yoga means taking care of yourself...body, mind and spirit...so you can take care of others. Yoga means being true to yourself...as long as no one is getting harmed ... so you can live life authentically. Yoga is letting go of all the negative energy that doesn't serve you, so you can make space for all of the positive vibes around you. Yoga is aloha.
Who should join PKY?
PKY is for you if you are looking to make a positive change in your life and the life of others, and are willing to make the investment in time and body, mind and spirit to see the journey through. It is for you if you can arrive with an open mind and open heart, and can share space with love and respect for everybody and every body.
Hi’ilani Pila (2022 Grad)
ʻĀnela Matsuura (2022 Grad)
1. Biggest takeaway as a cohort 1 grad?
My biggest takeaway besides the immense amount of in-depth information about yoga has been the friendships Iʻve made. I still talk to and hang out with friends from my cohort. We have become a close community that supports each other on and off the mat. I have met some of the most wonderful people who have encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone.
2. What does Hawaiʻi mean to you?
Hawaiʻi is my home. It is the most important place for me, which is why my work outside of yoga aims to protect the health of our ʻāina and food systems through education. It is our kuleana to educate the next generation to mālama ʻāina and to advocate for the protection of our lands and waters.
3. What does yoga mean to you?
Yoga has transformed into different things for me. What started as a way to supplement my training for paddling became basically a lifestyle. I have the most wonderful and supportive teachers who helped me develop my own at-home practice. When I got sick, my home practice was what helped me deal with the pain I was feeling. Yoga has now developed into a way that I care for my mental and spiritual health in addition to my physical health.
4. Who should consider joining this cohort?
Anyone interested in learning about yoga beyond just the physical āsana.
