Meet our lead organizers!
Farah Nousheen
Raquel Andrea González Madrigal
Raquel Andrea González Madrigal
Founder and Yoga Instructor
Ever since a young age, I have always wanted to belong and learn within a spiritual community. I am thankful for the various communities that allowed me to explore and seek my truths. Through these experiences, I have been able to formulate my needs, values, and desires.. First and foremost, I realized that fo
Founder and Yoga Instructor
Ever since a young age, I have always wanted to belong and learn within a spiritual community. I am thankful for the various communities that allowed me to explore and seek my truths. Through these experiences, I have been able to formulate my needs, values, and desires.. First and foremost, I realized that for me to feel true belonging, the community must center social justice and that it be radically diverse. (read more here).
Raquel Andrea González Madrigal
Raquel Andrea González Madrigal
Raquel Andrea González Madrigal
Critical Reading Circle Facilitator.
Hi everyone, my name is Raquel. I am a Critical Ethnic Studies scholar, an Intersectional feminist, and Mexican-American/Chicana in solidarity with Indigenous life and sovereignty of First Nations peoples everywhere. My pronouns are she and her. I use my background in Critical and Comparative Ethnic S
Critical Reading Circle Facilitator.
Hi everyone, my name is Raquel. I am a Critical Ethnic Studies scholar, an Intersectional feminist, and Mexican-American/Chicana in solidarity with Indigenous life and sovereignty of First Nations peoples everywhere. My pronouns are she and her. I use my background in Critical and Comparative Ethnic Studies, Critical Latinx/Indigeneities and Critical Indigenous Studies to research the work being done and interventions taking place in American Buddhism and modern yoga (read more here).
Pamela Hong
Raquel Andrea González Madrigal
Pamela Hong
Yoga Instructor
I am Chinese (third generation Chinese American) and my pronouns are she and her. I collaborate each week with one or two other teachers regarding the sequencing and pace of the gathering. Sometimes we have a theme and other times we improvise, each guiding a portion of the class. My teaching career began in 2003 in Albuqu
Yoga Instructor
I am Chinese (third generation Chinese American) and my pronouns are she and her. I collaborate each week with one or two other teachers regarding the sequencing and pace of the gathering. Sometimes we have a theme and other times we improvise, each guiding a portion of the class. My teaching career began in 2003 in Albuquerque. Classes tended to be pretty homogenous within the studios, health clubs and offices where I taught (read more here).
nova Lira-Pérez
Demetrius McClendon, who also goes by Joy
nova Lira-Pérez
Organizer of the silent hour sit on Zoom, every Thursday
My name is Nova and I serve as one of many organizers behind Meditation for People of Color. For the 2020 year, I will be leading the Thursday sits via Zoom. The radical imagination I am (re)discovering within self & community is ever-evolving, something like a pluriverse. It is inhe
Organizer of the silent hour sit on Zoom, every Thursday
My name is Nova and I serve as one of many organizers behind Meditation for People of Color. For the 2020 year, I will be leading the Thursday sits via Zoom. The radical imagination I am (re)discovering within self & community is ever-evolving, something like a pluriverse. It is inherently tied to a relational worldview: one that is queer, political, and knows no limits.
Nova Lira-Pérez is a life long student. Their roots are planted in the Mexican immigrant communities in Wyoming and San Simeón Xipetzinco, México (read more here).
Mayam Garris
Demetrius McClendon, who also goes by Joy
nova Lira-Pérez
Organizer of the silent hour sit on Tuesdays
Greetings! My name is Mayam and my pronouns are they/them. I identify as a black queer agender plant lover and earth worker. I work with land, plants and animals for a living and see myself as deeply connected to my practice as it informs my positionality and spirit. What brings joy to my heart
Organizer of the silent hour sit on Tuesdays
Greetings! My name is Mayam and my pronouns are they/them. I identify as a black queer agender plant lover and earth worker. I work with land, plants and animals for a living and see myself as deeply connected to my practice as it informs my positionality and spirit. What brings joy to my heart is tending to land and tending to community. Tending to community in movement and in stillness! As a new member to the Yoga for POC Sangha, I am excited to be facilitating Tuesday’s Silent Hour Sit from 5:30-6:30 (read more here).
Demetrius McClendon, who also goes by Joy
Demetrius McClendon, who also goes by Joy
Demetrius McClendon, who also goes by Joy
Organizer of the silent hour sit on Zoom
Yoga POC Sangha feels like a beautiful home: a space that nurtures and supports my wholeness; a spiritual center where i can fine tune with community creative possibilities that enable our optimal, holistic well-being (Ancestor Maya Angelou helped us understand the mission is to THRIVE!). In a world
Organizer of the silent hour sit on Zoom
Yoga POC Sangha feels like a beautiful home: a space that nurtures and supports my wholeness; a spiritual center where i can fine tune with community creative possibilities that enable our optimal, holistic well-being (Ancestor Maya Angelou helped us understand the mission is to THRIVE!). In a world where set systems feed on hopelessness and despair, it is imperative for BIPOC to have tools, like yoga and meditation, that help us remember who we truly are and what is available to us (read more here).
Rebeccah Lyles
Marcus Trujillo
Marcus Trujillo
Field Trip Organizer
I am Rebeccah and field trips are an opportunity to share safe and fun experiences together! I keep a lookout for relevant activities that we can attend and coordinate as a yoga for people of color sangha. I also plan and organize overnight camping trips and hiking meet ups, and any other outings related to Yoga POC Sa
Field Trip Organizer
I am Rebeccah and field trips are an opportunity to share safe and fun experiences together! I keep a lookout for relevant activities that we can attend and coordinate as a yoga for people of color sangha. I also plan and organize overnight camping trips and hiking meet ups, and any other outings related to Yoga POC Sangha’s mission and values about overall wellness, and spiritual and social justice (read more here)!
Marcus Trujillo
Marcus Trujillo
Marcus Trujillo
Yoga POC Sangha Prayer Facilitator
Hello everyone, my name is Marcus Trujillo (He/His) and I am from the Pueblo of Laguna. My mother is an Indigenous/Native American woman from the Pueblo of Laguna and my Father is a Hispanic man from Taos, New Mexico. My village affiliations are with Paraje and Seama village but I am currently living in A
Yoga POC Sangha Prayer Facilitator
Hello everyone, my name is Marcus Trujillo (He/His) and I am from the Pueblo of Laguna. My mother is an Indigenous/Native American woman from the Pueblo of Laguna and my Father is a Hispanic man from Taos, New Mexico. My village affiliations are with Paraje and Seama village but I am currently living in Albuquerque. I am an intern for Yoga POC Sangha for this 2020 spring semester, which will be starting on January 21st (read more here).