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Maya Breuer, RYT-500, is a modern day Yogini and teacher of Hatha Yoga and Pranayama. She received her certification at the Kripalu Center in MA, where she studied with Amrit Desai, and she also studied extensively at the Kripalu ashram in India. She is the founder and director of the Santosha School of Yoga in RI. Maya combines the classical traditions of yoga with her life experience to create a feminine-sacred approach to practice.

A teacher and practitioner of yoga for 25 years, Maya is a senior Kripalu Yoga teacher, a contributing author to Stephen Cope’s Will Yoga & Meditation Really Change My Life?, and Kripalu Yoga Practice A Guide to Practice on and off the Mat, by Richard Faulds. Maya has completed and will soon release her first book, Soul Yoga. She lectures on topics related to health and wellness, has written varied feature articles, and is a contributing writer for the New England Informer. She is the creator and director of the Yoga Retreat for Women of Color, and her dream is that someday in every minority community, there is a yoga teacher of color. She is an Affiliate Teacher of the International Yoga College.
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Initially, she was introduced to Yoga at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in MA when it served also as an Ashram to Amrit Desai. After obtaining certification under Amrit Desai, she traveled along with him and other Kripalu teachers to the Kripalu Ashram in Khayavroahan village of Gujarat India, Home of Kripalu’s namesake Bapuji. In India, at the Lakulish School she studied Hatha Yoga, Bhakti Yoga Shat Kriyas , How to perform the ritual of Prayer, and Dhun Chanting. The world of India, the contentment of the people, the spiritual nature of its people and the ancient vibe of yoga truly astonished and affected her life deeply altering her basic philosophies of life.

She learned to live in the moment and be grateful for all that she had. When she returned to the United States her very average size home felt palatial and my meager yoga teacher’s income seemed excessive.  Although life in India was quite challenging for all (dwellers and travelers alike) she came to appreciate and cherish the simple yet profound life styles of the villagers in Khayavroahan and have adopted this simple approach to living even today.

Her in-depth study of yoga and living the life of a Yogini in an ancient village of Khayavroahan, inspired her and brought her to know the stillness, beauty, grace, joy, sweet sorrow and complexity of Yoga. She will be forever grateful for the gift of her time in India. Today, her yoga Sadhana and teaching of others emanates from that source. 

Her life experiences as an African American woman living in these United States has been the impetus behind her desire and work to reach out and introduce yoga and its benefits to many people.  One of her goals is to educate people of color about the myriad benefits of yoga and to initiate opportunities for them to learn to teach and practice Yoga. Her dream is to have a Yoga Teacher of Color in every minority community within this country.

She is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Kripalu Center, and initiated and co-created the Kripalu Outreach for Diversity Program. She was the director of the first national Yoga Retreat for Women of Color in 1999, and more than 400 women of color (African American, Native American, Hispanic, African, Bi racial, Portuguese, East Indian) have attended the retreat offered at the Kripalu Center.  She has also worked with the Kripalu community co-creating opportunities for minority men and women to become Certified Teachers of Yoga.