Hersha Chellaram

Hersha Chellaram is an award-winning yoga therapist, teacher trainer, and non-profit leader, pioneering inclusivity and wellbeing in Hong Kong. She has over 20 years experience teaching yoga to a wide range of ages and abilities, in both studio and community settings. She is the founder and Executive Director of YAMA Foundation, a charity that makes yoga, art, and meditation accessible to Hong Kong’s most vulnerable communities. Under Hersha’s leadership, YAMA was awarded Accessible Yoga Organisation of the Year 2020. She also runs Hersha Yoga School of Teacher Training, offering classes, professional development and teacher trainings in Asia, Europe and the US, at education and healthcare settings, as well as studios, centres and global conferences. Her expertise is simple: making yoga accessible and inclusive to people with limited mobility, disability, special needs and chronic illness. Her approach is trauma-informed and culturally sensitive to be inclusive to people of diverse backgrounds and needs. Hersha advocates for disability rights, equality and equity in wellbeing spaces, and recently starred in three-time Emmy nominated show Oddbods in their Busy Bodies children’s wellbeing series. Honours and awards include: Liv Magazine’s 100 Women of Wellness: Change Maker 2021, 20 Yoga Teachers of Colour to Watch in 2020, and the 2014 Women of Hope Award: Children’s Advocate. (hershayoga.com / yamahk.org)