Teacher Bios

Speakers

A confident man in a gray suit and blue tie standing outdoors.

Gerard Vargas

Gerard Vargas is the co-founder of “The Legacy Mastery Academy” where he develops hands-on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum for students and training for educators. He is also the founder of “Level 10 Learning” which offers mindset mastery courses and training for individuals and organizations. He has extensive experience as a high school science teacher, instructional coach, teacher trainer, professor at Loyola Marymount University, and Mindset Trainer giving “mindset makeovers” to low-income families and high-need students with extreme behavioral and academic challenges.
Gerard helped Animo Leadership Charter High School become the 23rd best high school in the United States in 2009 according to The US News and World Report, earning him the Teacher of the Year award by the prestigious Sigma Xi association.

Joline McKnight

Joline is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and embodiment/dance teacher in Irvine California. With over 10 years of experiences supporting individuals and couples, Joline blends her clinical training in Somatic Attachment Therapy with embodiment practices to bring a more holistic/body-based approach that goes deeper than traditional talk therapy.
Being a DV survivor, Joline is passionate about healing relationships and trauma. In her one-on-one work and group containers, she guides clients to not only foster more mindful/conscious ways of relating, but also experience greater sense of aliveness and wholeness. In her spare time, you might find Joline sampling different coffee shops or taking trips with her husband and two kids.

Jasmine Alise

Jasmine is a multidisciplinary wellness practitioner with almost 10 years of experience supporting individuals, teams, and communities through mindfulness, emotional regulation, and intentional elevation. Her approach blends evidence-informed practices, trauma-informed care, and human-centered facilitation, creating spaces where participants feel safe, supported, and empowered to reset, reflect, and reconnect. As a medicine woman, community advocate, threshold guide, and birth and death doula, she guides participants through life’s transitions using culturally rooted, embodied practices. Jasmine speaks and leads in diverse settings, helping audiences navigate uncertainty, honor endings, and step into new chapters with clarity and intention.

Molli Burkett

Molli is a trauma-informed Somatic Coach who helps people break free from family and cultural conditioning and reconnect with the deepest essence of who they truly are. Rooted in the Greek concept of Soma—the body in its wholeness—her work guides clients back into the body’s innate intelligence, the place where real healing unfolds and where spiritual connection becomes fully accessible.
She supports individuals in understanding the patterns and stories held within the body’s tissues and cells, especially those shaped by family dysfunction, conditioning, or trauma. Through somatic integration and parts-based work, clients rediscover who they are beneath survival strategies and return to a felt sense of comfort, truth, and home within themselves.
Molli has trained with many of the leading voices in trauma and somatics, including Gabor Maté, Arielle Schwartz, Richard Schwartz, David Bedrick, Peter Levine, Jonice Webb, and others. She believes healing isn’t about fixing what’s broken, but remembering who we were before the world told us who to be.

Alice Moon

Alice Moon is a sound bath facilitator, publicist and marketing professional based in Los Angeles, California. She has 14 years of experience in social media, 9 years of public relations experience, and one year experience in hosting sound baths. Her monthly sound baths have over 50+ attendees each month and continuously sell out thanks to her marketing tactics. From social media postings to unique collaborations, Alice uses a multitude of ways to get new clients through the door.

Dru Ali & Evelyn of Sacred Liiight

Sacred Liiight is a collaboration between Evelyn of Sacred Healing Sessions and Dru Ali of Liiightspace—a global grassroots movement exploring the future of healing arts and nature-based technologies. Since 2017, they have shared their offerings at festivals including Bhakti Fest, Big Bear Yoga Festival, Joshua Tree Music Festival, Sedona Yoga Festival, Serenity Gathering, and SamsaraFest, weaving together modalities such as Ajna Light Therapy, Ecstatic Dance, Holy Fire® Reiki, Human Design, Kundalini Yoga, and Vibrational Sound Therapy. Serving as a ministry of light and sound, Sacred Liiight creates modern ceremonial spaces where people gather in community to experience immersive transformational sessions that restore nervous system coherence, awaken inner clarity, and help us remember the light that lives within us all.

Troy Harris

Troy W. Norris is a Harvard-trained scientist, published researcher, and founder of the WellBalance Institute for Positive Wellbeing. A certified life, health and wellness coach, Troy created the WellBalance Model to bring science-backed wellbeing practices such as these for mindset positivity into people’s lives, relationships and workplaces. Troy’s research has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at leading scientific conferences. Troy developed the WellBalance Method while navigating his own path from burnout and breakdown to fulfillment and flourishing.

Smiling woman with long hair wearing a white sleeveless top against a beige background.

Mia Humphreys

Mia Humphreys holds a Master of Arts in Business Administration from Pepperdine University and brings several years of experience in the financial industry. She currently serves as the Administrative Director of two companies she co-owns with her husband Behavioral Autism Therapies and Special Needz Coffee both dedicated to spreading
awareness, acceptance, and inclusion within the autism community. Beyond her professional endeavors, Mia is also a talented singer-songwriter who performs under the pseudonym, Mia Mahal. In September 2022. she releasec her debut
album Back to Me, which is available on all major music platforms.
Most recentiy Mia became certified in Sound Healing, a practice that allows her to merge her pession tor music with the healing arts. She leads weekly Sound Baths at KIN Unified Healing in Walnut and frequently participates in special events that benefit the autism and mental health communities. Her goal is to help inspire and heal others through the power of music/sound.

Smiling woman with wavy hair and hoop earrings in a colorful top.

Mayra Rath

Mayra Rath Is a leader in the Past Life Regression Therapy modality, having regressed thousands of global clients, over the last 25 years. Her Hypnosis practice, Soul Signs Hypnosis is in Los Angeles, where she conducts both in-person and online remote sessions globally. In her practice she offers Past Life regression Therapy, QHHT Hypnosis and Life Between Lives Hypnosis.
Past Life Regression Therapy has gained a reputation for its incredible healing abilities. It can offer insights and benefits such as resolving emotional or physical issues, clearing fears, releasing trauma, resolving karmic relationships and understanding recurring patterns or behaviors that are limiting you today.
You can enjoy listening to her sessions on her social media @SoulSignsHypnosis and her PODCAST *Past Lives with Mayra Rath* on your favorite podcast platform.

Melissa Campos

Melissa Campos is a co-founder of MARs Whealthness, LLC, serving as an education consultant and mindfulness practitioner with two decades of experience in integrative wellness. Her path began as a personal journey to navigate chronic physical pain through nutrition and yoga—an experience that ignited her passion for holistic health and emotional regulation.
Melissa’s background is uniquely multifaceted, spanning a professional career in education from early childhood to higher education, alongside her work as an Intervention Counselor. This diverse experience allows her to support individuals of all ages and stages of life with a deeply empathetic and grounded approach. Her mission is dedicated to creating safe, supportive, and creative spaces where participants can explore their inner wisdom and cultivate lasting well-being through the intentional use of sound, breath, and movement.

Ciara Titus

Ciara is a medium who works for the Ascended Masters: Jesus, Mother Mary, and Kuan Yin to relay their guidance, advice, and wisdom to help enlighten people about the afterlife. She uses a combination of her advanced spiritual gifts to connect with angels, spirit guides, and passed loved ones to deliver healing messages and proof of life beyond the veil.
Ciara works as a Hospice Chaplain, providing spiritual care and counseling to persons at the end of life and their families.
She earned a Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling: Theology from Liberty University and achieved Board Certification with the National Association of Catholic Chaplains. She is also a Usui Reiki Master, trained at Huntington Beach Reiki. She continues her advanced studies with Master Channeler Oracle Maureen.
Ciara lives in Orange County, California.

Payal Patel

Payal Patel is the founder of Mindful Interiors by Payal, where she blends holistic interior design with energy work to help people feel supported by the very place they live. For more than 10 years, Payal has been devoted to her personal and spiritual growth, studying and experiencing firsthand how inner transformation is mirrored in the energy of the home.
With a background in holistic interior design, Reiki & Atomic Energy Healing, manifestation practices, and intuitive interior design, Payal specializes in helping you reset the emotional and energetic imprint of your home, especially during life transitions such as burnout, relationship shifts, moves, or personal growth.
Her work is built on a simple but powerful idea: your home is not just where you live. It shapes how you think, feel, and move through the world every day.
Through workshops, personal energy clearings, and her ebook on resetting the energy of your home, Payal shows you that your home is not just where you live — it’s an active participant in your well-being and your future.

Woman with glasses smiling on a beach with waves in the background.

Whitnee Verdi

Whitnee Verdi is the founder of Verdi Health and Wellness and Verdi Apothecary, and is retired from public education after more than 30 years of service. Her extensive background in education deeply informs her work in mindfulness, wellness, and personal growth, shaping a grounded and accessible approach that meets people where they are.
Through Verdi Health and Wellness, Whitnee supports individuals and communities through mindfulness-based workshops, guided experiences, and tools designed to promote emotional regulation, self-awareness, and resilience. Verdi Apothecary was created as a natural extension of this work, offering handcrafted products that support calm, grounding, and intentional living.
Whitnee is also the author of multiple mindfulness journals and the empath guidebook Dance with the Wind, written to support empaths and highly sensitive people navigating an increasingly intense and demanding world. Her work blends education, lived experience, and practical tools to create supportive spaces where people feel seen, empowered, and better equipped to navigate both inner and outer challenges.

A woman in a bright pink dress smiling outdoors near trees.

Tesha Smith

Tesha Smith is a certified Breath Work, Tai-Chi, Sound Bath and Yoga Teacher and has been helping others be well for over 8 years. She has been featured in the LA TImes as one of the top Soundbaths, been a keynote speaker twice at the Mindfulness Expo and has several Fortune 500 clients including Savage Fenty, Fabletics, The US Federal Reserve Bank, Liquid IV, L’Oréal , Black Women for Wellness Collective and more.
With a degree in Psychology her love for the human psyche, the mind and ancient healing practices inform her teachings and techniques. She found meditation when she started experiencing feelings of anxiety and depression. She searched for ways to feel better and was able to heal herself and others with the power of movement and sound.
Helping change a person’s sadness to happiness brings her so much joy, and using her gifts to change the frequency of the world - one person at a time - is what matters most to her.

A smiling woman with blonde hair wearing a black blazer and pink top.

Tammy Gibson

Tammy Gibson is a transformational speaker, writer, and the founder of Tough Like Tammy, a movement that helps women rise with boldness, faith, and presence after life throws them off course.
After surviving a life-altering illness that nearly took her life and led to the amputation of her leg, Tammy rebuilt more than her body, she reclaimed her voice, her purpose, and her mission. Now, she helps other women do the same.
Tammy’s story-driven keynotes are known for their emotional depth, faith-rooted wisdom, and practical tools that stay with audiences long after the applause. She speaks from lived experience, not just theory, delivering a message that’s raw, real, and transformational.
Whether on corporate stages, leadership panels, or faith-based events, Tammy challenges women to stop shrinking from their story and start leading with the strength they’ve earned.

Meagan Hopper

Meagan Hopper Leadership Consultant | TEDx Speaker | Wellness Coach Meagan Hopper bridges the gap between the grit of NYC construction and the magic of Disney leadership. As a former Project Manager overseeing $500M budgets and a leader at The Walt Disney Company for nearly a decade, she understands the cost of high pressure.
Now, as the founder of HiVis Hoodie and an AFSA-certified Health & Wellness Coach, she teaches high achievers how to succeed without sacrificing their health. She blends neuroscience, improv, and holistic practices to help leaders build resilience and authentic connection.

Woman wearing a white hooded cloak with long black hair.

Uri Moon Priestess

Uri is a highly intuitive channel and a skilled clinical hypnotherapist who has received certifications in various modalities such as RTT, past-life regression, breath-work, and CHEK holistic lifestyle practices. She is also a Universal Tao Instructor and ceremonialist. Her heart-opening sessions and ceremonies help individuals access divine wisdom from their past, the astral realm, and multi-dimensional space, guiding them towards healing.
After feeling unfulfilled as a fashion consultant in Los Angeles, Uri asked God to reveal her true calling. During a deep meditation 15 years ago, she had a profound spiritual encounter with God that transported her physical body and soul to another dimension. In this otherworldly space, angels and demons fought for her soul's rebirth. Guided to help others heal, Uri pursued the study of various holistic health modalities, became a CHEK holistic health practitioner, and began working with natural elements, herbs, superfoods, tapping into the subconscious mind, and ancient healing techniques. She has traveled to sacred sites, including the Amazon rainforest and the High Andes, in search of peace and discovered that the most powerful way of achieving deep healing is through reprogramming the subconscious mind, healing from past wounds, and participating in celestial ceremonies.
Uri spent the last three years heavily practicing in Sedona, working with individuals and couples who traveled from all over the world to seek healing. Now located in Los Angeles, she continues to help more people through group workshops and ceremonies.

Smiling woman with a heart-shaped pendant necklace and white top.

Gaia Mariani

Gaia is the founder of Well & Whole – Yoga Therapy, Sound Healing & Reiki, a heart-centered wellness space in Los Angeles devoted to nervous system regulation and meaningful transformation. Through yoga therapy, somatic practices, healing sound, and Reiki, she guides people in releasing stress, restoring emotional balance, and reconnecting with the wisdom and peace of the heart. Gaia’s teaching blends ancient healing frameworks like the 5 elements with modern mindfulness to create grounded, uplifting experiences.

Shaman Isabella Stoloff

I began my Shaman path in 2006 and since that time have been assisting my clients in creating a high vibrational life for themselves and their families. As an empath, I understand what it means to be sensitive to the energy around me. Using a variety of ancient healing techniques from the Andes mountains and Amazon jungle, I am able to help you let go of the past so you can learn to trust your intuition and follow your path. Chakra balancing, Soul retrieval along with spiritual mentoring as well as house blessings and ceremonies are included in my healing work. Guiding my clients on spiritual journeys/tours to connect with the Chakras associated with the planet brings me much joy.
I look forward to assisting you in growing your spiritually, and feeling confident in your being.
“I humbly understand that spirit works through me to assist you in remembering your light. I find that assisting others in raising their vibration is key to the evolution of the planet. I am grateful for all of my experiences and enjoy teaching others to do the same. Gratitude is one of the highest vibrational words we have.”
~Shaman Isabella

A woman with medium-length brown hair, wearing a white suit and top

Michelle Zarrin

Michelle Zarrin is the founder of The Mindfulness Expo. A long time meditator, the world of mindfulness is one that is very dear to her. She is also the author of “From My Heart to Yours: Based on a True Story.” She has also been featured in Forbes, Bustle and LAist.com.

Yoga Instructors

Francisco Lagos

My journey as a healer began over 15 years ago and has taken me across continents — from studying Thai Massage in the sacred temples of Thailand, to learning Ayurvedic medicine in the Himalayas of India, to offering wellness retreats around the world. I’ve walked the paths of ancient healing, learning not just techniques, but traditions rooted in spirit, nature, and deep listening.
I specialize in therapeutic bodywork that integrates massage, energy healing, herbalism, nutrition, and the wisdom of the doshas. Each session I offer is guided by intuition, experience, and a deep respect for the body’s innate ability to heal. I teach yoga, lead workshops, and share tools for emotional and energetic balance — helping others return to themselves.

Confident woman with wavy hair and a subtle smile in a black sleeveless top.

Kay Abdullah

Kay is known for her approachability, humor, and ability to empower her students. It all began with a low back injury that led to a class in a yoga studio, and slowly blossomed into a transformational experience, a thirst for knowledge, and focus on health and wellness through the vast practice of yoga.

Kristen Banner

Kristen Banner is a yoga instructor, breathwork facilitator, and meditation guide known for creating powerful, heart-centered experiences that support transformation from the inside out. With a background as a former gymnast, she brings a distinctive blend of strength, grace, and intentional movement to her teaching balancing athletic precision with mindful awareness.
At events and retreats, Kristen curates immersive experiences that invite participants to slow down, tune in, and reconnect. Through thoughtfully sequenced movement, conscious breathwork, and grounding moments of stillness, she creates a space that feels both energizing and deeply restorative.
Kristen’s philosophy centers on the harmony of strength and softness. She encourages students to move with purpose, listen inward, and cultivate presence both on and off the mat. Her intention is for every participant to leave feeling supported, empowered, and inspired with a renewed sense of clarity, embodiment, and connection.

Sotantar Suraj

Sotantar is an E-RYT 500, YACEP Yoga teacher. He is a widely recognized Gong Avatar Teacher, Kundalini Yoga Teacher and Trainer. He is a co-founder of Jupiter Yoga and the founder and creator of Gong Avatar Academy. Sotantar is dedicated to bring Strength Awareness, Honor to All. His passion is teaching Gong Avatars, Kundalini Yoga, Tantra and bringing the healing and transforming sounds of the Gong to the world. He enjoys giving Gong Sessions, Personal Counseling, Meditation and Healing Planet Gong Concerts to celebrate oneness, peace, love and joy which is our natural state.

Gian Shakti

Gian Shakti is an E-RYT 500 and YACEP-certified yoga teacher with a deep commitment to holistic healing and spiritual growth. She is a Certified Kundalini Yoga Instructor, Yoga Teacher Trainer, Gong Avatar Trainer, Reiki Master in the Usui Reiki tradition, Access Bars Facilitator, and a skilled sound healing and meditation guide.
As the founder of Jupiter Yoga, Gian Shakti offers transformative practices that integrate movement, breath, sound, and energy work. She is also the designer and creator behind Devi Tala Designs, a line of healing and empowering jewelry crafted with intention to support spiritual connection and personal radiance.
Through her unwavering dedication to sadhana (daily spiritual practice), Gian Shakti continually refines her own energy, allowing her to show up as a clear and radiant guide. She lovingly describes herself as a “forklift” for her students—lifting them up with grace, light, and authenticity.
Whether teaching yoga, sharing sound medicine, or guiding energy healing, Gian Shakti creates sacred space for transformation, alignment, and empowerment.

Bryan Baker

Bryan Baker is a Long Beach born and raised multi-instrumentalist, composer, & producer. Recognized locally for his transcendent flute performance and saxophone artistry, Bryan Baker's recent collaborative flute remix of "Wisdom of Kindness" by Liquid Mind has amassed over 12 million streams on Amazon Music. Drawing inspiration from a myriad of influences, from jazz to world music, Bryan Baker's original compositions are a testament to his eclectic tastes and his unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of musical creativity. His music is an immersive experience of the unhurried tranquility of meditation with the spontaneous allure of jazz improvisation.

The San Diego Voice and Sound Collective and Swirl of Sound present
Sonic Wisdom Sound Meditation

Nicole Turner is an international Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider (YACEP) with 2000+ hours of teaching and 1000+ hours of certifications and trainings from the US, Australia, and Indonesia in various wellness modalities and grew up playing instruments in schools bands. She is deeply passionate about helping people feel better and let go of thoughts, words, actions and sensations that are not serving, so they can regulate their nervous systems, and embody their true state of being in...peace, freedom, and love. When this happens, she believes all living things, including this planet will benefit. She specializes in private and corporate wellness supporting individuals and groups, and collaborates with other teachers, facilitators, and wellness experts that are on a mission to make this world a better place. Website: http://www.nicoleturneryoga.com
Camille Ray is an intuitive empath who has a private Reiki and sound healing practice in Carlsbad. After witnessing the personal transformation possible with 1-2-1 energy therapy and sound healing, she felt compelled to branch out with group sound baths in 2023. She has a passion for helping people evolve through energy therapy and music. Website: https://sikarahealing.com
Bob Grimmick is one of the founding members of the sound healing group Swirl Of Sound, Bob shares his heart and special talents as a sound practitioner to provide a powerful sound journey to transport the mind, body and soul into deep relaxation and tranquility. After his initial training Bob completed additional certifications and workshops in multiple sound healing instruments with trainings in India, Nepal, Canada and multiple states in the USA. He is passionate about the benefits of sound healing to quiet the mind, calm the body, and restore the soul. His creative nature also transforms a room with unique lighting and tapestries to provide a relaxed atmosphere well before the sound journey begins. Website: https://swirlofsound.com
Cindy Cuccia is a certified Reiki 1 & 2 Master and completed her integrative Sound Healing Training with 'Wah' through Sacred Sound of the Soul in 2021. She has always had a passion for helping others and is truly blessed to be a sound practitioner with the group 'Swirl of Sound'. She loves the sound healing holistic approach that helps people restore balance to their energy fields at a physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual level.

Dorian, Neosoul Artist

Dorian is an LA-based singer-songwriter & yoga aficionado. He won LA yoga studios over with Dorian's Live Neosoul & Yoga – a fusion of his conscious, live, feel good neosoul music you can groove to by underscoring yoga flows with his live music. He creates concert-style yoga experiences complete with freestyle dance breaks and unplugged segments where he speaks about the inspiration behind his songs.
Dorian's presented at South Los Angeles Pride, The Mammoth Yoga Festival, DrishtiBeats Yoga & Music Fest, Teton Yoga Festival, The Big Bear Yoga Festival, Soul Long Beach Yoga Fest, Grand Park/ LA Music Center, Soul & Unity Yoga Fest, Bull City Yoga Fest and more. He's been featured in LA YOGA MAGAZINE, YOGA MAGAZINE UK and on platforms curated by Yoga International, National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) and The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) via GLAAD HANGOUTS (interviewed by The Art of Letting Go Podcast ). He completed his Social Justice-Based Yoga Teacher Training at The Tree Yoga COOP in South Central Los Angeles. He's a 200HR Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) with Yoga Alliance.
Dorian's essay “My Own Hero, Healing My Inner Black Gay Child” is featured in the book: Embodied Resilience Through Yoga: 30 Powerful Essays About Finding Empowerment After Addiction, Trauma, Grief and Loss (authored by Melanie C. Klein, et al) released via The Yoga & Body Image Coalition"
Dorian holds an MFA in Acting from University of California, San Diego. He's a member of SAG/ AFTRA and Guest-starred in a 5 episode arc on the final season of the hit TV show ER and CSI: LAS VEGAS.

The Mindfulness expo was an exciting and successful event that I was honored to be part of last year. I was impressed with how well organized and well marketed it was. The planning was meticulous and everything flowed superbly. There were so many people attending both the lectures that were going on back to back and in the exhibitor hall. I am looking forward to this annual event in Orange County! Thank you Michelle for creating this fun event, t I have no doubt that it will grow and grow!

Smiling middle-aged woman with dark hair and pearl earrings.

Ajita Patel

A day of mindfulness. What a wonderful tournout and energy! All I kept hearing was hot great all the workshops were, and how they couldn’t wait for the next expo! I’ll be applying for next year myself.

Smiling woman with long black hair against a textured background.

Karla Amador

It was a joy and honour to be part of the inaugural Mindfulness Expo. Michelle created a varied and quality line up, the participants were engaged and the whole experience was lovey.

Smiling woman outdoors with sunlight and greenery in the background.

Cassandra Carlopio

It was such a wonderful experience to teach at the very first year at The Mindfulness Expo! The outpour of support from the students was heart warming and so welcoming. I look forward to the journey of this event growing each year and watching how it touches so many peoples lives. The more we can all share our spiritual tools the greater this world will be. What a blessing you are to create such a beautiful space for transformation and healing!

Smiling woman with blonde hair in outdoor setting.

Lisa Vitta