Our Teachers

Redefining Yoga

At Vira Bhava Yoga, our teachers are trailblazers and industry disruptors, working to redefine yoga as a path of reconnection and integration with the innate essence that exists both within and around us. They embrace and teach that yoga is not confined to the mat—it is a way of being that permeates every aspect of life, exactly as it is.

We believe that Yoga isn’t something you do—it’s who you are at your core. The practice of yoga serves as a tool to help you remember and reconnect with that truth, building the confidence to live authentically and fully aligned with your essence.

 

Kelly Golden

E-RYT 500

Kelly is the Founder of Vira Bhava Yoga, and a lifetime practitioner of Yoga. She began practicing Yoga in 1994 and teaching in 2002. She leads teacher training all over the US that emphasizes the power and capacity of each individual student to develop their own voice, trust their own path, and share Yoga as a power, rather than the perfection of asana (postures).

She is a former student and certified teacher of ParaYoga, and currently studies embodiment with Angela Farmer and Victor Van Kooten, philosophy with Douglas Brooks, and life with modern philosophers like Bayo Akomolafe and Stephen Jenkinson.

Swathy Madhukar

E-RYT 500

Swathy was born in Southern India into a Hindu family and was introduced to yoga at a young age. Growing up immersed in Bhakti and Karma yoga through her family, she developed a devotion-led approach to life and teaching rooted in compassion and service.

In 2015, she moved from Southern India to Sacramento, bringing with her a strong foundation in classical Hatha yoga. She views yoga as a lived, everyday practice rather than something confined to the mat.

She holds a 300-hour RYT in Sri Vidya Tantra from Virabhava Yoga School and a 300-hour RYT in trauma-informed yoga. She has taught and mentored within Virabhava programs and co-leads pilgrimages to India alongside Kelly Golden.

Deeply resonating with the life-embracing and transformative philosophy of Tantra, she continues to study, practice, and live its teachings.