Dr. Sowmya

Founder and Director of Prafull Oorja Charitable Foundation based in Bangalore.

Through Prafull Oorja, Sowmya has trained hundreds of yoga therapists to serve communities in vulnerable conditions, focusing on special needs children.

A native of Cupertino, she completed one Master's degree from the University of Innsbruck, Austria, on Yoga for International Peace Builders; and another one from the UN University for Peace on Yoga for Trauma Survivors. Sowmya holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Peace Studies from Banaras Hindu University.

Revered in America and India for his expertise in Vedanta and meditation, hails from Kerala, India. He pursued economics in his undergraduate studies before joining the Saraswati order, founded by Adi Shankaracharya. Currently, he serves as the Spiritual Founder and Director of The Sambodh Society in America and 11 other Sambodh Foundation organizations in India. A prolific author, Swami Bodhananda has written numerous books on Vedanta and yoga. Explore his work further at https://sambodh.org.

Ashwini Surpur, BS (CS), MA (Sanskrit), ERYT-500, CIAYT, is the Executive Director of Yoga Bharati and a Senior Yoga Therapist. With 15 years of experience as a Software Engineer at Oracle, she transitioned to full-time volunteering at Yoga Bharati in 2010. Specializing in yoga therapy, particularly for cancer and terminally ill patients, she's a sought-after speaker on yoga and Hindu philosophy and contributes articles to various publications. Passionate about literature and philosophy, she holds an MA in Sanskrit and enjoys writing poems and articles in her free time.