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Kiesha first connected with You Call This Yoga (YCTY) as a yoga practitioner in 2018, and has increased her service to the organization over the years through the development and teaching of key programming, both virtually and in-person.  Most of these programs were key contributions to the support of the YCTYcommunity during the 2020 pandemic, and have continued to support and strengthen the YCTY community since.  Along with Board Director Howie Sheriff, Kiesha developed the SAFE (Sharing, Accessible, Free flowing, Energy) Yoga Program, a program that seeks to engage and educate racial/ethnic minorities and low-income populations about the benefits of community yoga classes. Beginning in Durham, NC in 2021 the program has seen continuous growth and engagement, recently branching out to locations in Charlotte, NC.

 

A native New Yorker, Kiesha studied at Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ,  receiving a bachelor’s degree in Business Management in 1997 and a master’s degree in Asian Studies in 2000. For over a decade, Kiesha spent her career serving in various roles in the fields of Information Technology, Project Management, and Auditing. In 2010, she left corporate life to focus on mental wellness and her family. 

Kiesha teaches yoga full time and has created and led numerous yoga programs and retreats. In 2016, she was appointed Co-Director of the Yoga Retreat for Women of Color, carrying its 25 year legacy at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Stockbridge, MA.  In addition to teaching and leading yoga programs for the YMCA of Greater Charlotte and CorePower Yoga locations in Charlotte, Kiesha runs her own studio and yoga school, IAMYOGA, where she has mentored, guided, and graduated over 100 yoga teachers and has made yoga accessible to the community she serves.

Kiesha describes herself as a humble soul who first connects to all beings at their core. She is passionate about service to her community, takes pride in being a regular blood donor for the Red Cross, and spends her free time reading, meditating, and breathing. Kiesha lives with her husband and two sons in Charlotte, NC. 

Kiesha Battles, MS, E-RYT 500

President, You Call This Yoga