E-RYT 500, SYT. Founder of Sampoorna Online. Eli has been passionate about exercise, teaching, and a healthy lifestyle for most of her life, which first led her to study Clinical Psychology. While working with patients and leading workshops, she realized that true well-being calls for a more holistic approach. That insight inspired her to become a Pilates instructor, Reiki teacher, and Health Coach. In her search for a deeper understanding of the body and how it functions, she moved from her native Costa Rica to New York to continue her Pilates studies.
Once in the United States, she reconnected with her personal yoga practice, and that sparked a desire to come to India—not only to learn how to teach yoga, but also how to live a more fulfilling life. In 2014, she joined Sampoorna Yoga as a facilitator for the 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training course, and that experience changed everything. She fell in love with India, its culture, and her true calling: teaching.
At Sampoorna Yoga, she has taught nearly every subject in the curriculum, with a special passion for functional anatomy, the many ways different bodies express asanas, and honoring each student’s unique body and practice. Today, she is a key member of Sampoorna Yoga. She continues to teach in both English and Spanish, while also developing curricula and content for new courses, managing and teaching Yin Yoga trainings, overseeing the online education platform, and handling a wide range of administrative responsibilities. Yoga has transformed her life and become her way of living.