In the summer of 2013 Dr. Chelsea Jackson founded YLA Camp for Teenage Girls. 
The camp affords teenage girls an opportunity to engage with both literature and art through an embodied means, connecting content and experience kinetically through the practice of yoga.
Minus a materials fee, participants attend at no cost. This supports our vision of creating access to yoga experiences for ALL. We are proudly housed at the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art for the summer of 2015.
Octavia Raheem, the camp co-director, says this of her experience being a part of the first year staff, “ As a student and teacher, the class I taught at the camp has been one of the most transformative practices I have led to date— and I’ve taught a plethora of classes as a public school and yoga teacher. Watching the girls deepen their awareness and understanding of their bodies, literature, and art through yoga simultaneously was incredibly powerful for me.”
We are pleased to introduce you to our Yoga, Literature, and Art Camp at Spelman College Museum of Fine Art Instructors for 2015!
Chelsea Jackson (Founder, Co-Director)
Dr. Chelsea Jackson is the founder and co-director of Yoga, Literature, and Art Camp for teen girls at Spelman College, creator of Chelsea Loves Yoga, member of the Yoga and Body Image Coalition, and is featured on the June cover of Yoga Journal magazine.
She has extensive experience in the field of education as a former public school teacher and received her doctoral degree in Educational Studies.
She is currently a certified E-RYT and RCYT who completed her initial 200-hour yoga teachers’ training at Kashi Atlanta Ashram under the guidance of her beloved teachers Swami Jaya Devi and Ma Jaya in 2007.
Chelsea also completed trainings in Atlanta and New York City, specifically for instructors who work with children and teens. It was during Chelsea’s training for Restorative Justice at the University of Wisconsin, Madison facilitated by Sujatha Baliga that she began making connections between the value of storytelling, critical literacy development, and yoga.
Octavia Raheem- (Co-Director)
Octavia Raheem is the co-director of Yoga, Literature, and Art Camp, lululemon athletica Howell Millyoga ambassador, writing contributor to mindbodygreen, and creator and owner of The CHILLshop yoga, retreats, and trainings.
She has 10 plus years of experience in the field of education including service and certification as a Middle Grades Language Arts teacher in the state of Georgia.
Octavia is also a certified 200 E-RYT with 7 years and beyond 3,500 hours of hands on experience who completed her initial 200 hour training with the ever wise and insightful Graham Fowler of Peachtree Yoga Center.
Octavia has completed training in Atlanta and Chicago for instructors who work with youth and teens. As a former middle school teacher she created projects and programs that allowed students to explore the connection between yoga, meditation, creative writing, and speaking personal truth to power.
zahra alabanza (Instructor, 2nd year)
zahra is a mother, activist, artist and adventurer. A project starting, wandering, overlover, outdoor junkie who co-found Red, Bike and Green-Atlanta and EarthSouls Wander.
zahra is mastering the handstand and has happily resorted to enjoying life the way she did when she was 13 years old, unapologetically with tons of play.
After obtaining her yoga teaching certification in 2012, zahra wasted no time finding a space for her offerings. In Summer 2012, she introduced yoga to students of the Clark Atlanta University Upward Bound program. Following that she created a 5 month yoga residency for herself at the Chicago based wellness center, Sage Community Health Collective. Upon returning from her residency, Atlanta welcomed zahra’s offerings with open arms. It allowed her to create communal practice spaces that extend far and wide. She implemented a community yoga series at the oldest feminist bookstore in the Southeast, Charis Books and more. This series has strongly sustained itself for the past 2 years with practictioners from all walks of live and levels of yoga practice. Most recently has opened a home base wellness space called OrangeMoon Sanctuary.
Vanya Francis (Instructor, 2nd year)
Vanya Francis, RYT, CHHC, M.A. is a 15-year yoga practitioner and certified yoga instructor specializing in Prenatal Yoga and owner of My Cherished Life Yoga.
Deeply inspired by her students, her goal is to empower them to achieve greater self-awareness, balance and wholeness of being. 
Vanya received her 200-hour yoga teacher certification under the instruction of Swami Jaya Devi Bhagavati at Kashi Atlanta. She also holds a second 200-hour certification in Kemetic Yoga and a Prenatal/Postnatal Yoga certification having studied with Master Instructor Yirser Ra Hotep, Stephanie Keach and Sara Longacre. Vanya is one of Georgia’s first certified Kemetic Yoga instructors and a registered yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance.
A culturally aware, life-long learner with diverse interests, Vanya holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Spelman College and a Master of Arts in Communication Management from the University of Southern California. A former marketing professional, Vanya spent seven years working in marketing and business development for Cartoon Network Enterprises. A serendipitous layoff led her to pursue her part-time passion for yoga and wellness full-time resulting in the birth of Om Point Yoga, now Cherished Life.
As a Certified Holistic Health Coach, Vanya received her training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where she was trained in more than one hundred dietary theories and studied a variety of practical lifestyle coaching methods. Drawing on this knowledge, she will help you create a completely personalized “roadmap to health” that suits your unique body, lifestyle, preferences, and goals.
Rachelle Knowels (Instructor, 1st year)
Rachelle is a lover of yoga: student first, teacher second. In 2012, Rachelle completed her training at Kashi Ashram Atlanta and became a Certified Yoga Instructor under the guidance of Swami Jaya Devi.
As a devoted student, she has since completed trainings and workshops with Christina Sell, Desiree Rumbaugh, and Darren Rhodes. In 2014, she became a Certified yogahour Instructor.
Rachelle’s classes are are a fusion of the traditions that inspire her: a conscious balance of alignment and flow, with carefully crafted sequencing. She anchors her teaching in the simple and true core principles of yoga, with the aim of making them accessible. She will encourage you to get curious about your breath as the source of power in your practice; students have described her classes as light, approachable, challenging & fun.
Monica Williams
As a lifelong athlete, Monica Marie was attracted to yoga through the physical practice. She has been classically trained in yoga under the direction of Swami Jaya Devi and currently teaches private yoga and nutrition to all populations from elite professional athletes to those unable to touch their toes.
Inspired by many different styles of movement arts, Monica incorporates elements of each into her classes, which naturally keeps them dynamic and interesting. 
Her teaching focuses on maintain a sense of peace while encouraging students to observe the mind, explore the movement, experience the breath, free the heart and open up to something greater than self.
Monica’s unique holistic approach to health and personal wellness is equally simple and sustainable. As she herself explains:
“You cannot separate the mind from the body. You cannot separate your thoughts and your choice in lifestyle from who you are and how you feel. It’s a total package, and with your thoughts you create your world.”
She is genuine and enthusiastic in her desire to help, to inspire, and to teach others and her message is simple: “I truly believe you can have anything, ANYTHING, you want, you just need to be clear on what it is and keep a single pointed focused on it until you create.”
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