The Kamili Yoga® Academy is exclusively for Black yogis to learn Kamili Yoga® and transform their lives and the lives of others through Pan-African yogic knowledge and wellness. This is a teaching platform that emphasizes personal growth and community healing through interactive instruction, ongoing education, and collective care. The Kamili Yoga® Academy is a sacred safe(r) space that specializes in exploring yogic enlightenment through the lens of African knowledge and Black well-being.
All conscious and open-minded Black Africans of the Motherland and the diaspora of any religious faith, spiritual path, cultural background, ethnic group, education level, body type, sexual orientation, and gender identity are welcome!
Kamili Yoga® is a modern Africentric system for Black wholistic wellness. From the African Swahili word for “complete” and the Indian Sanskrit word for “union,” Kamili Yoga® teaches Black practitioners to seek and center inner enlightenment through the lens of their African ancestry. It is a contemporary system rooted in the exploration of traditional Pan-African yogic knowledge and concepts, from the African ancestral practices of the Motherland to the customs of Black descendants all around the world.
Developed by Eternity Philops, Kamili Yoga® is born of a Spirit-led calling to create more African-centered options for Black yogis. This system addresses the need for more culturally diverse Yoga systems, more Yoga systems that de-center Whiteness, and more Yoga systems that celebrate the beautiful depths of Black and African being.
Eternity Philops (they/Mx.) is a bodaciously Black and unapologetically queer conscious being who educates and serves Black, POC, and Queer/Trans populations in soulful liberation through Yoga wellness. The owner of Soul Liberation Wellness based in Charlotte, NC, USA, Eternity has taught hundreds of students through community classes, university courses, private sessions, and retreats with passionate dedication.
Bachelor’s of Arts, Psychology & Sociology
Graduate Certificate, Women & Gender Studies
Cornell Women’s Entrepreneurship Certificate
Certified Life Coach
Certified Hatha Yoga Teacher
Certified Kemetic Yoga Teacher
Certified Yoga for 12-Step Recovery Leader
Yoga Alliance E-RYT & Continuing Education Provider
Kamili Yoga®, like all true systems of Yoga, is about creating union. Specifically, we work toward union with Self through personal principles, union with others through social principles, and union with Spirit through spiritual principles. These three sets of principles are collectively called the KANUNI TATU, a Kiswahili translation for "three principles." They make up the first tenet of Kamili Yoga®.
The soulful mindfulness practice of Kamili Yoga® is IBADA KAMILI, which is Kiswahili for “the complete ritual.” The second tenet of Kamili Yoga®, this ritual is a structured meditative practice of five components that brings us into deeper connection with Spirit, ancestors, and our own inner divinity. Another translation is “perfect worship,” which speaks to the essence of this ritual practice.
The third tenet of Kamili Yoga® is ELIMU NA HEKIMA, meaning “education and wisdom.” This tenet is about researching rich and diverse Pan-African cultures, both indigenous and post-colonial. Part of the historical struggle of the African continent and diaspora is having our traditions destroyed by colonizers and by slaveholders. In present day we must prioritize re-learning lost knowledge, and reclaim our personal and collective power through the intentional study of our Black legacies and African heritages.
Yoga is a practice of liberation and empowerment with the potential to transform not just individuals, but entire communities. By studying Kamili Yoga®, a system of enlightenment centered in Pan-African cultures and traditions, Black yogis can tap into this soulful energy and harness it to make positive changes in their personal life and in the lives of their loved ones. Learn this progressive Africentric system with your friends, with your families, and most importantly for the future, with your children.
Kamili Yoga® was created to become a global practice that benefits Black African communities around the world. The only way this can happen is to train instructors who believe in the system and are committed to teaching it to as many people as possible. The Kamili Yoga® Academy is not like the average yoga teacher training that merely churns out unprepared teachers to (maybe) get work in their training studio. Rather than in mainstream spaces like studios and gyms, Kamili Yoga® teachers meet people where they are in their own communities.
Certification as a Kamili Yoga® teacher is not a light decision. It means being dedicated to community service and lifelong learning, and requires a significant investment of time, energy, labor, and most importantly, growth. With three different certification levels to achieve, wholistic multi-dimensional growth is the crux of all Kamili Yoga® teacher training courses. Certification programs range from four months to nine months, with each program consisting of 30-day learning modules. These modules are designed for students to practice and train at a comfortable, manageable pace that allows for the materials to become a part of a daily yogic lifestyle!
The Kamili Yoga® System Educator is the first certification level. This introductory course builds a solid foundation that prepares teachers to educate the audiences they serve on the tenets, principles, and components of the Kamili Yoga® system. Upon completion of the certification course, Kamili Yoga® System Educators will be able to conduct informative teachings with 1:1 clients, support groups, school students, and other members of their professional communities as well as provide guidance for friends, families, and organizations.
Because the training focus is on teaching the fundamental structure of Kamili Yoga® in a private capacity, Kamili Yoga® System Educator certification does not include the ability to host public classes or to lead Ibada Kamili, the complete ritual.
Kamili Yoga® Community Leaders take their teaching to the next level. As the name suggests, the responsibility of this certification is to create and lead communities in all the ways of Kamili Yoga®. Through the six-month program, trainees will delve deeper into the system to learn how to authentically embody everything Kamili Yoga® means.
Along with privately educating others on the tenets, principles, and components of the Kamili Yoga® system, certified Community Leaders have the privilege of hosting public community classes and can formally guide Ibada Kamili, the complete ritual. Because motion is a key component of ritual guidance, teachers training for Kamili Yoga® Community Leader certification must have expertise in a physical movement specialty.
Kamili Yoga® Certification Trainers are the highest level of Kamili Yoga® teacher. They are leaders who have displayed a continued commitment to teaching Kamili Yoga® to underserved Black communities who need yogic wellness most. Upon completing this nine-month program, Certification Trainers will have demonstrated their dedication to not only teaching Kamili Yoga®, but also to fully living Kamili Yoga® through complete union with Self, complete union with others, and complete union with Spirit. Successful Kamili Yoga® Certification Trainers will be regarded as expert guides of Ibada Kamili, and knowledgeable mentors of Elimu na Hekima.
Most importantly, Certification Trainers have experienced on a soulful level the rich benefits of Kamili Yoga® and want to ensure the system is a recognized wellness practice for Black Africans for generations to come. Once a Kamili Yoga® Certification Trainer, these devotees will have the honor and responsibility of training future Kamili Yoga® teachers and leaders!
"Since becoming a part of the Kamili Yoga Collective, I'm learning the differences more and more every time we meet. So far, nothing but positive & enlightening experiences. Much different from what I've experienced being in other 'mainstream' yoga classes."
- Linda P.B., South Carolina, USA
"Through the Kamili Yoga Collective, I have been able to dive deeper into my own yoga and movement practice, while also learning more about Pan-African history and principles. In a time of chaos throughout the world, the Kamili Yoga Collective has provided me with community, and a continued sense of grounded."
- Naadiya H., Maryland, USA
"I am so fortunate to be a part of the Kamili Yoga Collective. I have grown so much and it has helped me with my self awareness."
- Edna L., New York, USA
Kamili Yoga® System Educator