Angelica Lopez, a Puerto Rican CSA survivor from Holyoke, MA, discovered yoga at a young age, finding it to be a powerful source of agency and healing during an abusive upbringing. Her practice, spanning over two decades, led her to become a yoga instructor with a focus on trauma-informed care. Angelica has trained extensively with The Veterans’ Yoga Project, Yoga4Cancer, Transcending Sexual Trauma through Yoga, The Prison Yoga Project, and Mindbody Solutions, and holds a 500-hour certification from Ignite Yoga & Wellness Institute. As the founder of Mitra: Healing Centered Yoga, she collaborates with organizations like Dress for Success Western Mass and Brick House to ensure yoga is accessible to the communities they support. In 2021, she launched the Thrive series, designed to empower fellow survivors. Thrive has since grown to offer BIPOC affinity groups and monthly workshops, providing support to 40 survivors and counting.