Meet Our Team
Krystal Akin, LMHC, E-RYT, TCYM
(she/her/hers)
Program Director, Trainer
Krystal is a licensed counselor and 500hr experienced registered yoga teacher based in the Seattle area, specializing in work with trauma survivors, individuals experiencing borderline personality symptoms, and Highly Sensitive Persons (HSPs). She is the owner of Mud Flower Mindful Movement & Counseling, PLLC, where she integrates a holistic, mind-body approach into her clinical work.
In addition to her counseling practice, Krystal is a yoga and somatic movement teacher who offers group classes and leads workshops in her community. She began practicing yoga as a teenager to help manage anxiety and depression, and she remains deeply passionate about sharing this transformative, living practice with others. Since 2012, Krystal has incorporated yoga into her work across community mental health agencies, co-occurring treatment centers, local schools, community studios, and her private practice.
Krystal is known for bringing a grounding, genuine, empowering, and playful presence to both her clinical work and her classes. She completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training in 2016 and her 500-hour training in 2022. Prior to assuming the role of leading the business in 2026, she completed Levels 1 and 2 of TCYM certification and served as a member of the teaching team for several years. She also holds additional certifications in Brainspotting and Ayurvedic nutrition, and continues to expand her training in somatic healing and other mind-body modalities.
Outside of her work with TCYI, Krystal is a wife and mother of two. She travels for the food, enjoys a wide range of music, reads anything you recommend, and loves spending time in the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest.
Elizabeth Sumpf, LCSW, RYT, TCYM (she/her/hers)
Teaching Faculty/Trainer
Elizabeth practices as a somatic psychotherapist, RYT-200 and Reiki Level II practitioner in her professional life located in Portland, Oregon. Elizabeth offers individual counseling at her private practice, Peaceful Prana Therapy, where she works with individuals healing from trauma. Elizabeth serves in her role as a yoga teacher at Peaceful Prana Yoga where she offers trauma-informed yoga groups and classes to those around the world to help make the healing practice of yoga more accessible. She’s certified as a Yin Yoga Teacher so she loves to offer the practice of yin through a trauma-informed lens. At TCYI, she acts as the Director of the Online Trainee Program as well as a facilitator of the Trauma-Conscious Yoga Method training. Elizabeth began her career in the non-profit sector, where she played many roles. She served as the Clinical Director of the Holocaust Assistance Program, as well as a psychotherapist working with individuals in the community with a focus on Holocaust Survivors and Survivors of Domestic Abuse. Her passion is helping people build a relationship with themselves based on awareness, compassion, curiosity and openness so that they connect to their purpose in this life. Elizabeth believes in the pairing of spirituality, energy work and yogic philosophy with scientific therapeutic interventions to help individuals create change and find true inner peace. These certifications include EMDR, TCYM and specialized Shame training.
In her personal life, Elizabeth enjoys traveling to new places and spends most of her time in nature where she hugs trees and walks barefoot.
Bri Liu, LPC-S, RYT, TCYM (she/her/hers)
Teaching Faculty/Trainer
Bri is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Registered Yoga Teacher with specialized training in trauma informed and inclusive practices. She completed her TCYM Level 1 Certification in 2021 and is excited to be enrolled in the very first offering of TCYM Level 2.
Passionate about working at the intersections of social justice, trauma, and mental health. Bri is particularly interested in supporting wellbeing in BIPOC communities. She is dedicated to creating accessible spaces where all individuals feel a deep sense of belonging and acceptance, where they feel seen, validated, and un-judged, allowing for the renegotiation and repair of previous wounding relational experiences. With a curious heart and mind, her areas of interest are continuously morphing and shifting. At the heart of her work though, never wavering, is the desire to uncover, acknowledge, and heal the traumas that arise from chronic experiences of disconnection and oppression, both on the collective and individual level.
Bri has worked in a variety of settings including public and charter schools, higher education institutes, community based mental health, non profit clinics, and private practice. She is awestruck by the resilience and inherent wisdom that lie within all peoples. Bri is trained in a variety of somatic therapies, including Somatic Experiencing, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Body-Mind Psychotherapy, Internal Family Systems, and the Trauma Conscious Yoga Method. She is also drawn to Indigenous/Ancient philosophies and healing modalities (and acknowledges that many current somatic therapies are rooted in these Indigenous/Ancient practices), as well as relational and liberation orientations. During her free time, Bri enjoys frolicking in nature, attending live music shows, bloom watching, and frequenting various Asian markets and restaurants in town.
Cartelia Kennedy, M.Ed, LPC, NCC, RYT, TCYM
Teaching Faculty/Trainer
Cartelia Kennedy is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Somatic Psychotherapist and the Owner of Wellness Work Counseling Service, a solo private practice providing individual, and group psychotherapy in North Austin/Cedar Park.
Cartelia specializes in working with adolescents and adults, offering tools that allow clients to identify a deeper connection with mind and body, and to promote behavioral transformations that help manifest a life that’s aligned with core values. She is excited and passionate about her ability to integrate practices such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Somatic Experiencing practices with traditional talk therapy.
She earned a Master of Education, Clinical Mental Health from Lamar University, she also has a Master in Teacher Leadership from the University of Illinois, as well as a K-12 Principal Certification, and a Bachelors of Science in Communications from St. Edward’s University.
Cartelia completed a 200 hour yoga teacher training with Waking Yoga and is certified in the TCYM. She is currently enrolled in a 300-hour yoga teacher training.
Lindsay Rothschild, LCSW, CCTP, SAP, TCYM, RYT
Teaching Faculty
Lindsay Rothschild is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over a decade of experience working in the field of behavioral health. She completed her Master’s Degree in Social work at Arizona State University in 2011 and currently specializes in treating complex trauma and addiction through a Salutogenic lens.
Through her extensive work in acute care settings, Lindsay has come to understand the impact of trauma on the mind, body and soul. Her commitment to the Salutogenic approach led her to deep dive into the exploration of holistic practices that compliment traditional psychotherapy.
Lindsay studied Holistic Nutrition at the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts in 2018 and went on to study Trauma Informed Yoga at the Trauma-Conscious Yoga Institute in 2019. Lindsay is certified in the Trauma-Conscious Yoga Method and is also a Registered Yoga Teacher through Yoga Alliance. Lindsay most recently completed training in Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy(KAP) through the Psychedelic Coalition for Health and EMDR Therapy training through the Institute for Creative Mindfulness. As a leader in the trauma informed mission and mindset, Lindsay openly shares about her own journey navigating trauma and addiction on the path to rediscovering her authentic self. Lindsay partners with the Arizona Trauma Institute to facilitate trainings for mental health professionals, healers and educators in the community in an effort to promote awareness around Trauma Informed Care and the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).Lindsay is the owner of Roots to Rise, PLLC in Tempe, Arizona where she provides somatic psychotherapy, supervision, trauma informed yoga groups, EMDR therapy and substance abuse professional services. She is also the Clinical Director at Seven Arrows Recovery Center in Elfrida, Arizona. Lindsay describes herself as having a wild and free spirit, an open heart and a belief that all humans have the capacity for transformation and growth.
Jessica Ganey, LCSW, RYT, TCYM
Teaching Faculty
For more than a decade I’ve practiced meditation and mindfulness and received my own therapy work to support my own healing journey. I believe it is important to display honesty and transparency to demonstrate my own belief and passion for this work, personally and professionally.
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, LCSW, with a Master’s in Social Work and a Bachelors in Counseling. I am a 200-HR Registered Yoga Teacher with advanced certification in the Trauma-Conscious Yoga Method, where I currently volunteer as a Teaching Assistant. I am EMDR trained and currently studying with Embody Lab in their Somatic Attachment Trauma Therapy 80 HR Certificate to further the depth of my work with others.
I am passionate about expressing our emotions creatively and authentically, coming from a firm belief that we are all whole at our core, and the world needs your wholeness, all of you. Presently, I work with female-identifying individuals in my private practice located in Memphis, TN and also work in local school systems to provide healthy and unhealthy relationship education to high school students. I am highly active in the TN chapter of AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention) and feel a deep calling to this work.
When I’m not working, you can find me playing with my two pups – Rudy, a border collie/lab mix, and Charles, our newest rescue, who is an Australian Shepherd.
Courtney Butts, LMSW, RYT, TCYM, BEST Doula
Teaching Faculty
Courtney L. Butts is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker Supervisor, Registered Yoga Teacher, and BEST Doula. As the founder of Soulfully Rooted Wellness, a group therapy practice in Dallas, TX, Courtney brings an integrative approach that weaves together somatic movement, nervous system education, and parts-informed therapy to support embodied healing and self-leadership.
Her work also extends into sensual yoga and embodied practices that invite individuals to explore connection, pleasure, desire, and self-expression in ways that feel safe and empowering.
With a background in trauma, sex and intimacy, and perinatal mental health, Courtney became interested in the intersection of trauma and the body following the birth of her son. Through both clinical and educational spaces, she is committed to creating environments where curiosity and compassionate awareness guide the healing process. Her work centers on helping individuals reconnect with their bodies, develop emotional resilience, and build greater trust in themselves and their internal experiences.
Mariah Peloso, LCSW, RYT, TCYM (she/her/hers)
Teaching Faculty
Mariah is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, somatic psychotherapist, and the founder and owner of Relevé Wellness and Counseling, a virtual private practice in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. She specializes in supporting BIPOC women and adolescents navigating anxiety, trauma, ADHD, and life transitions.
With over seven years of experience, Mariah’s clinical background spans general and special education school social work, where she developed a deep understanding of how systemic and developmental experiences shape mental health. She is certified in Brainspotting, and integrates somatic methods throughout her work to support clients in reconnecting with themselves at every level: mind, body, and spirit.
A lifelong dancer, Mariah’s relationship with movement has always been a pathway to presence, self-expression, and healing. That background has organically shaped how she works clinically, weaving movement, expressive arts, and sound healing into sessions as tools for accessing what words alone sometimes cannot reach. Her certification in sound healing deepens this integrative approach, allowing her to draw on multiple modalities that honor the whole person.
Mariah incorporates TCYM into both her clinical practice and her work as a restorative yoga teacher. She has a deep passion for group work, particularly alongside fellow therapists and wellness practitioners. Through Relevé Wellness, she offers somatic support groups specifically for BIPOC therapists and wellness practitioners, creating space for the healers in the community to receive care of their own.
Donald Turnmire, M.S, LMFT, RYT (he/him/his)
Teaching Faculty
Donald is a licensed marriage and family therapist and yoga teacher in California. Donald obtained his master’s degree in counseling at Fresno State back in 2017. Since then, he has been serving the community by providing mental health/emotional support. He also received his 200 YTT training and certification back in 2020 but has been practicing yoga since 2017. Since becoming certified in yoga and being licensed, he has noticed the benefits that somatic work has had on those who have experienced trauma, as well as within himself. Since then, he has gone on to be trained and certified in EMDR, Kid Yoga Teacher Certified, certified in the Trauma Conscious Yoga Method, became a Board Member to a Non-Profit organization in the Central Valley offering free yoga to the community, and currently working towards becoming a EMDR Consultant.
Donald specializes in trauma, dissociation, depression, and anxiety. He takes on a holistic approach to healing, incorporating both somatic work and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing). He has found his calling with helping individuals feel more safe, aware, and confident in their bodies and in their Self. Donald currently works as a supervisor with the county and also owns Walk With Harmony Counseling Services.
Abe Reynolds, CYT (she/her/hers)
Yoga Instructor & Community Support
Abe discovered yoga as part of a personal healing journey, and what began as a practice quickly grew into a deep and lasting passion. With a commitment to making yoga accessible for everyBody, Abe strives to cultivate welcoming, inclusive spaces where all students feel seen, supported, and empowered.
Through mindful movement and breath, Abe encourages students to build a deeper connection with themselves, both on and off the mat. Believing that yoga extends far beyond the studio, Abe brings a grounded, compassionate approach to both teaching and community engagement.
When not in the studio, Abe enjoys exploring nature with her dogs, getting lost in a good book, and baking at home.
