Bija Bennett — Founder and CEO, YogaAway, LLC

Bija Bennett is an internationally recognized author, yoga therapist and workshop leader — and an outstanding communicator who is able to convey the tenets of mind-body health in remarkably accessible and engaging ways. A poet, producer and performer, Bija is a gifted and charismatic speaker whose innovative healing techniques have helped celebrities, corporate CEO’s, professional athletes and thousands of others achieve serenity and health.

Yoga Away, LLC, was founded by Bija to bring the benefits of an authentic yoga tradition to the mainstream market, providing custom content, consulting and education for the spa, travel and corporate wellness industries. As the exclusive provider of yoga services and products to Hyatt Hotels and Resorts worldwide,

YogaAway has established itself as the single source provider of on-site yoga classes, in-room videos, and retail DVDs, becoming the global leader in the distribution of yoga content.

A Chicago native, Bija earned a Master’s Degree in Dance from UCLA, and held positions with the Ravinia Festival and the Chicago City Ballet. For more than a decade, she worked closely with Deepak Chopra, MD, co-leading his seminars across the US and Europe, and addressing the personal needs of thousands of patients in a medical spa setting. She also appeared regularly at the national and international seminars of the Young Presidents’ Organization, bringing an understanding of yoga and its benefits to business leaders. A long-time student and teacher of Viniyoga, Bija has

studied extensively in India with T.K.V. Desikachar and in the U.S. with Gary Kraftsow.

Bija is the author of Breathing Into Life: Recovering Wholeness Through Body, Mind & Breath (HarperCollins, 1993), and Emotional Yoga: How the Body Can Heal the Mind, (Simon and Schuster, 2002).