Inspiring change.

Our Story:
Vesselify (formerly 90 Monkeys) is an online and in-person educational resource devoted to helping yoga professionals refine their teaching skills, build their business acumen, and grow as a person and leader, through an extensive library of eCourses, news articles, virtual live events, and in-person live events.

90 Monkeys was sparked by the popular professional development online course called “90 Minutes to Change the World”, created in 2010 by Amy Ippoliti.

The course was developed to help yoga teachers increase their confidence, business acumen, and organizational skills, and to serve students better.

In the first two years, the program helped large numbers of yoga teachers and studios around the world in over 44 countries. This led to notable yoga teaching and professional breakthroughs among the graduates.

As the number of programs grew,  Amy and Taro Smith, Ph.D. created 90 Monkeys to better encompass the range of professional offerings beyond the original 90 Minutes program – and that’s how it all began!

In 2021, 90 Monkeys became Vesselify School of Yoga.

 

vesselify [ves-uhl-ih-fye]

verb, vessel·ify, vessel·ified

1 the art of channeling or being a conduit (vessel) for the universe
2 to be in harmony with nature; something bigger than yourself
3 to allow a cosmically-driven creativity to move through you

noun, vessel·ification

1 when a person or group has vesselified or been in the flow, channeled, gotten out of their own way through practice
2 a person who is embodied as a vessel for the divine

ORIGIN OF VESSELIFY
An Amy Ippolitism dating back to 2010 where she coined the term for how yoga teachers can be vessels for channeling their teachings.

 

Our mission is to support the success of yoga teachers, the communities they reach, and the planet that connects us all. We believe every yoga teacher should have the ability to serve themselves and their families, and that we can be social change agents for our global health and survival. Grounded through experience and studies, as vessels, we are inspired changemakers connected to divine source – and, of course, we know how to be a little silly and playful while changing the world.

 

We strive to live up to our values, which are threefold:

COMMUNITY | LONGEVITY | POSSIBILITY

Collective Wellbeing

Vesselify School of Yoga aims to be an inclusive, grounded, warm, and kind school. We believe we are connected not only to our immediate community, but to the collective humanity, the social structures we live in, and most importantly the planet itself. As yoga teachers, we know that we are responsible for ourselves as well as the collective wellbeing of our fellow Earth inhabitants. We teach yoga teachers to incorporate cause-driven themes into their classes to inspire action.

Longevity in Practice

Through foundational form, biomechanics, philosophy, and a dash of channeling the divine, our yoga offers a path of internalized wisdom for preventative self care and graceful aging. Thoughtful movement, integration of techniques, and continuous learning are all keys to keeping the mind and body healthy during a lifetime of practice.

Life-Affirming Philosophy

Our school’s yoga philosophy is informed by our lineage from the Tantric school of yoga, specifically in the Goddess traditions of Southern India. We start all endeavors by saying yes to life, a process of embracing what the world dishes out and appreciating the magic of being alive. We are interested in staying in connection through adversity rather than bypassing the chaos. We welcome all practitioners with a willingness to dive into life. We welcome your smiles, tears, and laughter along the way.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity (DEI) Mission and Values

At Vesselify, we believe everyone deserves access to the teachings and practice of yoga. We also know that yoga in the West has been historically homogenous with regard to race, body size, ability, and gender. Creating welcoming, accessible environments where people feel safe to be themselves in yoga is critical to ensuring the future of yoga and the well-being of all who stumble down the path of self-discovery.

We recognize diversity in many ways, including but not limited to:

• Age
• Body size
• Citizenship
• Economic circumstance
• Education and professional experience
• Gender, gender identity, and expression
• Geography, community size, location
• Language(s)
• Mental illness and neurodiversity
• Physical ability
• Race, ethnicity, country of origin, nationality
• Religion
• Sexual orientation and identity

As yoga teachers, business managers, and educators with decades of experience, we see ourselves as leaders in the yoga community with the opportunity to foster spaces for greater diversity, equity, and inclusion. As such, we commit to:

• Zero tolerance for bullying, harassment, and discrimination.
• Elevating members of our community who are doing great work in the world to serve under-resourced populations and create climate solutions.
• Giving writing, teaching, and content contribution opportunities to folks from underrepresented communities including Black and Brown, people of size, and members of the LGBTQ+ communities.
• Creating content dedicated to addressing racism, nativism, homophobia, sizeism, bigotry, and injustice in yoga.
• Intentionally hiring support faculty, consultants, and content contributors with a variety of representations and backgrounds.
• Continually educating ourselves and our community on DEI by working with Black and Brown presenters, requiring dedicated training hours as part of Vesselify’s 300-hour TT curriculum, working with a DEI consultant internally, and reading/listening to voices different from our own.
• Building bridges with organizations that intentionally work with, hire folks from, and/or donate to underserved communities and environmental organizations. Some of these organizations include Yoga Alliance, Hanuman Festival, The Rodale Institute, and more.

We recognize that starting to take action is better than no action, and are committed to long-term solutions and partnerships. We also understand that our commitments will need to be flexible as we continue to grow and learn along the way.

We welcome kind, constructive feedback from our community on how we can continue to do better.

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