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Hi there!

I'm Eli Walker

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Professional Speaker, Author & Belonging Expert

As the founder of the internationally-acclaimed wellness brand Drunk Yoga® (now The Uplift Experience), I pioneered the wellness entertainment movement to bridge the gap between #selfcare and #communitycare. Now, I help forward-thinking facilitators do the same: break the rules to get over themselves, engage community and spark radical belonging by building more playful and engaging gatherings.

When you work with me, you can expect to move, smile, and unlock a sense of belonging in the most mind-expanding, unexpected, laughter-inducing ways you can imagine...(and even a few that you can't)...leaving you empowered with tools to create a more connected world.
Book Eli for your next event

I'm Eli Hi there!

A woman on a mission to teach the art of getting over yourself through shared belonging.

I do this By way of...

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Curating interactivekeynotes, workshops & yoga experiences

I make it easy for facilitators to learn the art of belonging-building through my interactive keynotes, practice it during my bootcamp-style workshops, and experience it in my curated, social yoga events. Download my media deck to learn more.

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Facilitation consultingplus books & online courses

Whether you’re a team leader, entrepreneur, event planner or aspiring community facilitator, my 1:1 consulting services, self-study courses and books are designed to provide you with the guidance, support and accountability you need to take your community-building goals to the next level. Learn more.

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Sharing my epic storieson my Social Media & Newsletter

Ever wonder what it'd be like to break all the rules? Throw a wrench into a billion-dollar industry and put a new twist on an ancient spiritual tradition? Not wait 3 days to text the guy? Blow up your life to backpack across India and find yourself again? Subscribe to Eli's YouTube, newsletter & Instagram for epic stories about what it means to rewrite the rules and belong to yourself.   
Why?
Because I believe that when we break down the 4th wall that stands between your story and mine, we deepen belonging--the only path to sustainable communal joy.
Eli Walker

Why hire Eli as a speaker?

Eli's keynotes & presentations are more than informative, they're performative--(& subsequently transformative). Leveraging her world class theater training from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, her talks feel more like one-woman shows, full of entertaining stories, inspiring messages and expert audience interaction.
Book Eli for your next event
My Story

I grew up in rural Wisconsin and set flight for Manhattan when I received a scholarship to attend New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Graduating with a BFA in Acting (Cum Laude), I was equipped with a passion for community-based theater and an infatuation for using interactive storytelling as a tool to challenge social norms and teach the art of joy through self-empowerment. It wasn’t long before this led me to the art of yoga.

I completed my yoga teacher training in NYC and furthered my studies in India during a 6-month solo-backpacking trip across the country...

I completed my yoga teacher training in NYC and furthered my studies in India during a 6-month solo-backpacking trip across the country, prompted by a desperate need to re-evaluate my sense of personal power after an abusive experience with my male yoga teacher. My spiritual quest ended in Thailand, where I fell through a roof (long story) and severely injured my back, leaving me immobile for several weeks.
Make it Fun

Performance

Upon my return, my injuries led me to Katonah Yoga, an esoteric yoga practice that teaches students to refine their physical relationship with the universe using imagination, metaphor and teamwork to discover “center” through “circumference.” This practice was a game-changer for me, as it not only to healed my back, but it also showed me that, with more progressive, practical teaching methods—(as opposed to militaristic, dogmatic conventions)—yoga can be made joyful, fun and communal through the intelligent integration of performance techniques.

Informance

Drawing from all of these experiences, I took my mission to teach kindness and connectivity as vehicles for joy one step further when I created my internationally acclaimed (albeit subversive) company, Drunk Yoga®. In doing so, I pioneered a new genre of “yoga entertainment” in an otherwise individualist tradition, re-introducing yoga to the masses as an accessible, uplifting social experience.
Now, happily...

I travel around the world performing my curated one-woman-show-esque keynotes and facilitating Uplift Experience wellness events that foster more inclusive, engaged and impactful communities.

When I’m not traveling for my work, I divide my time between NYC, Bali and Beacon, NY.
Fun facts: I have an advanced certification in astrology, I used to “moonlight” as an at-home voiceover artist while bootstrapping my entrepreneurial endeavors, and if you ask me to cook for you, I’ll likely burn it. So for your own sake, just...don’t.

Follow my monthly newsletter & @eliwalkerstories on Instagram.

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Community engagement arises when belonging is felt.