Performer & Informer
Belonging Expert. World-Class Performer.
You're not just booking a speaker. You’re creating an experience. With 20+ years of performance expertise and NYU Tisch training, Eli delivers actionable belonging strategies through the P.L.A.Y. Method that transform how your people connect.
.avif)
.svg){kind=logo}
Past Clients"
The Wellness Blind Spot
Your People Aren't Disengaged. They're Disconnected.
We invest in physical health. We invest in mental health. But we leave our social well-being—the foundation of trust and motivation—to autopilot.
Right now, organizations and individuals are facing a crisis they can't quite name. Disengagement. Quiet quitting. Isolation.
Teams that produce but don't meaningfully connect. Leaders who manage but don't relate. Individuals who want to engage in something bigger, but don’t know how. The problem isn't laziness. It's that people don't feel like they belong.
56
%
Higher job performance from employees with a strong sense of belonging
50
%
Lower turnover risk for high-belonging organizations
7
x
More likely to be engaged (if employees have a best friend at work)
Why Eli Walker?
Experiential talks
Keynotes that Move People + Give Them the Tools to Move Others
Every keynote is built on Eli’s signature P.L.A.Y. Method, giving your audience an actionable framework they'll remember and use.
Keynote 01.
The Art of Getting Over Yourself™
How to Build Belonging in the Modern World
What people will learn:
How to get off autopilot to presence
Why connection feels hard today
How to [economically] facilitate belonging in day-to-day interactions
Practical, repeatable (and fun) P.L.A.Y. Method tools for real-time connection
Keynote 02.
Work Hard, P.L.A.Y. Harder™
A Work-Life Balance Strategy That Actually Works
What people will learn:
Why “balance” fails
The neuroscience behind play, creativity, and resilience
How to access joy and spontaneity under pressure
Non-cringey strategies for embedding play into team culture and daily routines
Keynote 03.
Belonging by Design™
Building Social Wellness as a Strategy
What people will learn:
Why social wellness impacts longevity, performance, and retention
How to leverage the P.L.A.Y. Method within live moments of connection
Why most connection initiatives fail (and what you should do instead)
How to easily integrate belonging into meetings, rituals, culture systems
The P.L.A.Y. Method
How P.L.A.Y. Drives Real Business Impact
Eli’s P.L.A.Y. Method framework (Place, Language, Acknowledgement, You), helps leaders, teams and individuals create playful, practical social wellness strategies by tapping into the power of mindfulness, creative thinking and live experience design within any environment.
P.
Place — Intentional space + boundary design
L.
Language — Roles, tone + commitments
A.
Acknowledgement — Breaking 4th walls
Y.
You — The art of getting over yourself (+ into accountability)
.avif)
Premium Add-On
Emcee Services
One Voice. One Throughline.
When Eli emcees your event, belonging is more than a buzzword. It’s sparked in real time. Audiences get the opportunity to experience belonging - not simply learn about it.
Package Deal: Book a keynote + emcee services for a cohesive event experience with one trusted partner from open to close.
Seamless Transitions
High-energy that keeps your audience engaged from start to finish - (no dead air, no awkward pauses).
Crowd Connection
A master performer who can read a room and mmake a room of 500 feel like a room of 50.
Reliably Funny
Professional comedic timing meets genuine warmth honed through 20+ years of live performance.
Interactive Games
Custom, non-cheesy icebreakers and games sourced from Drunk Yoga's proven playbook..
.avif)
Your attendees already expect wellness. Eli makes it mean something by turning yoga, meditation, and more into live experiences where people embody connection - (not just talk about it.) Book Eli to facilitate what her keynotes teach with interactive wellness experiences.
Yoga & Meditation Sessions
Start your day grounded. End it centered. Accessible sessions for all levels that set the tone for connection.
Drunk Yoga® Experience
The viral phenomenon that launched Eli's career. Part yoga, part drinking game, 100% belonging through play. (Alcohol is optional, and yes, it is as fun as it sounds. …More, to be honest.)
Custom Icebreakers for Kick-Offs & Networking
Ditch the awkward “name a fun fact” exercises. Eli designs interactive games tailored to your audience that do more than break ice; they spark camaraderie that turns into community in 45 minutes or less.
P.L.A.Y. Workshops
Hands-on sessions where participants learn and apply the P.L.A.Y. Method collaboratively. Walk away with shared language and immediate (+ effective) tools and the “in this together” feeling we’re all secretly craving.
Meet
Eli
Street Cred.
“Eli is an absolute light on stage — effortlessly captivating the audience with warmth, energy, and authenticity. She has the ability to make every moment feel engaging, down-to-earth, and connected. ''
Yif Chen
BRAND STRATEGY, TIKTOK SHOP
Eli Walker In the Press
“Eli Walker, founder of the sessions, told Popsugar, ‘Drunk Yoga, which involves adding wine to a beginner yoga sequence in class that takes place in a bar, was just another idea I had to make yoga more accessible and less intimidating to a certain population who might not otherwise try yoga at all.’”
“It is precisely this dogmatic tendency that Eli would like to challenge: ‘We are creating a safe space here for lots of fun. Here the yogis can let go completely, not take themselves and others too seriously. And above all: not to take yoga too seriously.’”
.svg)
“‘It’s OK if you spill,’ says Drunk Yoga creator Eli Walker, 29, an actress and yogi who created the trademarked yoga brand in 2017.”
“Eli Walker, the yoga instructor who one day realized that the disinhibition of the bar was what it took to make people feel comfortable in yoga class”.
“Walker’s final rule for Drunk Yoga is that ‘you have to have fun and be happy by the time you leave.’”
“Walker’s manifesto is unlike any other how-to-yoga guidebook on the shelf, because not only does it pair the Ayurvedic practice with alcohol, it’s also layered with jokes and stories to really hone in on her overall message: that life on its own is hard enough, but yoga doesn’t have to be.”
“This roving series aims to lift your spirits and create community around the potent union of yoga and social ritual…”
“…yoga instructor Eli Walker decided to open up a “Drunk Yoga” series to help beginning yogis relax with the idea that your body will become more flexible with some liquid courage…”
“Eli said it best: ‘When you’re playing with your body in time and space in a new way, surrounded by friends in a bar with a glass of wine, it’s hard not to enjoy yourself.’”
“Eli Walker, the yoga instructor who one day realized that the disinhibition of the bar was what it took to make people feel comfortable in yoga class”.
“In addition to yoga, she [Walker] teaches storytelling workshops for kids and adults that combine movement and theater.”
meet eli
Hi! I’m Eli.
I make belonging my business.
Part belonging expert, part performer and fully obsessed with why connection works.
I'm the founder of The Uplift Center a school for belonging that teaches people how to design connection on purpose. I'm also an NYU Tisch-trained solo-performance artist with 20+ years on stage, which means when I keynote, you're not getting slides. You're getting world-class storytelling.
Creator of Drunk Yoga® - the viral concept that started as a joke but quickly earned international press, nationwide brand partnerships and a book deal
Architect of the P.L.A.Y.™ Method - my belonging framework used by Fortune 500 companies like Google, Spotify, Porsche, TikTok, and Intel
Pioneer of the social wellness movement before it had a name, featured in Forbes, LATimes, NYPost, GLAMOUR, ELLE, WomensHealth, People and more.
Media Kit & Downloads
Full Biography
Short, medium, and long versions ready to copy and paste for event programs and marketing materials.
Download ↓
Headshots (high-res)
Professional photos in various formats, suitable for print and digital use.
Download ↓
Keynote Descriptions
Titles, descriptions, and learning outcomes for Eli's signature talks.
Download ↓
Technical Requirements
A/V needs, stage setup, and everything your production team needs to know.
Download ↓
Testimonials
What past clients and audiences have said about working with Eli.
Download ↓
Selling Points for Clients
Makes it easy for planners to share internally and sell you up the chain.
Download ↓
Read the work
Off The Stage And On The Page
Drunk Yoga
Buy Eli's best-selling Drunk Yoga® book: "50 Wine & Yoga Poses to Lift Your Spirit(s).”
🔥 coming SOON
P.L.A.Y. Book
This comprehensive guide combines practical social wellness strategies with fun "belonging hacks" and modern toolkit essentials.
Kill the
Buddha Script
Eli’s latest one-woman show about how belonging begins when you stop performing someone else's version of you.
.avif)