2026 Sedona Yoga Festival

Kate Herrera Jenkins (Shu-wih-mitz, “Turquoise”) is a member of the Pueblo of Cochiti in New Mexico and the founder of Native Strength Revolution (NSR), an Indigenous wellness nonprofit dedicated to helping Indigenous communities heal one breath at a time. Through NSR’s Yoga Teacher Training and leadership programs, Kate has trained over 100 Indigenous yoga instructors who now serve their own communities throughout Turtle Island (U.S. & Canada). Kate began her career in the healing arts as a Board-Certified Music Therapist after earning a Bachelor’s degree in Music Therapy from Loyola University New Orleans. She moved to New York City in 1998, where she worked with children with special needs and elders, deepening her understanding of relational care, presence, and leadership through service. After relocating to Alabama in 2004, Kate discovered hot yoga and was drawn to its transformative power and its parallels with traditional Pueblo ceremonial practices. She became a yoga teacher in 2009, opened Kiva Hot Yoga in Birmingham in 2011, and later expanded into group fitness by opening a gym in 2014. Her teaching has evolved from hot yoga to vinyasa flow, and today she especially enjoys sharing bhakti yoga, emphasizing devotion, humility, and heart-centered leadership. As a leadership coach, Kate integrates leadership development, emotional intelligence, and embodied self-awareness into all of her programming. She supports emerging leaders in clarifying vision, strengthening self-trust, and leading with integrity, intuition, and accountability. These leadership tools are woven into NSR’s teacher trainings, retreats, and community programs. In addition to yoga, Kate loves weightlifting, long-distance running, Nia and learning new ways of moving—approaching leadership, like wellness, as a lifelong practice rooted in curiosity, discipline, and devotion.