She recently graduated from UC Berkeley where she studied Peace and Conflict Studies. She was the co-founder and facilitator of the Women's Consciousness-Raising Group Decal, an empowerment based discussion forum. Maya has focused extensively on the idea and practice of empowerment and furthers this emphasis with her yoga classes. She has taught worldwide, including Vietnam, where she studied abroad and taught yoga classes at Hanoi University. Maya is passionate about the practice of yoga and its potential to bring healing to individuals and communities. She feels that individual emotional and physical awareness practice must be understood within the context of societal and political structures.