Michelle Ashanti Williams

Owner/Operator
Om Shanti, Belize
(a center for yoga and healing arts)
RYT 500 Certifed Yoga Instructor( Yoga Alliance USA & Yoga Alliance International)
Usui Reiki Master
Vedic Thai Yoga Therapist
Meditation Coach

Born in Belize in 1973, Michelle has enjoyed traveling extensively and living around the world. She credits yoga, mindfulness meditation, breath work, reiki and other forms of healing arts for her spiritual and emotional growth as well as her recovery from depression. Her desire to heal others takes her annually to Rishikesh, India, the birthplace of yoga, where she received her 500RYT yoga certification which is recognized by both Yoga Alliance USA and Yoga Alliance International.
She is a Usui Reiki Master attuned and certified by Rev. Lorraine Hendrey Meyer, founder of Anew Reiki and BreathAnew. She is also a Vedic Thai Yoga Therapist, having had the privilege to be trained by Michael Mutki founder of the The Vedic Conservatory.
She is now based in her beautiful homeland, Belize, where she has established Om Shanti, Belize, the first center offering yoga and a variety of healing arts, workshops and retreats.
In November 2014 Michelle, together with Dr. Mark Pirtle of Skillfully Aware were the first to introduce Mindfulness Meditation to the Belizean public with a workshop entitled "Mind as Medicine". In January 2015, she and Rev. Lorraine Hendrey Meyer conducted a very successful Reiki Workshop, resulting in 7 practitioners being attuned and certified at Level 11, another first for Belize.

Michelle dedicates her time to her center and to community work, establishing a free community yoga class which she offers to the public in Belize City, in collaboration with The Belize Yoga Institute, . She also volunteers with Hand in Hand Ministries Summer Camp (Children Yoga) and the Belize Hospice and Palliative Care Foundation ( Fundraising and patient visits). She participates every month in the "Days of Healing" a grassroots initiative dedicated to ending gang violence in communities throughout Belize by teaching yoga and meditation to youth. Michelle is proud to have established a children's yoga curriculum and credits Anne Robideau, founder of Asana Alphabet for providing the teaching tools needed to engage children in the beautiful practice of yoga.

In her desire to involve everyone in the practice of yoga, she acknowledges that there are some people who may have physical restrictions but would like to get the healing benefits of yoga, therefore Michelle is now offering Aqua Yoga at Om Shanti,Belize. Aqua yoga is recommended as a rehabilitative exercise, or for anyone who wants to enjoy a fun new way to enjoy yoga.

Her Mission for Om Shanti,Belize, is to provide a sacred place to empower her community through the dynamic teachings of meditation, yoga and healing arts. A center providing the highest quality instruction with the greatest accessibility to all through a variety of meditation and yoga practices, healing workshops, environmentally conscious retreats and community outreach.