Internationally celebrated Dharma teacher of teachers, Kali Basman, intermingles Buddhist Psychology & Internal Family Systems Therapy into the living discipline of Yin Yoga

Kali Basman is an international Yin Yoga educator, Dharma teacher, and mentor whose work intermingles Buddhist psychology, Internal Family Systems, and the living intelligence of the body.

With eighteen years of teaching experience and a decade of Internal Family Systems practice, Kali guides an intimate exploration of how our inner lives speak through the body. Her teaching brings anatomy, fascia, and the meridian traditions of Chinese Medicine into conversation with Buddhist mind training, somatic awareness, and parts inquiry. Yin Yoga becomes a place to listen: to patterns of holding and protection, to the parts of us that have gone unheard, and to the capacity for compassion that can emerge when we meet ourselves with curiosity and care.

Kali holds a Master of Public Health in Environmental Health from UCLA and has trained extensively through the Internal Family Systems Institute, including Level 1 training, ongoing study, and mentorship. Her background in conscious dying and sacred passage work informs a reverence for grief, transition, and the tender uncertainty of being human. Across twenty years of contemplative study and personal practice, these disciplines have become interwoven pathways of understanding, lived as well as taught.

Through international retreats, teacher trainings, mentorship programs, and virtual practice communities, Kali accompanies students and teachers in developing a more compassionate relationship with their inner lives. Her offerings include Journey to Self, an IFS-informed practice circle, and individual mentorship. She is known for translating complex teachings into accessible, evocative language, bringing precision to the study of the body and tenderness to the experience of inhabiting it.

Based in Boulder, Colorado, Kali teaches internationally at festivals, retreat centers, and studios. Her work has been featured through Gaia, Yoga International, and a range of publications and podcasts. She is currently writing a book exploring the somatic expression of our parts and Yin Yoga as a medium for returning to Self.

Reverence

Kali’s teaching is rooted in gratitude for the teachers and traditions that continue to shape her life. She honors Sarah Powers, her root teacher, whose integration of Yin Yoga, Buddhist meditation, and psychological inquiry remains foundational to her work, and Richard Schwartz, whose Internal Family Systems model offers a compassionate way of understanding our inner multiplicity.

Her gratitude extends to Richard Freeman, Tias and Surya Little, Judith Hanson Lasater, Paul Grilley, Jack Kornfield, and Francis Weller. Their teachings continue to inform her understanding of the body, the mind, grief, and the courage it takes to remain intimate with life.

Explore Kali’s featured teaching and media · Read her writing