YFAM is turning 10—and celebrating with free yoga in the streets!
The City of Santa Cruz is shutting down Pacific Avenue and Cooper Street again for our second annual Yoga For All Day. (This coincides with the city-proclaimed holiday in our name, Yoga For All Movement Day!) Here's everything you need to know about this special milestone.
Yoga For All Day!
Yoga For All Day!
WHEN: Saturday, October 10th from 12 to 4 PM
WHERE: Pacific Avenue at Cooper Street
WHAT: FREE yoga festival, including:
accessible yoga & meditation
sound healing
live music
mindfulness activities for the whole family
and more!
ALL ARE INVITED TO ATTEND!
Thank you, Yoga Alliance!
This free event for the community is made possible by the generous support of our sponsor, Yoga Alliance. We are so grateful.
Help us celebrate a decade of providing yoga classes that center vulnerable populations that historically have not been served or included by the wellness industry. This includes individuals in recovery from substance use disorders, youth in schools, youth experiencing incarceration, survivors of domestic violence, isolated seniors, people with mental health needs, the LGBTQIA+ community, people with lower incomes, and other underserved members of our beloved Santa Cruz County.
About our Headliners
DJ Drez transforms the atmosphere of any space with his signature sound. Rooted in underground Hip Hop, he brings masterful turntable skills and a visionary approach to a truly universal musical experience, weaving together elements of world music, soul, funk, jazz, and reggae. As the pioneer of bringing live DJ culture into the yoga space, Drez helped shape the evolution of music-driven yoga experiences, creating immersive soundscapes for movement, meditation, and connection. A master of his craft in the studio and on stage, he continues to create deeply original music that inspires dance, yoga asana, and ecstatic movement.
Marti Nikko is a devoted yoga teacher, vocalist, and lifelong student whose passion inspires every class. With over 20 years in the wellness community and certifications in Yoga and the Pilates Method, she guides students with skill, warmth, and a deep understanding of the body. Her classes weave mindful movement, creative sequencing, and thoughtful modifications to cultivate strength, ease, and presence. Rooted in the healing wisdom of yoga, Marti creates space for greater awareness, connection, and transformation through practice.
Many know Marti as the soulful voice alongside DJ Drez, featured on numerous albums and remixes. Her heartfelt vocals and love of mantra reflect a path of bhakti—where music becomes prayer and movement becomes meditation. Through yoga, mantra, and song, she invites others into a practice of devotion, joy, and the remembrance of our shared humanity.
RSVP for Yoga For All Day 2026!
We will be announcing our full line-up and schedule soon.
RSVP below to get all the updates! We look forward to celebrating with you on Saturday, October 10th.
Our 10th anniversary fundraiser is also underway!
Yoga For All Day is free, and it always will be; it’s our joy to serve the community in this way. But putting it on doesn't come without cost, and the celebration is just one part of a bigger picture: a decade of showing up for people the wellness industry has historically left behind.
Ten years ago, Yoga For All Movement didn't have an office, a budget, or a single paid staff member. It had yoga teachers devoted to sevā (selfless service in Sanskrit); knocking on the doors of shelters, recovery centers, and community organizations across Santa Cruz County; offering their time and their teaching for free, simply because they believed people who had been shut out of the wellness industry deserved access to it too.
That grassroots spirit never left, but it has grown. What started as a handful of volunteer teachers is now a network of more than 50 trauma-informed teachers, trained through YFAM's own program and supported through free monthly trainings that keep them resourced, connected, and equipped for the populations they serve. Only in the past couple of years have we been able to compensate our teachers at all; compensation remains modest, and funding is never guaranteed year to year.
In a moment when federal and state funding for nonprofits and social services is increasingly uncertain, programs like ours — offering something as seemingly "non-essential" as yoga and mindfulness — are often the first to be cut, even as research continues to show real impact: studies of trauma-informed yoga in correctional settings have linked participation to reduced psychological distress and lower rates of recidivism.
Ten years in, we're still standing on the same foundation we started with: teachers who show up, again and again, for people the rest of the world often overlooks. YFAM now trains and supports a network of more than 50 trauma-informed teachers, many of whom found their way to us with no prior connection to this work, just a willingness to show up. We offer free monthly trainings to keep every teacher resourced and supported, because the people delivering this care deserve care too.