We are excited to have Sunder Iyer PhD, MD-Alternative Medicine (Medicina Alternativa), Jill Wener MD, Maya Iyer, Sudhir Kumar MD. as our Retreat Faculty.

Faculty Bios

Sunder Iyer, PhD

MD-Alternative Medicine (Medicina Alternativa) E-RYT200, RYT500

Dr. Sunder Iyer has been practicing the science of Yoga since the age of 10. During his youth, Dr. Iyer spent over 15 years at the ashram of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Puttaparthi, India. During that time, along with earning his PhD in Banking and Finance, Dr. Iyer continued to pursue the learning of traditional yogic practices and philosophy. He also studied ancient Sanskrit texts and yogic approaches across different yogic schools in India. He had the opportunity to learn the philosophy of yoga directly from his spiritual teacher, Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Under Baba's direction, he was also blessed to learn yoga from other yoga masters who visited the ashram. Many of these teachers were from traditional schools in the Himalayas and Tibet. He taught for several years at the Sathya Sai University, introducing yoga as a means to wellness and human excellence, for both the students and the faculty. Dr. Iyer also obtained an MD in Alternative Medicine. He is also certified as E-RYT (Registered Yoga Teacher) 200 and RYT 500 Yoga Teacher under Yoga Alliance, USA.

Dr. Iyer teaches traditional yoga, holistic wellness and human advancement through spirituality. In the workshops and retreats he conducts around the world, Dr. Iyer seeks to share his knowledge of human advancement and yoga to help others experience life to its fullest potential. Dr. Sunder Iyer and his wife Maya, have currently set up a non-profit institution for Yoga, Vedanta and Human Advancement, under the name Kaivalya Yoga Gurukulam (KYG USA Inc). Their website is www.kyg.org

Sudhir Kumar MD, MS, MPH

Dr. Sudhir Kumar is a Board Certified Infectious Diseases Specialist working with UnityPoint Health, Des Moines, Iowa. He graduated in Medicine from Bangalore Medical College in India. He received research scholarship at the National University of Singapore where he obtained a master’s degree in Microbiology and his research focused on antitumor properties of mycovirus in Shiitake mushrooms. Dr. Kumar then pursued Internal Medicine residency at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center where he also served as a chief resident. After working briefly at the Mayo Health System as a Board Certified Internist, he attended the University of Minnesota for training in Infectious Diseases where he completed fellowship training in Infectious Diseases as well as Master of Public Health (MPH) in Epidemiology from the University of Minnesota. As a board-certified Infectious Diseases physician, he has been practicing for more than ten years. He is affiliated as an Adjunct Assistant Professor with the University of Iowa. He is also a teaching faculty at the Des Moines University.

Being a self-motivated learner, he is passionate about acquiring knowledge in nutrition as it pertains to the prevention of chronic diseases afflicting humans. He is applying this in his local community and making strides in this front. Additionally, he is working on obtaining board-certification in Lifestyle Medicine through the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Dr. Kumar will be reviewing evidence-based nutrition and his experiences in this retreat.

Maya Iyer, E-RYT200

Maya received her E-RYT200 yoga teacher certification, accredited by Yoga Alliance, USA, from the Sivananda Ashram, India in 1997. She has recently co-founded the Kaivalya Yoga Gurukulam (KYG) with her husband, Sunder Iyer, at their home in Ohio, USA. Researching and creating new recipes is Maya's passion. She has over a decade of experience in cooking delicious and healthy recipes based on the principles of Yoga and Ayurveda. These dishes are served daily to guests at KYG.

Jill Wener, MD

Dr. Jill Wener is a board-certified Internist physician who teaches about Conscious Health Meditation and Wellness. After 10+ years practicing Internal Medicine at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Dr. Wener knows firsthand what severe stress and burnout feel like. In the midst of her own burnout, she was introduced to Conscious Health Meditation (also known as Vedic Meditation), and it had a profound effect on her resilience and reactivity. Like many healthcare professionals, Jill was initially skeptical of spiritual practices. However, as she learned the science behind Conscious Health Meditation, she has embraced the training and marveled at the results of the practice. After 2 years of advanced coursework, Dr. Wener completed her 3-month teacher training in Rishikesh, India in April 2016.

As a physician and teacher, Jill uses Meditation, Emotional Freedom Technique (Tapping) and Mindfulness as key tools in her holistic approach to wellness and stress management. In addition to teaching Conscious Health Meditation in numerous settings, she has presented on mindfulness for stress reduction. Additionally, Dr. Wener is a certified practitioner of the ‘Emotional Freedom Technique (aka Tapping)’, a powerful stress-reduction technique that uses the same meridians from acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine.