About Gaja Collective

A woman-owned, licensed school for coaching, meditation, Ayurveda and yoga.

Taught live by faculty, accredited where it counts, with a community of more than 6,000 alumni that stays with you after you graduate.

Recognized byICFNBHWCYoga Alliance RYS & YACEPOhio State Board of Career Colleges and Schools

What "Gaja" means

Gaja is the Sanskrit word for elephant: wisdom, learning, abundance, and a memory that keeps what matters. Gaja Collective is a woman-owned, Ohio-licensed vocational school with an alumni community of more than 6,000 people working in meditation, yoga, Ayurveda and coaching.

What we teach, and how

Our programs rest on wisdom traditions thousands of years old and on accreditations that hold them to a professional standard: ICF and NBHWC for coaching, Yoga Alliance for the teacher trainings and continuing education. Every certification is a faculty-led cohort with live seminars, practicum hours and mentorship, not a library you watch alone.

From the founder

Dallas Brown, the school's founder and CEO, has spent nearly two decades stewarding conscious communities and sharing teachings meant to heal and transform. Gaja is an extension of that work: a place to learn, to grow, and to stay connected with the people you learned beside.

Licensed and accountable

Gaja Collective is registered with the Ohio State Board of Career Colleges and Schools (registration 2326). That means a written enrollment agreement before you pay, a published refund policy, and records the school is required to keep for you.

The faculty

Lead faculty
Dallas Brown
Founder and CEO

Dallas has spent nearly two decades stewarding conscious communities alongside leaders in health and wellness. She founded Gaja Collective in 2025 and still personally welcomes every new cohort.

Coaching
Lead faculty
Dr. Sheila Patel
Chief Medical Officer and Director of Ayurveda Programs

A board-certified family physician with more than 30 years in primary care, Dr. Sheila bridges modern medicine and Ayurveda across Gaja’s programs.

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Lead faculty
Roger Gabriel
Director of Meditation Programs

Roger has practiced and taught meditation for more than fifty years, on every continent, and leads Gaja’s Meditation & Mindfulness Instructor Certification.

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Lead faculty
Sarah Platt-Finger
Director of Yoga Programs

Co-founder of ISHTA Yoga and a teacher of teachers for two decades, Sarah leads every Gaja yoga program with depth, precision, and heart.

Yoga
Lead faculty
Mary McEvilly Hernández
Director of Coaching

A Master Certified Coach and board-certified health and wellness coach, Mary leads the Gaja Coach Certification and mentors every new cohort of coaches.

Coaching
Laura Plumb
Vedic & Jyotish Scholar, Gaja Faculty

An internationally respected Ayurvedic educator, Vedic scholar, and author, Laura leads Gaja’s Level 2 Ayurvedic nutrition certification and teaches mantra and mindfulness across its meditation programs.

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Dr. Suhas Kshirsagar
Ayurvedic Expert, Gaja Faculty

A classically trained Ayurvedic physician with more than 35 years of clinical experience and five books, Dr. Suhas brings the depth of a Vedic healing lineage to Gaja’s Ayurveda and meditation programs.

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Erica Lopez
Director of Community and Alumni Relations

Erica keeps the Gaja community connected, from the facilitated discussions inside its programs to the alumni network that follows graduation.

Armenia Gary
Head of Admissions

Armenia is the first conversation most students have with Gaja, guiding them from a free preview session to the program that fits.

The programs
1
Yoga Teacher Training

200- and 300-hour trainings led by Sarah Platt-Finger; Yoga Alliance registered.

2
Meditation Instructor Certification

Led by Roger Gabriel: the training for aspiring meditation teachers.

3
Ayurvedic Health programs

Led by Dr. Sheila Patel: become a confident, capable facilitator.

4
Coach Certification

Led by Mary McEvilly-Hernández: an accredited mind-body-spirit coach training.

Questions about a program?

Admissions will walk through the schedule, the payment plans and whether a certification or a course is the right first step.