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Hi there!

I'm Eli Walker

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Professional Speaker, Performance Artist, Wellness Entrepreneur & Belonging Expert

As the founder of the internationally-acclaimed wellness brand Drunk Yoga® (now The Uplift Center), I pioneered the wellness entertainment movement to bridge the gap between #selfcare and #communitycare. Now, I help forward-thinking facilitators do the same: break the rules to get over themselves, engage community and spark radical belonging by building more playful and engaging gatherings.

When you work with me to curate a keynote, interactive social wellness experience or as an advisor on your next gathering, you can expect to unlock a sense of belonging in the most unexpected, laughter-inducing ways you can imagine...(and even a few that you can't)...leaving you empowered with tools to create a more uplifted and connected world.
Book Eli for your next event

I'm Eli Hi there!

A woman on a mission to teach the art of getting over yourself through shared belonging.

I do this By way of...

01

Live ExperiencesKeynotes, yoga & icebreaker sessions

Experience belonging through my interactive keynotes and my curated, immersive social wellness events. Book a call.

02

Facilitation ConsultingPlus digital resources

Practice belonging with my 1:1 consulting services and UplifTV membership, designed to provide you with the guidance, support and accountability you need to take your community-building goals to the next level. Learn more.

03

#BelonginghacksBlogs, newsletters & more

Learn belonging by following my epic stories on social media, my newsletter and blog. Stay in touch.
My approach
Community engagement is the destination, live experiences are the vehicle, play is the gas in the tank, and belonging is the roadmap.
Eli Walker

Why hire Eli as a speaker?

Eli's keynotes & presentations are more than informative, they're performative--(& subsequently transformative). Leveraging her world class theater training from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, her talks feel more like one-woman shows, full of entertaining stories, inspiring messages and expert audience interaction.
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My Story

I grew up in rural Wisconsin and set flight for Manhattan when I received a scholarship to attend New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Graduating with a BFA in Acting (Cum Laude), I was equipped with a passion for community-based theater and an infatuation for using interactive storytelling as a tool to challenge social norms and teach the art of joy through self-empowerment. It wasn’t long before this led me to the art of yoga.

I completed my yoga teacher training in NYC and furthered my studies in India during a 6-month solo-backpacking trip across the country...

I completed my yoga teacher training in NYC and furthered my studies in India during a 6-month solo-backpacking trip across the country, prompted by a desperate need to re-evaluate my sense of personal power after an abusive experience with my yoga teacher. My spiritual quest ended in Thailand, where I fell through a roof (long story) and severely injured my back, leaving me immobile for several weeks.
The Power
of Play

Performance

Upon my return to NYC, my injuries led me to Katonah Yoga, an esoteric yoga practice that teaches students to refine their physical relationship with the universe using imagination, metaphor and teamwork to discover “center” through “circumference.” This practice was a game-changer for me, as it not only to healed my back, but it also showed me that, with more progressive, practical teaching methods—(as opposed to militaristic, dogmatic conventions)—yoga can be made joyful, fun and communal through the intelligent integration of performance techniques, and of course...play.

Informance

Drawing from all of these experiences, I took my passion for finding unique ways to "break the 4th wall" to cultivate belonging one step further by founding my internationally acclaimed (albeit subversive) brand, Drunk Yoga®. In doing so, I pioneered a new genre of “yoga entertainment” in an otherwise individualist tradition, re-introducing yoga to the masses as an accessible, uplifting social experience.
Enter: The Uplift Center
In 2023, after spending 6 years scaling Drunk Yoga® in NYC, Dallas and LA (thanks viral press coverage!), I discovered how to translate the very same theatrical devices I used to make yoga feel like a party into a live experience design methodology - my signature P.L.A.Y. Method - to help all facilitators (not just yoga teachers!) create more engaging live events.

As a result, I launched The Uplift Center (Drunk Yoga® 2.0, if you will), as a resource hub for belonging-builders everywhere.

Now, I travel around the world performing my curated keynotes, solo-shows and facilitating social wellness experiences. When I'm not traveling, you can find me hiking in the Hudson Valley, NY (my new home base) between calls with consulting clients, where I get to help leaders foster more inclusive, joyful and impactful communities and teams.

Fun facts: I have an advanced certification in astrology, I used to “moonlight” as an at-home voiceover artist while bootstrapping my entrepreneurial endeavors, and if you ask me to cook for you, I’ll likely burn it. So for your own sake, maybe...don’t.

Follow my monthly newsletter & @eliwalkerstories on Instagram.

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Community engagement arises when belonging is felt.