Helen Kesler

Helen is a yoga instructor, massage therapist, and spiritual healer who has been based in Sarasota for over 30 years. Born in Tokyo, she has been a part of the Sarasota community since the 1970s when she attended New College of Florida. With the mentorship of the late Peggy Bates, Helen went on to graduate and teach succeeding generations of New College students the practice of good health and the art of maintaining it. Now a revered alumna, she has traveled the world and collected a breadth of knowledge on body work, nonviolent communication and spiritual wellness, with which she continues to enrich the lives of her yoga students at New College and the greater Manasota population.

Student Interviewer: Miles Iton

Miles is a philosophy student at New College of Florida currently finishing his junior year. Drawn to the Oral History course by a range of interdisciplinary interests within the humanities, he signed onto the project to seize the opportunity to discover the gems in Sarasota’s rich history.