Spiritual life coach, yoga teacher, minister, and arts educator, Iya Reverend Abigail “Ifatola” Jefferson, M.Ed., conducts programs globally. Through a unique blend of story, sacred dance, and yoga, she keeps alive stories and traditions from the African Diaspora and beyond. People of all ages have described her programs as healing, spirit-filled, inspiring, and energizing!
Abigail, ordained at One Spirit Learning Alliance in 2017, is certified in Kripalu Yoga, Karma Kids Yoga, and Yoga 4Cancer. She trained with Master Teacher Yirser Ra Hotep in Egypt to certify in Kemetic Yoga and certified as a Spiritual Wellness Coach with Shola Arewa’s Energy 4 Life Program.
Abigail has also traveled to Cuba, Nigeria, Ghana, Niger, and India to collect stories and to immerse herself in cultural traditions. Most recently, she returned from South East Asia (Vietnam, Bali, and Thailand). where she performed storytelling and taught English as well as facilitated some Kemetic Yoga workshops.
Abigail has served as an adjunct professor for Lesley University’s Creative Arts in Learning Program, as a teaching artist for Brown University’s Arts Literacy Program, and as Education Manager for the Schomburg Center’s Teen Curators Program and Lifetime Arts Creative Aging initiatives. Abigail graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor in Fine Arts and earned a Masters of Education from Lesley University in Integrated Teaching Through the Arts.
A resident of Harlem and a founding member of the Rhode Island Black Storytellers, Abigail has released a beautifully illustrated children’s book titled Imani’s Heart: The Dancing Angel. Her short story, 1968, was prominently featured in Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s Visible Ink program’s anthology and 12th annual performance. Abigail is currently performing a Chaplaincy internship in the Spiritual Care division at Mt. Sinai Beth Israel Hospital in New York City. She also serves as an End-of-Life volunteer Doula in Mt. Sinai Hospital’s Palliative Care Unit.
Affiliations
- Massachusetts Libraries Board of Library Commissioners
- Harlem Needle Arts
- Lifetime Arts, Inc
- Yoga Alliance Foundation
- One Spirit Learning Alliance
- Schomburg Center
- Rhode Island Black Storytellers
- Black Yoga Teacher Alliance
- Holistic Health Community
- Black Yoga Teachers Association
- Eventbrite
- Rowe Conference Center
- Kripalu
- Coalition on Positive Health Empowerment