San Francisco Yoga Conference Returns, Focuses on Equanimity in Turbulent Times

San Francisco’s Hotel Kabuki is set to become a focal point for yoga culture next spring, as Samavesha 2026, also billed as Yoga Conference SF, returns with a message built for a noisy moment: equanimity. The gathering runs April 28 through May 3, with the main conference set for April 30 through May 3, and organizers are framing it as more than a weekend of classes. The stated aim is steadiness, renewal and deeper alignment in a turbulent world.

The event is being presented by Anusara Yoga and YogaKula, with an early-discount window advertised through April 15 using promo code “Equanimity.” That pitch gives the conference a clear commercial and cultural marker at once: this is a lineage event, but it is also being positioned as accessible to newcomers who want an entry point into deeper study. The venue, Hotel Kabuki at 1625 Post St. in San Francisco’s Japantown, adds to that sense of occasion. The 225-room property is tied to the neighborhood’s heritage and has long been associated with the area’s community history.

The schedule shows how broad the program is likely to be. The opening stretch includes a teacher-training intensive and a therapeutic immersion, followed by the main conference. Evening programming is built around satsang and performances, including appearances by Carlos Pomeda with Benjy and Heather Wertheimer, a concert-plus-class with MC YOGI, and a closing concert with Shantala. The teaching roster reaches across philosophy, alignment and contemporary practice, with Carlos Pomeda, Noah Mazé, Christina Sell, Desiree Rumbaugh, Madhuri Martin and Adam Ballenger among the names attached to the preview, and Suzanne Zuber, Jackie Prete, Jeanie Manchester, Denise Hatch, Benjamin Finnerty, Masumi Yoshida, Saraswati Clere, Jayendra Hanley, Stephanie Lopez, Julia Pearring, Judyth Hill, Doug Keller and Dacher Keltner also listed in the official lineup.

That combination matters because Anusara is not being presented as a generic wellness label. The school describes itself as a teacher-run, student-centered global organization rooted in a life-affirming Tantric philosophy, and it is widely traced to John Friend’s founding of the modern school in 1997. Bringing that tradition to San Francisco, in a venue with Japantown roots and a program that blends philosophy, therapeutics and music, gives the conference the feel of a lineage summit rather than a routine industry stop.

Dacher Keltner’s inclusion pushes the theme even further into the present. As a University of California, Berkeley psychology professor known for work on emotion, awe, compassion and human connection, he signals that this conference wants to speak to the same pressures many practitioners feel off the mat: overstimulation, fragmentation and the search for steadiness. In 2026, that may be exactly why this gathering stands out.