Lana’s Iraqi Kurdish ancestry carries a rich heritage of migration, creativity, self-determination, and freedom fighting gifting her the intergenerational resilience to work at the intersection of healing and collective change. She is a learning abolitionist dedicated to dissolving narratives that dehumanize communities of color.
She is inspired and continually energized by the Kurdish Women’s Freedom Revolution in Rojava as well as the movement for Palestinian liberation.
Lana’s diaspora experience led her into a career as a human rights lawyer where she represented refugee and migrant communities in the UK. Most recently, she represented children in refugee camps across Europe in family reunification cases. She discovered yoga and other contemplative practices as pathways towards transformation as well as a way to support her social justice work.
She subsequently trained in therapeutic yoga, womb yoga, and yoga nidra with Uma Dinsmore-Tuli and Anna Ashby. Lana’s other guides include Dr Gail Parker, Bayo Akomolafe, Resmaa Menakem, Jean McClelland, and Rev angel Kyodo williams.
She continues to grow as an artist and explores this through her love for the keys and songwriting.