Professional history

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Amritari Martinez, M.A. , Certified Yoga Wellness Educator 

Amritari has been working and volunteering in behavioral health, education and advocacy for over 30 years. Although she began her career studying urban planning and economic development. She did architecture internships, one for an independent architect, and another for a local neighborhood association in a low income Black and Latino neighborhood where she engaged with local politicians on housing development. She also worked for a commercial and residential real estate appraiser and helped him with demographic research and building reports.  

As she reflected on difficulties she experienced as a child she decided to become a Court Designated Child Advocate in the Juvenile Court Dependency System. She designed a pilot program for youth under the supervision of a Superior Court Judge in a District Attorney’s Office. The program's goal was to help focus on the educational needs of youth and help them regulate their emotions and decrease their anxiety when they gave court testimony. 

She then worked for two school districts as an adult school educator teaching English as a Second Language, Citizenship Exam requirements, taught GED courses to adults struggling with substance use disorders, and designed an educational program in nursing homes. She also helped immigrants with job resumes and counseled them in transitioning into new careers.

Following this she worked as a Patients Rights Advocate representing psychiatric patients in inpatient legal hearings and responded to grievances in inpatient and outpatient psychiatric hospitals, and residential living communities. She also educated clients about their legal rights and self advocacy. 

After retiring from her work as a Patients’ Right Advocate, Amritari spent 8 years volunteering and doing fundraising for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. She worked as a board member for the Durham County Affiliate. In this role she organized panel discussions. She put together a group of Duke professors of neuroscience to discuss what she entitled, “You have the Power to Change Your Brain”. She designed the format and questions for the professors which revolved around a discussion of neuron-plasticity and neurogenesis. She put together a panel discussion where she brought together several local eating disorders clinics to speak about treatment and recovery. She also worked with the Peer Leadership Council, a group of mental health clients organized to voice their advocacy interests.

In 2012, Amritari completed her yoga teacher training and began teaching at the Village Integrated Services Agency, an internationally acclaimed outpatient community mental health center in Long Beach, California. Since then, she has swehared the benefits of yoga and meditation in a variety of settings, including the Durham VA Medical Center, UNC Family Medicine, Triangle Springs psychiatric hospital, and The Farm at Penny Lane, affiliated with the UNC Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health where she has taught for the past six years.

In 2021, she earned a 300-hour Yoga Wellness Educator certification specializing in Yoga for Older Adults, allowing her to teach in 55+ communities, assisted living facilities, and to individuals with dementia and Alzheimer’s. She deepened her expertise with certifications in Brain Longevity from the Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation and Level 1 iRest Yoga Nidra which scientific research shows helps individuals with mental and physical trauma.

Amritari enjoys teaching yoga and meditation privately in person and online to behavioral health professionals, and other professionals experiencing stress, mental health clients, as well as aging adults facing retirement and the effects of aging. Her approach to teaching is rooted in the belief that yoga and meditation provide powerful tools for self introspection and emotional resilience. 

She works with people of all ages, experiences, and abilities, creating inclusive spaces where yoga can help dissolve social stigma, prevent burnout, and support graceful aging. Her passion lies in guiding individuals toward deeper expressions of love, joy, and peace.