Yogi – Educator – Entrepreneur

My expertise with breathwork, body and meditative practices comes from three sources: over 25 years of daily dedicated practice and teaching these techniques; immersion in the original culture through one-on-one direct training in practice and study of ancient texts; doctoral scientific research at a leading US university (Emory) on yoga and breath in terms of stress, health and aging. 

I currently occupy a unique space to impart genuine teaching and science on these practices, acknowledged by my teacher and lineage (Kuvalayananda) in India as a Teacher-of-teachers and a Master of Breath, identified to carry the tradition (Pranayama). This places me as the only master-level yoga and breath practitioner currently immersed in scientific academic research on breathwork, stress and health. My sincere and ongoing role is to teach, write and research to help put out experienced and authentic information on these areas in a world full of confusion and conflicting messages both off and online.

I have been immersed in the practice and study of yoga, the breath, and meditative techniques for over 30 years, have gained a reputation as a yogi, scientist and teacher, while being a happy father to two sons. I have witnessed my own growth through many techniques and years of practice, watching how practices evolve over time as the student develops over time. My dedication to the path of yoga has come from a combination of intense practices, meditative experiences, silent retreats and numerous pilgrimages in India, Tibet and Thailand. 

I have had the good fortune to spend many rich years with my main teacher in pranayama and the meditative process, Sri O.P. Tiwari, and am now placed to carry forth these teachings and the tradition of Kuvalayananda. I was one of the dedicated few to spend many years living in Mysore with Pattabhi Jois in the old days of ashtanga vinyasa, certified by him, with an expertise in asana. Living in Thailand for many years I have also been involved in Buddhist culture and practices, many retreats in forest monasteries which are curiously appropriate for all these yogic practices.

I am highly interested in the inner journey of yoga and continues to study, not just the practices and their traditional textual statements, but also what modern science offers this. To that end I was accepted into one of the top PhD programs in the U.S., at Emory University, Atlanta, to conduct scientific research on yoga and its effects. 

I am still a student and love to share and learn. In this sense my interest lies in achieving balance, which I have termed as being “centered”, and through my focus in academic scientific research  I hope to contribute to what is the beautiful ongoing legacy of yoga and its practices: the internal life, the inner space, pure joy, sukha, centered. 

I have led workshops and trainings all over the world, and founded the retreat center, Samahita, in Thailand, that teaches students from all backgrounds and all levels of physical and mental readiness in Centered Yoga as an open-minded method to encourage inner awareness.

I believe in the mission of spreading health and wellbeing through engaged participation in practices, emphasizing that the fields of yoga and meditation are one, not separate techniques, commonly united on the internal path of both an open heart and sincere self-examination. Spiritual growth and practice involve a spectrum of approaches that includes physical fitness for the body, asana for neuro-physiological cultivation and refinement, pranayama as a key to the internal, and meditative techniques of many forms to enhance the inner experience further. Music, lightness, fun, dance, sharing and caring, and a sustainable approach to this world, are all integral to this process. Such focus and openness are part of Centered Yoga.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me.