Mark is the only resident certified teacher of Anusara Yoga® in Japan. He has over a thousand hours of training in Anusara, five hundred of which have been directly with John Friend, the founder of Anusara. Mark is registered with Yoga Alliance as an E-RYT 500 teacher. Since 2007, he has been in an ongoing immersive study with Professor Paul Muller-Ortega, the founder of Blue Throat Yoga. Paul teaches the elegant Svatantra philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism and Nilakantha Meditation.

Mark began practicing Hatha Yoga with a variety of videotapes in 1996, to complement his martial arts practices. In 1998, he went to his first yoga class. After that class, the teacher asked Mark, “Have you ever thought about teaching?” Those six words became the catalyst for what has become a very fulfilling and extraordinary life path.

Mark began teaching in 1998. From 1998 to 2004 he studied with a variety of Ashtanga and Iyengar-influenced teachers, in both his hometown of Philadelphia and in San Francisco, where he moved in 2002 to deepen his studies and practice. In San Francisco, Mark studied with two fantastic teachers, who taught their own unique synthesis of Iyengar, Ashtanga, and therapeutics, for two years each.

In the Spring of 2004, Mark went to his first Anusara class. Through Anusara, Mark was introduced to the philosophical teachings of Kashmir Shaivism. Mark immediately felt that the nondual Shaiva philosophy aligned with his own personal life philosophy; he was also impressed by Anusara’s intelligent biomechanical principles of alignment. This combination inspired Mark to immerse himself in the Anusara system of study.

In July 2007, at one of John’s events, Mark was introduced to the teachings of Professor Paul Muller-Ortega, whose teachings have had a profound impact on Mark’s way of living and teaching.

In September 2008, Mark relocated from San Francisco to Kyoto. He teaches regular classes, workshops, and trainings throughout Japan. He also offers guidance in meditation and pranayama and lectures on the practical applications of esoteric Tantric wisdom for our modern life.

Mark is a highly inquisitive practitioner and teacher. He has a good knowledge of anatomy and a keen intuition for adjusting, both verbally and physically. His fifteen years of exploration and analysis of breath energetics forms the foundation of his teaching. Mark’s teaching methodology is steeped in the belief that the Hatha Yoga practice is primarily for the purpose of supporting, expanding, and nourishing the vital life force. By practicing with conscious attention to alignment, breath, and the waves of emotion that surge and subside during the practice, each pose becomes like a precious pearl of experience. When these pearls of experience are consciously assimilated, a garland of luminous well-being naturally adorns the practitioner. While Mark recognizes the value of Hatha Yoga for physical well-being, he believes that it is through daily meditation practice that the deepest heart potential is truly unlocked, and one becomes the extraordinary being of service and love each individual is meant to be.

Mark creates a safe space where everyone, regardless of ability, can explore the depths of their bodies, minds, and hearts to their fullest. He encourages students to connect their observations on the mat with their off-the-mat relationship to themselves, all other beings, and the world. Nothing brings Mark more joy than to bear witness to other beings recognizing their own greatness by entering into a more profound communion with their completely unbounded heart. Mark’s intention is to inspire all students to express themselves fully from that deepest space of the heart, and to live their lives with dignity, integrity, compassion, and love, for themselves and towards all beings.

Mark is profoundly grateful to all of his teachers, especially Paul Muller-Ortega and John Friend, as well as their teachers Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Gurumayi Chidvilasananda.

Website: www.markshveima.com