About Swami Atmarupa
Swami Atmarupa Saraswati began studying Satyananda Yoga® in the early 1980’s. For more than a decade, she regularly traveled to India in search of a deep spiritual connection which she found in 1995 through her guru, Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati who is the successor to Swami Satyananda Saraswati, founder of the Bihar School of Yoga. In 2015, she was named a founding Yoga Acharya (master teacher) of the Yoga Vidya Council representing the yoga teachings of the Bihar School of Yoga in India. She was the founder of the Atma Center, an award winning yoga center established in 1997 in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. She sold the center in 2020 to pursue her own practice more fully.
She is the Education Director of the Yoga Academy of North America and serves as an advisor to the Board of Directors. She spent 15 years conducting two levels of teacher training for YANA, training students from around the US and over 20 countries. Swami Atmarupa has taught internationally in Australia, Colombia, Mexico, and India.
In 2019, she was one of the primary presenters at the first International Yoga Nidra Conference held at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. Swami Atmarupa has presented weekend programs at the Omega Institute, the Himalayan Institute in Pittsburgh, as well as presenting at the Yoga Alliance conferences in 2011 and 2012.
Swami Atmarupa is registered with the Yoga Alliance at the E-RYT 500 level, RPYT (prenatal yoga), RCYT (children’s yoga) and is a YACEP (Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider).
Prior to following her passion for yoga teaching, Swami Atmarupa was a certified registered nurse anesthetist for over 25 years and was a primary instructor in the nurse anesthesia program for 10 years at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. She feels that her years in anesthesia prepared her well for understanding and teaching yoga. Both involve the study of varying levels of consciousness and the ability to control them and to be successful requires the development of intense levels of awareness.
Qualifications:
• 1971 – Registered Nurse, Toledo Hospital School of Nursing
• 1974 – Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, Cleveland Clinic Foundation
• 1984 – Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology, Cleveland State University
• 2004 – Diploma in Satyananda Yoga Teacher Training in Australia (Govt. accredited 3 year diploma.)
Testimonials:
“Through countless classes, courses and conversations over the years you have guided me toward becoming a better version of myself while giving me the confidence and tools to help others to do the same.”
“Thank you for your wisdom, generosity , and invitation to enter into the world of yoga as a whole life practice. Your encouragement and enthusiasm helped me venture deeper into my love of yoga and to go through the doors of all that is yoga by participating in the many dimensions and practices of yoga. You infuse all of your classes with dedication and joy. I am blessed to have you as teacher and friend.”
“Atmarupa is capable of recognizing what a particular individual may need from a yogic perspective and formulating a customized approach to accomplish it. I believe she has this “gift” as she has keen powers of observation and outstanding knowledge to provide yogic solutions to root causes/issues.”
“Thank you for making your instruction easy to understand and apply to our lives; and for your patience and dedication, your concern that students grasp the concepts and experience the consciousness that makes yoga an integral part of living our best lives.”
“Thank you for your wonderful teaching and for training me as a teacher in my great love of yoga nidra. Your vast knowledge, no nonsense feedback and inventiveness are an inspiration. We are so lucky to have you as a teacher and guide.”
“Thank you for your passion, commitment, and dedication to the practice of yoga, and for helping so many integrate it into our daily lives. So grateful.”
“There is no one that I know who knows more about the practical application of yoga and the theory and physiology (mental and physical) behind it.”