Our Teachers

Swami Mahesh

Swami Mahesh is a wandering yogi from India. He has a BS in Engineering and an MS degree in Yoga Philosophy, with over 25 years’ experience of teaching yoga. As an independent practitioner of yoga and spirituality, he travels throughout the year both nationally and internationally. He has conducted yoga workshops at many notable Universities around the world, including Harvard, Princeton, JFK, Minnesota, UT at Austin, Oregon, Chicago in USA; Cologne and Bremen University in Germany; Sofia and New Bulgaria University in Bulgaria, and many more in Europe, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Ecuador. His blogspot is http://wanderingmahesh.blogspot.com/, and he also communicates regularly via Facebook. Energetic and vibrant, Swami Mahesh has led teams of students to adventures in exotic destinations such as the Himalaya mountains of India, Tibet, Machu Pichu in Peru, Iceland and the Antarctica continent, Swami Mahesh has consistently graced Indianapolis with his presence through the years. An accomplished yogi, he has a unique ability to explain complex philosophical aspects of yogic science, and make them easily accessible to all. He brings to us his unbounded energy and enthusiasm.  His mastery of classical yoga techniques grounded in ancient scriptures helps us access our own potential for evolution and transformation.

He has covered a wide range of topics, bringing his insights to enrich our understanding of Yoga, and to re-charge our personal practice.

Swami Dr. Shankardev

Swami Dr. Shankardev is a western medical doctor and psychotherapist in private practice in Sydney, Australia. A graduate in Medicine from Sydney University, he is also a Yoga Acharya (Master teacher of Yoga), Yoga therapist, and has trained formally in Ayurvedic Medicine with Dr. Vasant Lad. He is the author of several books on Yoga therapy for the Bihar School of Yoga. He enhances his medical practice with telephone and Skype consultations with patients in many countries. He treats chronic physical and psychological diseases by an innovative integration of western medicine and yoga, yoga-tantra, Ayurveda, and other systems of self-development. He founded the Big Shakti website (www.bigshakti.com) through which he teaches seminars and brings a host of multimedia educational content to students all over the world. Swami Shankardev has a unique ability to communicate abstract concepts in an understandable and practical way to students of all levels. A kind and gentle human being, his self-deprecating humor endears him to one and all. He is intensely focused on helping students and patients access their inner strength and potential. He is a true healer in every sense of the word.

Swami Shankardev inspired us to start the Yoga Mitra Mandal as a forum for continued group yoga study and practice in 2001. We have been fortunate to receive his teachings in seminars over the years. Most recently, we created a two-year long-distance learning project to connect him remotely with our Yoga group in Indianapolis.

Swami Atmarupa

Swami Atmarupa is the Founder and Director of the Atma Center*, a SATYANANDA YOGA® center in Cleveland, OH. She has achieved the title of Yogacharya (Senior teacher). She has developed innovative award-winning yoga programs for beginners and advanced students alike. After a successful 25 year career as an Anesthetist, Swami Atmarupa founded the Atma Center, bringing authentic classical Yoga to the US. She started offering Satyananda Yoga studies in 2002, bringing this prestigious and rigorous series of courses and Teacher Training to North America. Graduates are recognized as 500 hour Yoga teachers by the American Yoga Association.

An accomplished Yogi, she is a fountain of knowledge of all aspects of Yoga philosophy and practice. She is a master in the teaching of Asana with an advanced understanding of human anatomy and yoga therapy. She is adept in many areas of Yoga, having taught seminars and courses in Meditation, Yoga Nidra, Chakra Sadhna, and Prana Vidya. She is especially adept in Prenatal Yoga, having authored a brilliant paper for students and Yoga teachers.

Since her retirement from the Atma Center, she remains active as a prolific teacher. She hosts podcats, online sessions and workshops, and offers a host of digital downloads on all aspects of yoga practice. Please email us if you wish to receive further details.

Sanyasi Mantra Raj

Sanyasi Mantra Raj hails from a family of many generations of devout spiritual aspirants. Profound spiritual experiences at a very early age led him to a lifelong spiritual quest. He has devoted his energies to deep levels of sadhna and the highest levels of yoga practice. 

At the prestigious Bihar School of Yoga, he was initiated into exclusive practices such as the “Kali Tantra” reserved for a select few by Swami Satyananda himself. With his powerful and mellifluous voice, Mantra Raj has taught all levels of students, and especially captivates them in leading sessions of Kirtan and Mantra Yoga sessions.