News: Did you know Karl is in a recent Yoga Journal article? Click here to view. 
Karl Straub is a certified Jivamukti Yoga Teacher, certifed Thai Yoga practitioner, staff teacher of Tibetan Heart Yoga, and Yoga Alliance experienced registered yoga teacher (E-RYT). Karl also serves as the Yoga Studies Institute’s Regional Executive Director for Europe. His rich combination of trainings across various disciplines (e.g. anatomy, massage, overtone chant, yoga philosophy, meditation) place him in high demand as a teacher of asana, philosophy, massage, assists, and other yogic arts. He leads courses and teacher trainings in various countries around the world each year. Karl is grateful to his many teachers from various traditions including David Life, Sharon Gannon, Swami Bua, Khen Rinpoche Geshe Lobsang Tharchin, Geshe Michael Roach, Christie McNally, Jonas Westring, and Keido Fukushima. Karl is a graduate of Duke University and studied cognitive science at Teachers College, Columbia University. Karl is a former dolphin communication researcher, competitive swimmer, school teacher, aide to a member of Congress, resident manager of a retreat center, founder of the Ahimsa School, www.ahimsaschool.org, and Eplex.com a web hosting company.
How I came to yoga: After several years of long hours of sitting at a desk typing on a computer my partner introduced me to yoga. At first I just watched. I commented “hey, that’s a nice pose, do that one again!” She said, “No, YOU do that pose”. She is a very determined person, and she helped me overcome my initial resistance. I wouldn’t have done it alone. Almost immediately it was clear to me that the asana practice was beneficial for my body and mind. I felt new sensations and range of motion in my hips and shoulders, reduced mental stress, more expansive breathing. This yoga thing was actually useful. I attended classes almost daily at a local gym that offered yoga 6 days a week. After about a year and a half there I moved to NYC and enjoyed studying with great teachers.
A common question I receive is “What kind of yoga do you teach?” Whenever I hear this I remember the way Swami Bua answered this question. He said, “I do not teach ‘yoga’, I teach how to get to heaven!” This was a bit of a shock. My friend and I had expected something else. Some kind of a label we could use to categorize this teacher. Instead he gave us a peek into the invisible infrastructure of all yoga practice, consistent with the goal of all classical yoga traditions: to be free of selfishness, to stop causing suffering, to stop hurting others, to treat others as we wish to be treated, to discover one’s true purpose, to be at one with the divine, to love and serve everone with equal intensity and joy. This, of course, sounds a lot like any spiritual discipline. And that’s what it is. It’s not merely a set of excercises to get strong, limber, and lithe, although that may happen along the way. It is a highly developed system of using both physical (outer) and subtle (inner) methods synergystically in our development toward our highest potential and real happiness. I’m incredibly fortunate to benefit from the world’s greatest teachers, and it’s a joy to share their wisdom.
Click on workshops to see more on what kinds of courses Karl teaches.
