Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD
Chairman and Spiritual Head of the Himalayan Institute, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait is the successor of Sri Swami Rama. Family tradition gave him access to a vast range of spiritual wisdom preserved in both the written and oral traditions. As a young man, he lived and studied with renowned adepts before meeting his spiritual master, Sri Swami Rama of the Himalayas. Pandit Tigunait is fluent in both Vedic and Classical Sanskrit and has an encyclopedic knowledge of the scriptures. He holds a doctorate in Sanskrit from the University of Allahabad, and another in Oriental Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. He has written more than a dozen books, running the gamut from scholarly analysis and scripture translation to spiritual biographies and practical advice on applying yogic concepts to the problems of daily life. In addition to lecturing and teaching worldwide for more than 30 years, Pandit Tigunait is the inspiration for the Institute’s rural empowerment projects and the motivating force behind the HI Community Centers taking root in Asia and Africa.

Sandra Anderson
Co-author of the award-winning Yoga: Mastering the Basics, and columnist for Yoga International magazine, Sandra Anderson’s work draws on her studies of traditional yoga texts and her extensive visits to India, where she conducts an annual yoga teacher-training program. Sandra holds a degree in geology and began her studies in yoga while working in the environmental protection field. Initiated into the Himalayan tradition in 1988, she lives at the Himalayan Institute, and teaches all aspects of yoga nationally.

Greg Capitolo
A native of San Francisco, Greg Capitolo began practicing hatha yoga and meditation in 1994. He studied with several experienced yoga teachers while working in accounting, finance, and IT positions for various corporations in the Bay Area. After completing the Himalayan Institute’s teacher-training program in 2005, Greg began teaching yoga classes at corporations such as Kaiser, PeopleSoft, and Oracle. Desiring to deepen his yoga practice and studies, he left California in 2006 to take residence at the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, PA, where he currently serves as a yoga teacher, and is the Treasurer and the Director of Finance and Information.

Mary Cardinal
A yoga teacher and educator specializing in therapeutic yoga, Mary Cardinal serves as the yoga therapy coordinator for the Total Health Center at the Himalayan Institute’s headquarters in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. She is the former coordinator of the Himalayan Institute Teachers Association, and holds degrees and certification in both traditional and Montessori education.

Carrie E. Demers, MD
Board-certified in internal medicine, Dr. Carrie Demers is a holistic physician who blends modern medicine with traditional approaches to health. After receiving her medical degree from the University of Cincinnati and completing her residency at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, she went on to study massage, homeopathy, nutrition, herbal medicine, and ayurveda. She now serves as the Director of the Himalayan Institute Total Health Center, and lectures nationally on ayurveda and holistic health. Widely recognized for her expertise in holistic health, Dr. Demers has been quoted in Time magazine, and is a frequent contributor to Yoga International magazine.

Sarah Goddard
Sarah Goddard earned a master’s degree in materials engineering from the University of Delaware and completed an eight-year engineering career with W. L. Gore and Associates prior to joining the Himalayan Institute in 2004. She has taught yoga in corporate, clinical, and studio settings, and currently serves as the Program Manager for the Himalayan Institute.

Michael Grady, C.M.T.
Michael Grady has studied and taught hatha yoga, pranayama, and yogic cleansing practices in the Himalayan lineage for nearly 30 years. He is a graduate of a holistic health program at the University of Minnesota and serves as a certified massage therapist at the Himalayan Institute Total Health Center.

Steve Harris
A long-time practitioner of yoga and meditation, Steve Harris has been studying with the Himalayan Institute since 1985. A computer programmer with degrees from Rutgers and Syracuse Universities, he worked for major corporations for more than 12 years and credits yoga with providing balance in the hectic world of corporate America. He now serves as a hatha yoga teacher and the Information Technologies Manager at the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, PA.

Michelle Head, DC
Dr. Michelle Head is a chiropractor and certified applied kinesiologist at the Himalayan Institute Total Health Center. She has a holistic philosophy of health care and evaluates the structural, chemical, and mental aspects of health utilizing manual muscle testing. She earned her Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Palmer College in Davenport, Iowa. Dr. Head lectures on stress management, workplace ergonomics, and headache prevention.

Patrick Klein, R.Ph.
Patrick Klein lives at the Himalayan Institute, where he teaches holistic health and homeopathy. He earned a pharmacy degree from North Dakota State University and a master’s degree from the University of Minnesota. He has worked in the field of natural medicine for the past 20 years and currently operates Wellspring Homeopathic Pharmacy at the Institute’s headquarters in Honesdale, PA

James “Slim” Miles
Drawing on his extensive background in Ayurveda, Chinese, and modern herbal medicine Slim Miles formulates Total Health products (formerly Varcho Veda Botanicals) and customizes herbal supplements as Products Manager at the Himalayan Institute. An herbalist and natural health consultant, Slim has worked in the natural foods industry for almost 20 years. He served as the Director of the Natural Living Department at Wild Oats Natural Market in Colorado and Director of Production and National Herbal Education at Gaia Herbs before coming to the Himalayan Institute in 1999, where he teaches herbal medicine, ayurveda, homeopathy, aromatherapy, and cleansing for health.

Karina Ayn Mirsky
A certified teacher of Rod Stryker’s ParaYoga, Karina Ayn Mirsky is the director of Sangha Yoga in Kalamazoo, MI. She draws on her experiences as a performance artist, massage therapist, and cancer survivor to convey yoga as a therapeutic science and catalyst for personal transformation. Karina was featured in the March 2008 issue of Yoga Journal as one of 21 teachers under the age of 40 who are shaping the future of yoga in America.

Kathy (K.O.) Ornish
Kathy (K.O.) Ornish, B.S., M.F.A., E-RYT-500, is a certified yoga therapist and teacher through Gary Kraftsow’s American Viniyoga Institute (AVI). She is also a certified ParaYoga teacher and has studied in the Iyenger and Himalayan Institute traditions. K.O. has a yoga therapy practice and teaches group classes in East Lansing, Michigan. For more information please visit www.goodspaceyoga.com 

Irene (Aradhana) Petryszak
A senior editor of Yoga International magazine, Irene Petryszak served as the Chairman of the Himalayan Institute from 1996 to 2008. She holds a master’s degree in Eastern studies, and has studied and practiced yoga for 30 years in the United States and India under the guidance of Swami Rama and Pandit Rajmani Tigunait. She teaches meditation and yoga philosophy at the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, PA.

D.C. Rao, Ph.D.
D.C. Rao, Ph.D. has an extensive background in the Sanskrit scriptures and texts of the yoga tradition. He has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania, and retired in 1995 from the World Bank to pursue his study of the yogic spiritual tradition with the Himalayan Institute. Dr. Rao has traveled widely throughout the world, and is a Trustee at the Chinmaya Mission, Washington D.C., and a Board Member of Interfaith Conference. He teaches yoga philosophy for the Himalayan Institute Teachers Training program.

Rolf Sovik, PsyD
President and Spiritual Director of the Himalayan Institute and a clinical psychologist in private practice, Dr. Rolf Sovik has studied yoga in the United States, India, and Nepal, and holds degrees in philosophy, music, Eastern studies, and clinical psychology. Co-director of the Himalayan Institute of Buffalo, he began his practice of yoga in 1972, and was initiated as a pandit in the Himalayan tradition in 1987. He is the author of Moving Inward, co-author of the award-winning Yoga: Mastering the Basics, and a columnist for Yoga International magazine.

Ishan Tigunait
Growing up at the Himalayan Institute, Ishan Tigunait received his first lesson in personal transformation and enlightened leadership from the illustrious master of the 21st century, Swami Rama of the Himalayas. After receiving his degree in computer engineering from Pennsylvania State University, he worked for IBM before returning to the Institute to head up the Energy Farming initiative, which provides sustainable rural empowerment for communities in developing countries. Ishan helped to found and build several market-leading bioenergy plantation and consultancy companies in India and Africa. He now serves as Director of Strategic Development for the Himalayan Institute and spearheads the expansion of the Institute’s humanitarian projects around the world.

Deborah Willoughby
The founding editor of Yoga International magazine, Deborah Willoughby holds a master’s degree in English literature from the University of Virginia. After a career in Washington, DC, as a writer and editor, she turned her attention full-time to the study and practice of yoga. She has studied with Swami Rama and Pandit Rajmani Tigunait in both the United States and India, and served as President of the Himalayan Institute from 1994 to 2008. She currently teaches meditation, yoga philosophy, and Vedanta at the Honesdale campus. 

Virat Xavier
Virat Xavier has studied and taught yoga and meditation for more than 30 years. He trained with Swami Rama in India and also in Nepal, where he managed the Hansda Ashram. He served as the Director of the Himalayan Institute branch centers in New York City, Buffalo, NY, Glenview, IL, and, most recently, Cameroon, West Africa. He holds a master’s degree in educational counseling, and currently lives and teaches at the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, PA.