Michael
has been blessed with countless teachers on his path.
His mother was his first spiritual teacher. She taught
him Meditation and Asana at an
early age. Having his intuitive intentions at an early
age, Michael continued on his youthful path like any
other youth, playing, frolicking and blending in.
Michael traveled deeper into yoga as
he was preparing for a two-month sabbatical into the
dense rainforest and volcanic oasis’ of East Africa.
Preparing himself physically and mentally one of Michael’s
friends introduced him to the latest fitness routine
sweeping Southern California at the time. Something
called Power Yoga. Michael was immediately attracted
to this and incorporated this into his overall health
and wellness, more in a callisthenic sense at the time,
not realizing the impact this would have on his life.
Michael returned from Africa with a renewed vigor that was visible on the exterior, but had not hit him yet where it counts, on the interior…
As the years progressed and Michael continued his yoga practice, incorporating Power Yoga, and studying with teachers from various yoga styles.
Later in time Michael was pursuing
a musically inclined career and found himself on the
opposite side of the country in Southern California.
While on his journey Michael was in Venice Beach, California
immersed in the rhythms of drum circles, Hare Krishna
chants and the bulging biceps of Muscle
Beach. While exploring the beauty of Southern California
Michael found himself in a Hare Krishna Yoga Shal
a
in Venice Beach, CA, a structure rich with energy and
spirituality that drew Michael in. Michael was delighted
and remembered all the great poses he knew and wanted
to go to the next class and be the luminary.
Michael attended the next scheduled class at the Yoga Shala and realized he had been using yoga in the wrong way and was not even practicing yoga. “Humbling, is one word that comes close to describing the event, but there is not a word to describe the feelings experienced.” Yoga is not something tangible, it is a feeling that he only found while releasing, opening and letting go in a class with 200 people on a Sunday morning. Instead of returning back to the East Coast, Michael made a decision to stay in Southern California. “I loved the religion and I became obsessed with ALL aspects of yoga. I didn’t know there was a spiritual alignment with it all".
While in Southern California Michael found the basis of his yoga training with Bryan Kest,
the founder of Power Yoga. After an extended stay in
California Michael returned
to the East Coast feeling supreme with his new knowledge
and feelings. “I realized something was brewing
but I did not know what was coming.” As he
continued his practice, Michael, who was not a stranger
to a free-spirited lifestyle began to notice that a
few of 
his self-destructive habits were giving him allergic
reactions.
One night the planets were aligned and the nudge from the universe came to Michael. The nudge was not trivial by any means, the nudge came from a 5-ton tractor-trailer that collided with and demolished Michael’s vehicle. Michael was in a coma for three days and suffered multiple shattered bones and deep lacerations. Once regaining consciousness doctors confronted Michael with the harsh reality that he may never walk again. “We never realize how precious something as simple as walking is, until it may be taken away from us”. After weeks of recuperation in the hospital Michael was released, still with the thought that he can’t walk.
Michael took this opportunity to explore himself for months before he could even think of physical therapy. Studying spirituality and self-awareness there was an enduring downpour of emotions and thoughts. Injuring the left side; feminine or "Yin" side of his body caused Michael to go internally and get to know that person inside. Once Michael realized the profound power and wisdom within himself and yoga, he began to appreciate life for reasons other than just physical. "Every time that I thought I knew something, a door would open and I would go deeper than I thought possible.”
After months of healing doctors allowed Michael to start physical therapy to work through his handicap. Doctors continually re-iterated to Michael he would not walk normal again…
The doctors were accurate with their hypothesis. “They were right! I do not walk like I ever did, I float now...” Months of therapy and practice had brought Michael to a new freedom never imagined.
Understanding it was not fair for him to keep all this energy inside Michael ventured into the health and wellness industry to bring people to a better place, mentally and physically. As the time progressed Michael continued his education of mind & body from coast to coast. From there the domino effect occurred and Michael has been a sought out teacher with regular classes at health clubs and yoga studios and international workshops. Michael taugh at his studio in Princeton, NJ ~YogaAbove ~ until December 2013. Michael has since moved south for a quiter way of living and teaches small private and public classes.
Michael's philosophy and approach are unique and powerful, drawing on his vast life experiences. He is a living example of a spirit who has freed himself from trauma, and chosen a path of compassion and strength. Having studied a multitude of yoga styles and healing modalities, Michael's focus is on guiding the student to use yoga in a meaningful way for the exploration of truth, presence, and health.
Michael is an avid Power Yoga and Ashtanga practitioner who respects the core technique of the Krishnamacharya lineage (asana, bandha, pranayama, meditation) while being true to other streams of influence that have deepened his experience of yoga from writings and bodywork to philosophy and history. He teaches hatha based yoga integrating alignment and intuition, strength and fluidity, meditation and wisdom in action.
His classes are special mandalas to experience
the whole range of energy cultivated in yoga from the
sweaty purification of vinyasa and the tapas of standing
and balance poses to the stillness of inversions and
meditation.
He works with dialogue in his classes
as a means to help people syncopate with their natural
rhythm and feel more at home in our skin. 
“What I have learned is that my greatest teacher is the energy inside me, the environment, my relationships and my students. I have learned this from intuition. trusting it, doubting it and following it. Being open to receive the teachings coming through is something I have only recently learned, to focus more on the present and focus my senses here and now. My Yoga practice is my opportunity to quiet my mind and heal my body. One should not doubt that teacher within, I know it and trust. It as we all should learn to do. As a teacher I learn it is more the student becoming the teacher tomorrow than the teacher today"
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Yoga Class Information
More from Michael
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Open Flow Yoga the Philosophy
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Off the Mat words from Michael
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Jñãna Yoga coming Spring 2015
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Audio & Video for Home or Away
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YogaDogs Balance the Animal
Connect with Michael
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