About Yogi Charu

I was born in Belize, Central America. It wasn’t until I was 15 that I started the practice of Hatha yoga and meditation. At first it was just for fun, kids play. I learned yoga as a way to stretch the body before wrestling. At 16 I became more dedicated and developed a deep interest in meditation. Simultaneously I was attending Belize Technical College with the hopes of one day becoming a doctor. But gradually yoga became a life-style for me, rather than just something I did for 2 hours a day. What moved me the most was the philosophy of the Bhagavad-Gita. It seemed to have all the answers to the questions I had about life: Who am I? Why was I born in the Caribbean? Who chose my parents? What’s after death?

I left Belize with my friend Alexander in search of the truth of life. We landed in a Vaishnava Ashram in Los Angeles. For the next seven years I lived between there and India. It was in this time, in 1995, that I was initiated into the Brahma Madhva Gaudiya  Sampradaya (lineage). I then migrated fully to India where I would find myself traveling all over this beautiful land. I fell in love with Indian spirituality, culture, and its people with a much deeper appreciation. I found myself way up in the Himalayas where I deepened my studies of Tantra, Kriya, and Yoga, with adept yogis, such as Yogi Vijaya who was kind to me and taught me so much of the yogi life style.

From time to time I left India to teach in Hong Kong and San Francisco. I later settled in Hong Kong in 2002, teaching in the Hong Kong Country Club, HK Pacific Club. My clients ranged from bankers, lawyers, doctors, business men and women. I taught privately to the staff of UBS and HSBC banks, Nike International and different law firms. I took trips of students to the Himalayas once a year for 10 days so they could experience first hand the culture of yogis in their habitat. Hong Kong was my base for Asia. From there I traveled offering teacher training courses in Taiwan, Indonesia, Philippines, Japan and China.

After a few years in the orient I needed a break to live a slower pace of life. In 2006, I migrated to Sydney Australia where I co-managed Govinda’s Lotus studio. It was here that I had the good fortune to become an initiated disciple of Swami Anandakapila Saraswati a direct disciple of Swami Satyananda. Swamiji became one of the first Tantric Masters to teach in the west in the early 70’s. He lives in seclusion and he mercifully taught me privately and trained me in many yogic cleanses which I haven’t seen elsewhere. He initiated me into the 6 traditional Bengali Kriyas as well as in Angk Jotish (Vedic Numerology). Swamiji made me into a better person and teacher.

I returned to New York City to help set up a yoga studio at The Bhakti Center. In the process I have established Savitri Yoga Shal, which offers Teacher Trianing Certification in classical Yoga, Kriya, Tantra, and Meditation. Now I also teach at Pure Yoga, where I Co-Manage Pure's Teacher Trianing. I hope you will come and join me and be a part of this new chapter in my life.