Integral Yoga® Staff
Rev. Sam Rudra Swartz
Rev. Sam Rudra Swartz
Integral Yoga® Staff
Credentials
- IYM
- E-RYT 200
- RCYT
- YACEPERE
Location
New York, US
Languages
English
Website
Reverend Rudra was introduced to Integral Yoga and the teachings of Sri Swami Satchidananda in 2001. Since that time, he has been active in the Integral Yoga organization, living at Yogaville and the Integral Yoga Institute of New York. He recently completed Accessible Yoga Teacher Training offered through Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco. Rudra graduated from Boston University’s College of Fine Arts and is an active musician. He leads Kidding Around Yoga (KAY) teacher trainings and has served as a Camp Yogaville director for 7 years.
Rudra is a graduate of the All Faiths Seminary in New York, where he received ordination from the late Rabbi Joseph Gelberman as an interfaith minister. He is also an Integral Yoga Minister.
Ashram Living in NYC
Sam Rudra Swartz stops by the center in Brooklyn to talk with J about the Accessible Yoga Conference and his long-time relationship with Integral Yoga.
AY Voice: Rev. Sam Rudra Swartz
Where do you teach? Who is the population?
I teach at Integral Yoga Institute in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. The population is a wide variety of New Yorkers. The regulars in my classes are generally older than your typical yoga student and some have physical difficulties. I like the variety; it challenges me to come up with a unique class each time based on who is attending.
I teach at Integral Yoga Institute in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. The population is a wide variety of New Yorkers. The regulars in my classes are generally older than your typical yoga student and some have physical difficulties. I like the variety; it challenges me to come up with a unique class each time based on who is attending.
The Beginning of a Movement
In September of 2015 about 250 yoga teachers and students gathered in downtown Santa Barbara, California for the first Accessible Yoga Conference to share ways in which the practices of yoga and especially hatha yoga can be made accessible to all populations, no matter what their physical limitations may be.
Pratipaksha Bhavana in Judaism
“Yit’gadal v’yit’kadash sh’mei raba . . .” As I realized that these words of the Mourner’s Kaddish were coming out of my mouth, my head dropped, my eyes closed and I heard wails of grief come from both me and my family. I could no longer say the words. I was sixteen years old and my father had just passed away.
Popular Lecture Topics
- Being a Yoga Teacher: Clarifying Roles and Responsibilities
- Faith: The Path of Bhakti Yoga
- Accessible Yoga: Yoga for Everybody and Every Body
- Yoga and Judaism
- Raja Yoga: An Eastern Philosophy and Psychology
- Meditation: Pathway to Peace
- Yoga for New Yorkers
- Kidding Around Yoga: Yoga for Kids and Families
- How a Cheeseburger Led Me to Yoga