Melissa first started practicing yoga in 1996 while attending Penn State University from where she holds a B.S. in Special Education.  Her first formal training as a certified Vinyasa Flow instructor was completed at Frog Lotus in Massachusetts. Looking for a more spiritual aspect of yoga, Melissa continued to search for a teacher and knew the moment she took her first class with Sri Dharma Mittra that she had found her Guru and Home.

Sri Dharma Mittra has spent most of his life in service to humanity, disseminating the ancient knowledge of how to achieve radiant health and spiritual development. Dharma was born in the late 1930′s, and has studied Yoga since 1958. After meeting his teacher guru, Sri Swami Kailashananda, he immersed himself in intense study and practice of the classical eight limbs of Yoga, and nine years of dedicated full time practice of Karma Yoga. He was accepted and initiated as a sannyasi (one who renounces the world in order to realize God). During these years Dharma had the esteemed honor of being the personal assistant to the Guru attending to all his needs. Sri Swami Kailashananda is known as the first Guru to bring the practice of Hatha Yoga to the west in the early 1950’s.

“Yoga is especially necessary at this point in time, when life appears especially confusing and filled with tension, stress and distractions. It helps one to slow down in life and re-align oneself with the harmony of the universe and find peace within. It will help diminish cravings and bad habits, and bring you a disease free body, a balanced mind, radiant health and long life. Yoga brings very special results. It is the door-opener to Intuitive Knowledge and Eternal Bliss.” ~ SK, Yogi Gupta