If you’re a yoga enthusiast, you might be interested to know about the most successful yoga teachers in the world.
All my friends are hippies, so I’m really familiar with yoga and I think it’s a really great practice. Yoga soothes the soul and also stretches your muscles. I tried yoga a few times when I was in high school and college, but I have a hip injury that made it a little difficult. I have a friend who told me I should try yoga more to make it better, but I’m too lazy to even attempt it at this point. I love the idea of it, though. I think people who are really into yoga tend to be much more serene and relaxed. There’s a really cool trend now that’s called goat yoga where people do yoga with goats wandering around the room and climbing on their backs. I’d be interested in trying that just for the goats.
Practicing yoga is a combination of physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of a person. It’s a great way to become healthy that’s more than just exercise. It’s refreshing to try something new in order to become a calmer person with a sound body and mind. There are many different types of yoga like Hatha, Vinyasa, and Ashtanga. Different techniques are better suited for different types of people or results. Sometimes it’s expensive to head to a yoga class, though, so if you’re interested in learning yoga in the comfort of your own home, you should check out the best yoga YouTube channels to watch.
In order to create this list, we checked out Quora for some recommendations. Different techniques and influences inspired them, so these instructors all span different categories. They’re also some of the teachers who brought yoga to the west. They’re active in both their own studios and influential on social media. There’s no particular order with this list as they’re all fairly equally successful.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the most successful yoga teachers in the world.
10. Sharon Gannon
Sharon Gannon’s teachers are Brahmananda Sarasvati, Swami Nirmalananda, K. Pattabhi Jois, and Shyamdas. She’s a vegan, activist, and renowned yogi worldwide. Her technique is the Jivamukti yoga method. She also wrote a book called Yoga and Vegetarianism.
9. Meghan Currie
Meghan Currie is from Canada and her yoga classes are both playful and challenging. She started with Ashtanga and then later learned Yin, Vinyasa, and Anusara. Out of these techniques, she was able to make her own. She began with invitations from different studios and now travels the world for workshops, seminars, and training other yoga enthusiasts.
8. Rachel Brathen
Rachel Brathen found her love for yoga when she traveled to Costa Rica. Aside from being an international yoga teacher, she’s also a New York Times best-selling author and entrepreneur. Her and her husband’s first brick and mortar yoga studio was opened in Aruba in 2016. She took yoga from the mat to the paddle board.
7. Lilias Folan
Lilias Folan started practicing yoga in 1964. Her mentors were Swami Vishnu-Devananda and Swami Chidananda. Chidananda was her instructor when she was learning Vedanta philosophy and meditation in India. Yoga Journal named her as one of the four most influential figures in American yoga. She had a TV series that lasted until 1979 called Lilias, Yoga, and You, which was viewed by more than 10 million viewers.
6. Mark Stephens
Stephens is an author and world-renowned trainer. His mentors were Steve Ross, Erich Schiffmann, Joel Kramer, Chuck Miller, and Shiva Rea. He founded the L.A. Yoga Center, which he eventually sold to Yoga Works. His work for yoga definitely makes him one of the most successful yoga teachers in the world.
5. Sean Corn
Sean Corn, the next one on the list of most successful yoga teachers in the world was inspired by Sharon Gannon and her husband. She worked as a waitress at Life Cafe, which they owned. Sean began her extensive training where she studied Ashtanga yoga with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in India. She has her hands full teaching yoga in workshops, training, and conferences.
4. Sri Darma Mittra
We are continuing our list of most successful yoga teachers in the world with Sri Darma Mittra that is known as a “teacher’s teacher” and his yoga interest was awakened through his younger brother’s books. Yogi Gupta is his guru. He was born and raised in Brazil but was able to establish his Dharma Yoga New York Center, which is still open.
3. Baron Baptiste
Baptiste was born to parents who are both yoga practitioners. At a young age, he was able to meet gurus Swami Rama, Sai Baba, and Muktananda. His influences for creating his Vinyasa flow technique are Ashtanga, Iyengar, Bikram, and Raja yogas. He runs a nonprofit called the Africa Yoga Project, which benefited thousands of students in Kenya where they learn for free.
2. Shiva Rea
Ashtanga, Tantra, and Ayurveda all drove Shiva Rea’s passion for yoga. She believes that what’s happening around us and in our lives is vinyasa because vinyasa is something that has a beginning and end. She founded para vinyasa and is now well known worldwide.
1. Kino MacGregor
Kino MacGregor’s true teacher is Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. After her trip to India, she devoted herself to Ashtanga yoga. She received a certification to teach it and is now into completing the fourth series. She’s a co-founder of Miami Life Center, Yoga Challenge, and OmStars Clothing. MacGregor has also written three books.
That concludes our list of the most successful yoga teachers in the world. If you’re a yoga enthusiast, take a cue from one of these wonderful instructors to further your knowledge and strength.