Karl Straub scheduled to teach at the Telluride Yoga Festival

08 Jul Karl Straub scheduled to teach at the Telluride Yoga Festival

[click “Play” to hear Susan’s interview with Karl Straub]

Telluride, you are not alone. The stats are compelling: in the 21st century, in America alone, over 20 million people have come to include some form of yoga in their wellness regimens. There are packed classes in town at the Telluride Yoga Center and in the Mountain Village at The Peaks. The 2nd annual Telluride Yoga Festival, this weekend, July 10 – July 12, is attracting senior teachers such as Karl Straub, and devoted students from all over the country , who fell head over heels for Telluride and the Festival after participating last year in the inaugural event.

At the Telluride Yoga Fest, obsessed practitioners will be assuming the postures of a Noah’s arc of animals: dogs, fish, scorpions, camels, frogs, cows, pigeons, dolphins, you name it. Let’s face it, in the West, most people become interested in yoga through the door of physical fitness, through asana. Generally speaking the real juice, mental, emotional, and spiritual, comes later, but senior Jivamukti instructor Karl Straub got it right away: The sacred art and science of Yoga is not just about getting lithe and limber. It is a comprehensive discipline with a single purpose: transformation through enhanced self-awareness.

Straub was brought into the fold by an old girlfriend and determined evangelist, who was practicing her poses in his home. By 2004, he was teaching yoga full time  – and way more than asana.

Karl Straub’s teachers from a range of Eastern traditions include David Life, Sharon Gannon, Swami Bua, Khen Rinpoche Geshe Lobsang Tharchin, Geshe Michael Roach, Christie McNally, Jonas Westring, Richard Freeman, and Keido Fukushima.

Straub’s yoga credentials are as impressive as his lay credentials. A graduate of Duke University, he studied cognitive science at Columbia University before becoming a dolphin communication researcher, competitive swimmer, school teacher, aide to a member of Congress, and webhosting/network consulting. His multiple certifications in the yoga world include Jivamukti Yoga, Thai Yoga Massage, Tibetan Heart Yoga, and the E-RYT (experienced registered yoga teacher) designation from Yoga Alliance. Straub also serves as Regional Executive Director for Europe for the Yoga Studies Institute.

Every year, Straub leads courses, retreats, and teacher trainings in about half a dozen countries, where he shares his growing body of knowledge of asana, philosophy, massage, yogic assists, overtone chant, and related healing arts. At the Telluride Yoga Festival Straub will be guiding meditations and teaching Jivamukti and Tibetan Heart Yoga.

Jivamukti is a modern lineage that emerged in 1984, when David Life and Sharon Gannon blended their study of Ashtanga with spiritual teachings, placing particular emphasis on how to apply yogic philosophy in everyday life.

Straub trained under Geshe Michael Roach and Christie McNally in the Tibetan Heart Yoga, a synthesis of Indian and Tibetan wisdom traditions. 

To learn more about Karl Straub’s life and work, click the “play” button and listen to his podcast.