Swami Atmarupa Saraswati (aka Beverly Roberts Singh) AYT-L2, E-RYT 500, CYT

Atmarupa means "Form of the true Self"

Swami Atmarupa is the Founder and Director of the Atma Center, an award winning SATYANANDA YOGA ® center that opened in Cleveland Heights, Ohio in 1997. She is one of 22 emissaries worldwide named to represent the yoga teachings of the Bihar School of Yoga. She is also the Education Director of the sole provider of Yogic Studies and Teacher Training courses in the Satyananda tradition in North America, currently licensed under the Satyananda Yoga® Academy of Australasia. 

 

In 2004, Swami Atmarupa founded the North American Gurukul, a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization promoting the development of Satyananda Yoga® in North America.  She served as an advisor to the board prior to her current board membership as President.

Swami Atmarupa grew up in a small crossroad community in the middle of the cornfields of NW Ohio called Ai, in a family that never traveled. From a relatively humble and isolated childhood, she has gone on to travel around the world. She has been scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef, walked on the Great Wall of China, explored ancient Tibet, seen Macchu Pichu under the full moon, ridden camels through the Indian desert, trekked to the source of the Ganges River in winter, bicycled from the Taj Mahal to Delhi, and even lived in Kathmandu, Nepal for about two years. While living in Nepal, Atmarupa trekked to Mt. Everest base camp, taught English, met and married her husband and helped him manage a restaurant.

During her 25-year career as an anesthetist, Atmarupa spent years providing anesthesia for open heart surgery and other major procedures. She was on the faculty at the Cleveland Clinic for 10 years. She specialized in obstetrical anesthesia at St. Luke's Hospital during the last five years of her career.  She feels that both anesthesia and yoga involve the study of varying levels of consciousness and the ability to control them. Both studies also require the development of intense levels of awareness.

 

Education Background

• B.A., Anthropology
• Diploma in Nurse Anesthesia
• Diploma in Nursing

Yoga Education Background

• Poorna Sannyasa Initiation from Paramahamsa Niranjanananda Saraswati, 2007 (Rikhiapeet, India)
• Karma Sannyasin Initiation from Paramahamsa Niranjanananda Saraswati, 2001 (Bihar, India)
• Mantra & Name Initiation from Paramahamsa Niranjanananda Saraswati, 1995 (Bihar, India)

Certifications, Registrations, Accreditations

• Accredited Yoga Teacher Level 2, SATYANANDA YOGA ®, 2003
  
• Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT), Yoga Alliance (500 hours)
  
• Member, International Association of Yoga Therapists

Workshops, courses and other trainings

• Attendance at Raj Sooya Yajna in Rkhia, India - 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007
• Kriya and Tattwa Shuddhi course in Rikhia, India 2006
• International In-service in Munger, India 2004
• Extensive international participation in SATYANANDA YOGA ® workshops, satsangs, and continuing teacher training from 2003 - present
• American Sanskrit Institute level 1 & 2 training
• Anusara teacher training, 100+ hours
• Facilitator Certification Level 1, YogaKids

 

Photo credit:  © Daniel Levin Photography 2004