Lead Instructors
Maitri Smithhisler, E-RYT500, YACEP is an Ananda Minister and has been a disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda’s since 1987. She has been practicing yoga for over 30 years, and teaching yoga and meditation since 1996. One of her greatest blessings is to share with others the joy she has received through these life transforming teachings.
Eric Shaw has studied yoga and meditation for 30 years and taught both since 2001. He maintains a lively international teaching schedule and is the creator of both Prasana Yoga, a form that reveals alignment in movement, and Yoga Education through Imagery—lecture programming that teaches the traditions through archival visuals and new scholarship. He is an E-RYT 500 and YACEP with two degrees in Art, and Masters Degrees in Education, Religious Studies, and Asian Studies. His writing has appeared in Yoga Journal, Common Ground, Mantra Yoga + Health, and other publications.
Guest Instructors
Jitendra Guindon is currently serving with Online With Ananda. Jitendra
enjoys spreading the ancient teachings of Yoga and has taught
meditation to hundreds of individuals around the globe. He began his
journey with meditation and the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda after
reading Autobiography of a Yogi
in 2006
Jitendra is a certified Yoga and Meditation Teacher with Yoga Alliance (RYT 200) He previously served in Rhode Island, where he helped lead the Ananda Yoga and Meditation Center and aided in spreading the path of meditation in Boston and New York City and taught meditation in diverse settings including Online, Yoga Studios, Yoga Festivals, Colleges, High Schools, Rehabilitation Centers etc.
Asha Nayaswami is one of the spiritual directors of Ananda Palo Alto in California, but her home is increasingly in every corner of the globe, often through online webinars. Asha’s talks and online classes are a spiritual lifeline for people around the world. Thousands have received training from her over the past 45 years. She has a gift for deep spiritual clarity, and the ability to offer it in a way that reaches the mind and the heart.
She serves as Ananda Sangha’s global ambassador at the request of her lifelong teacher, Swami Kriyananda. A long-time disciple of Yogananda, she is author of Ask Asha, Loved & Protected, Swami Kriyananda as We Have Known Him, and has appeared in the film Finding Happiness.
Nayaswami Jaya is one of the Spiritual Directors of Ananda India. He became a student of Swami Kriyananda soon after graduating from the University of California, Berkeley in 1968. Upon learning of Swami Kriyananda’s interest in spiritual communities, Nayaswami Jaya joined him as a founding member of Ananda Village, now one of the most successful such communities in the world.
Nayaswami Jaya has been authorized by Swami Kriyananda to give initiation into the advanced meditation technique Kriya Yoga. He travels widely as an Ananda “Kriyacharya,” sharing the teachings and techniques of Paramhansa Yogananda with audiences throughout the world.
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Gyandev McCord is the Director of Ananda Yoga® Teacher Training Worldwide, A Level 2 Ananda Yoga Teacher, E-RYT 500, and an Ananda Meditation Teacher
He has taught Ananda Yoga since 1983 and is a co-founder of Yoga Alliance, the organization that has developed standards for yoga teachers nationally. Gyandev is the author of Spiritual Yoga: Awakening to Higher Awareness and has done over a dozen Hatha Yoga Videos.
