BIOGRAPHY
Amitai Cohen is an experienced teacher of yoga, meditation and martial arts. He has studied yoga for many years under the guidance of the renowned Yoga Master, Sri Dharma Mittra, and was teaching regular classes at the Dharma Yoga Center in New York City, as well as assisting Dharma with teacher trainings, and retreats in the U.S. and abroad.
He has dedicated much of his life to study the mind, body and spirit through yoga, martial arts, healing practices and Eastern philosophies. He holds a black belt level in several martial arts and a license to practice acupuncture.
His unique style of teaching is a blend of all of the different philosophies he was exposed to throughout his life.
MY STORY
I was born in Jerusalem, Israel and just after finishing high school, I moved to New York with my family. At the age of 19 I traveled back to Israel to serve with the Israeli army. It was after this time that I started seeking the early steps of my spiritual path. I first explored the realm of martial arts and eastern philosophy and practiced many different styles of martial arts, achieving the level of black belt in several. I also opened a martial arts studio that I ran for 10 years.
My love of eastern philosophy and healing arts inspired me to study and practice traditional eastern medicine.
I completed my license in acupuncture and practiced acupuncture out of my martial arts studio. I also completed certification trainings in hands on energy healing, reflexology, and massage therapy.
Right before discovering yoga as a practice, I was recruited by Boss Models New York and after committing to a three year contract, I was sent to Europe. This career left me drained and lead me to yoga.
In 2005 I met Sri Dharma Mittra and I spent every day of the next 7 years practicing under his guidance.
During this time I was granted the honor to teach regular classes at the Dharma Yoga Center and assist Sri Dharma to lead teacher trainings in New York City and abroad. I also became involved with a project that is very close to my heart, which brings the yoga practice and teachings to soldiers in the military and veterans.
In 2012, I went on a pilgrimage of deep yoga sadhana and explored different practices living a minimal and austere lifestyle. I taught yoga classes regularly in New York City and occasionally abroad. .But in the spring of 2014, I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a cancer that is generated in the bone marrow. This condition nearly left me paralyzed and dead. I had 4 fractures in my spine, and bone damage all over my body. Shortly after I was diagnosed I went into kidney failure. The pain was so intense that I couldn’t get out of bed, and even raising my arms to brush my teeth was excruciating. The initial condition had me hospitalized for one month, and I underwent intense treatments for 4 years. It was during those 4 years that I looked death in the eyes several times. I am certain that my spiritual practice helped to put my physical burden into perspective, and gave me the strength that I needed to persevere.
As a result of this disease, I am unable to practice advanced asana, but I see this as a blessing because steering away from the physical has allowed me to dive deeper into the meditative practice, and it is here that I have found the true treasure. In the past I would practice asana for several hours and feel the benefit for a short time after, but then it would fade away. It was to my surprise that this new way of practicing lead to a more permanent place of equilibrium and joy.
Today I know that my journey had a greater purpose. I feel blessed to be where I am personally, but I also feel an internal urgency to share my discovery with others.
TEACHER
Sri Dharma Mittra is a master of modern yoga and a student of Sri Swami Kailashananda. He is known for his Master Yoga Chart of 908 Postures and has been teaching since 1967. He is the director of Dharma Yoga Center in New York City.