Vladimir’s first encounter with yoga happened when he was a young child and learned postures and techniques from his parents and various yoga books they kept in our home. His journey on the path of yoga began in 2007 when he lost his father to cancer.

“I needed a practice to guide me through the grieving process. I began practicing seated meditation and while that was helpful it wasn’t enough. I had been practicing martial arts my whole life and as a person who enjoyed working with my body I needed an embodied practice. Yoga was a perfect fit. In a few weeks I began attending classes every day. By the end of my first year of practice I took multiple classes each day, sometimes spending the whole day at the studio and attending every class on the schedule. William Huffschmidt, who was the owner at the time likes to tell the story of me napping on the couch in the lobby between classes.”

In 2009, Vladimir committed to a serious study of Tantric Hatha yoga and in the following years obtained his 200- and 500-hour certifications with Yoganand Michael Carroll. Through his years spent as a renunciate, devoted completely to yoga practice, Yoganand cultivated a deep understanding of esoteric tantra hatha yoga texts and practices which are the roots of modern postural yoga. Vladmir has spent the last 13 years studying closely with him and other Pranakrya teachers, cultivating his understanding of the philosophy, history and practices of this tradition.

Vlad currently works as a Director of teacher training at Pranakriya School of Yoga Healing Arts and teaches public and private classes in Atlanta GA. He obtained a Master’s degree from Georgia State University in the academic study of the history and philosophy of Eastern Religions, and taught to undergraduates. He also specializes in teaching trauma-sensitive yoga to incarcerated youth in metro Atlanta youth detention centers and is currently working in partnership with the School of Public Health at Georgia State University and the National Institute of Health to study the effects of yoga on incarcerated youth.

In addition to leading some of Pranakriya’s 200-hour Yoga Teacher Trainings, Vladimir is Director and Co-Director, respectively, for Pranayama: Theory & Teaching 300-hour level program, and the immersion: Theme Weaving: The Art of Incorporating Themes from the Yoga Tradition into Your Classes. He serves on the School’s Curriculum Committee and 200-hour subcommittee.