Mike Matsumura, YA 500hr E-RYT- In March of 2001, Mike walked into a yoga center in the Lower Eastside of Manhattan wanting to get into an exercise class. That yoga center was Jivamukti Yoga Center. He didn’t know exactly what he was getting himself into but he thought it would be a great place for light stretching and a workout. What the class had for him was nothing he had ever experienced in his life. At first, everyone just sat there and the yoga instructor started preaching some stuff that he didn’t understand at all, and then the class started chanting the word “Om.” He was confused and initially, he didn’t like it at all. He didn’t know anything about yoga, meditation, chanting, or spirituality. At first, he was turned off by this chanting and mediation stuff. He felt it was not his thing but kept doing it anyway. He tried to keep an open mind and then he started to understand it little by little. “If you allow yourself, you can learn anything and everything from anyone and everyone.” That was the beginning of his Yogic Path.In 2003, Mike met his gurus (teachers), Sri Dharma Mittra & Eva Grubler, with whom he studied with in NYC at Dharma Yoga Center. Mike eventually became a Yoga Alliance E-RYT 500 hour advanced certified teacher in Dharma Yoga Level 1-3 and also became initiated as one of Sri Dharma Mittra’s disciples right before he left NYC for Colorado Springs to be with his wife. Sri Dharma Mittra gave Mike the Sanskrit name “Sadhu Om,” which means the righteous and holy.While residing in Colorado (2006-2014), Mike “Sadhu Om” and his wife, Charlotte Matsumura, co-founded and ran Pranava Yoga Center in Colorado Springs from 2009-2014. Mike taught over 12,000 hours in a class setting, teacher training, workshops, festivals and privates over his yogic career. He also co-directed the Yoga Alliance registered 200 Hr. along with his wife and was the director of the 500 Hr. teacher training program.Mike was also very involved with the Colorado yoga community. He was guest teacher for the events Spark the Fire in Denver, Yoga Rocks the Park in ’09 and ’10, Yoga Rocks Mountain Fest ’09 at Lyons and ’10 in Snowmass, Colorado, and Friday Night Yoga Club in Denver. Mike was one of the presenters for Telluride Yoga Festival in July 2012 and 2013. Mike also traveled to Austin for Austin Yoga Festival in October 2012 and Austin Yoga Conference in May, 2013. Mike also taught at the Hanuman Festival in Boulder, Co June 2015 and I Am Festival in Tulsa, OK. August 2015.
More on a personal side, Mike was born April 17, 1971 just outside of Tokyo. He was raised by his grandparents until he was seven years old. His mom was not part of his life and his dad relocated to USA when Mike was a child. At seven, Mike moved to New Jersey where his dad was residing. Mike grew up mostly in New Jersey/New York area where he attended school and was active playing baseball, football, and basketball. Mike’s first job was dishwashing at a restaurant at the age of twelve where his father once managed. Through his teens and young adulthood, Mike worked as a dishwasher, a bus-boy cleaning tables, food server, hotel bell staff, hotel front desk clerk, and bartender. In his early twenties, Mike moved to New York City, where he pursued the path as a stage actor performing in Off-Off Broadway plays; he is a lifetime member of the worldly renowned, The Actors Studio and the Screen Actors’ Guild. He later worked as a property manager, driver and personal assistant to Al Pacino for 16 years. In the summer of 2014, Mike and Charlotte relocated to Austin to be closer to her parents. Charlotte’s mom was dealing with Alzheimer’s disease until she passed in January 2018. Mike has been living in Chappell Hill (near Houston), Texas with his wife since 2019.
Mike is constantly continuing on his yogic journey, keeping his teachers and their teachings with him along the way. Besides working on this yogic path, Mike also practices being a vegetarian. Mike enjoys helping everyone to find their own teacher inside their heart. Mike is not teaching public classes. Please check Mike’s schedule for updates.
Please note: Mike is taking a hiatus from teaching yoga indefinitely.