Matt Lerner
Studio Co-Founder
Advanced Teacher & Trainer
Matt has been teaching Yoga, meditation and related practices since 1976 and has been certified since 1984. He is an E-RYT-500 and is a co-founder of Main Street Yoga Center in Madison as well as the Director of Yoga Teacher Training at Main Street Yoga Center in Hudson, OH (www.AUM.org).
He now spends most of his time leading Yoga/Meditation Teacher Trainings (TMTT) and continuing education, but he also loves teaching traditional Yoga meditation, Yoga Nidra, and traditional asana classes. He equally enjoys introducing new students to the magic and joy of Yoga, training aspiring teachers and providing continuing education to experienced teachers and serious students.
He is also currently serving as Chairman of Elevate Yoga, the organization that host the Elevate Akron Yoga Festival, one of Ohio's leading Yoga festivals (www.ElevateYoga.org).
Matt grew up in Hudson, Ohio, and came to Madison to study at UW. During his freshman year, a friend gave him the book Be Here Now by Ram Dass. He was intrigued and began practicing Yoga and meditation on his own, following the simple instructions in the book. Matt took his first formal Yoga and meditation classes when he returned to college in the fall of 1975. He began teaching Hatha Yoga the following year. Matt studied Psychology and Business at UW, and served as the President of the Yoga Meditation Society of Madison, an affiliated center of the Himalayan Institute. In 1980, at the direction of Swami Rama, Matt began teaching meditation and led the Yoga/meditation teacher training program there. When hew graduated in 1982 and moved back to Ohio, the principals that he had learned there became the foundation for the formal Yoga teacher training program at the the Spiritual Life Society in Hudson, Ohio.
Matt studied and worked under the guidance of Swami Rama at the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, for six months in 1979, and another six months in 1982. He was a member of the Himalayan Institute Teachers Association (HITA) and completed all their coursework. In 1984, Matt was certified to teach Yoga by Behram Guard, aka Yogiraj Behrmaji. Behramji was also a disciple of Swami Rama. Behram had mastered Hatha Yoga in India under the guidance of B.K.S. Iyengar during the 1960s. Behrma received the title "Yogiraj" ("King of Yoga") from Swami Rama when they met in the US.
Matt's teaching style is a blend of the gentle, meditative practices of the Himalayan Institute and the precise alignment of Iyengar style. In addition to having had close personal relationships with and being inspired by Yogiraj Behrmaji and Swami Rama, Matt has also studied with many other teachers and many other styles, including studying Kundalini Yoga.
Matt has a BS in Psychology and MBA in Management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He had a full-time career as an executive at a multinational packaging company until his retirement in 2019. Read more about Matt as a Yoga Teacher Trainer.
