Rod Stryker

Raised in Los Angeles, CA., Rod attended Beverly Hills High School and the University of Denver, in addition to studying abroad. He began his study of yoga at the age of nineteen. Called to teach early in his studies, he taught his first class in 1980 and led his first teacher training in 1987. Following nearly two decades of studentship, Rod became the first American disciple of Kavi Yogiraj Mani Finger and Yogiraj Alan Finger to be given the title Yogiraj––master of Yoga. Since 1999, Rod has been a student of Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, Ph.D. in the tradition of Sri Vidya. After decades of study, intensive practice and apprenticeship with these internationally renowned Yoga masters, Rod founded ParaYoga® as a resource for the time-tested wisdom of the yoga tradition. As part of ParaYoga’s Master Training program, he launched one of the most comprehensive online yoga teacher trainings in the world. Most recently, he created his app Sanctuary to serve as a premier destination for all levels of those wanting to experience the life-changing practices of meditation and yoga nidra (aka “Enlightened Sleep”). The app’s mission is to provide tools and knowledge that elevate the lives of individuals and society as a whole. Rod is mentor to hundreds of teachers and thousands of students worldwide. He currently lives in Colorado with his wife, Gina D’Orazio Stryker where together they’ve raised their four children Jaden, Theo, Asha and Atreya.