Ruth Hartung began her journey into yoga in 1991 with the study and teaching of Kundalini yoga in Los Angeles at Yoga West. In 1994 she initiated in the Satyananda Saraswati lineage through the Bihar University at which time she was given the spiritual name of Sraddhasagar (Ocean of Faith). While on long pilgrimage she met Rama Jyoti Vernon leading a Yoga for Peace conference in Jerusalem and began studying with her in Hatha Yoga, the Yoga Sutras and Conflict Resolution in 1999. In addition, Muhammed Faust & Viskashananda of Nepal have been important teachers of transmission for kundalini yoga and the deeper understanding of yogic philosophy . She co-founded 7 Centers Yoga Arts in Sedona and has lead over 75 teacher training programs with faculty in the last 17 years. Ruth has served as President of the International Yoga College, founded by Rama Jyoti Vernon. She is also has been a long-term practitioner of Vipassana meditation. Alongside the growing of 7 Centers and the teaching of yoga as therapy and spiritual lifestyle, Ruth has a love for ongoing study that has included folk medicine and practical herbalism. In 2008, Ruth became involved in the local food, agriculture and sustainability movement as an extension of the social consciousness movement that yoga is all about. Integrating the growing of food & herbs as part of the yoga teacher trainings, she feels that yoga has an important role to play not just for the individual’ s health and well being but also for our local and global communities. Currently she is leading an outreach project with Farashe Yoga studio in Ramallah, West Bank to train Palestinian yoga teachers to serve in their community and refugee camps. ERYT-500, C-IAYT