Born a twelve-pound baby with clubfeet, Max Strom spent the first 3 years of his life with his legs confined in plaster casts and braces. After several painful corrective surgeries, he was able to walk fairly well but would always have abnormally shaped feet. This would create a physical and emotional challenge for him in many ways. Because he had to learn to endure partial confinement or nearly complete immobility at a very young age, he developed patience, determination and a high tolerance to pain in order to cope with his condition. This initial physical set back in his life however, did not prevent Max from developing into a healthy and strong young man. By high school, Max was 6 foot five and an impressive football player. Although he was an avid athlete, Max was also an inquisitive seeker, wanting to make sense of the world around him. Introspective and gentle by nature, he spent much time reading and hiking in the woods on the outskirts of Santa Cruz, California where he grew up. (It was this introspection that eventually caused him to quit football, due to the serious injuries he was causing to other players).

A personal mystical experience around this time caused a sudden and ardent desire in him to understand the human condition. Finding little support and guidance in his atheist household, Max's own drive and intellect guided him and he took it upon himself to read with spiritual voracity any sacred text he could find. By the time he was nineteen, Max had studied Taoism, esoteric Christianity, Sufism and was practicing meditation and Chi Gong diligently.

Over the next twelve years, his spiritual searching was gradually eclipsed by a passion for music, writing and worldly endeavors. He became immersed in two subsequent careers, first in music as a singer/songwriter for a successful West Coast rock band, and then in film, as a working screenwriter in Los Angeles. Eventually, his spiritual quest was re-ignited when he was introduced to Hatha Yoga. The practice affected him so deeply that he left his screenwriting career to immerse himself in yoga. Ultimately, yoga became for him a “system of embodiment” that integrated all of his previous physio-theological studies. Max has now been devoted to yoga since 1991 and has experienced a profound life-change through his practice.

As a teacher, Max is known for his transformational classes and for inspiring and impacting the lives of his students with his soulful, gregarious nature and profound integrity. He teaches yoga as a system for transformation and healing, incorporating his unique Vinyasa-style with Chi Gung. His philosophical insights are derived from his years of study of sacred texts and the teacher within. Max has been deeply influenced by the Sufi teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan, the 20th century saint who brought Sufism to the West. www.sufiorder.org

Today, Max Strom is known for inspiring and impacting the lives of his students, teaching with the aim of personal transformation and has become one of the most revered and respected Yoga Teachers in the US. He built and directed Sacred Movement, Center for Yoga and Healing in Los Angeles, and now travels extensively teaching and lecturing on yoga, spirituality, and personal transformation. He is recognized by the Yoga Alliance at their Advanced Teacher Level (ERYT), and is renowned for his teacher trainings. You can see more of his work on his DVDs, Max Strom Yoga – Strength, Grace, and Healing, and Learn to Breathe, to heal yourself and your relationships. www.maxstrom.inticketing.com

Max is grateful for his in depth studies with Dena Kingsberg (Ashtanga yoga), Gabrielle Giubilaro (Iyengar yoga), Master Hong Lu (Chi Gong), Sherry Brourman, PT (movement therapy), and John Hogan (moral precepts). He also acknowledges the influential teachings of Steven Freedman, Eddie Modestini, and Jim Keenan.