Rod Stryker (born Nimrod Andre Gross; 19 October 1957) is an American yoga and meditation teacher, author and speaker. He is the founder of ParaYoga, the author of ''The Four Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity, and Freedom'' (2011 Random House). He has been teaching yoga since 1982. He is a former actor on the soap opera Capital and an actor in two 1980s action adventure shows (Riptide and The A-Team)

Professional life

Raised in Los Angeles, California, Stryker attended

Beverly Hills High School Beverly Hills High School (shortly as BHHS or Beverly) is a public high school in Beverly Hills, California. The other public high school in Beverly Hills is Moreno High School, a small alternative school located on Beverly Hills High School's c ...

and the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

, in addition to studying abroad. Stryker began studying and practicing yoga at the age nineteen. He taught his first class in 1980 and led his first teacher training in 1987. Following nearly two decades of study with Yoga master, Kavi Yogiraj Mani Finger and his son, Yogiraj Alan Finger he achieved the title Yogiraj, or master of Yoga. In 1999, Stryker was

initiated Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformatio ...

into the tantric tradition of

Sri Vidya __NOTOC__ Shri Vidya (ISO: '; ; sometimes also spelled Sri Vidya or Shree Vidya) is a Hindu Tantric religious system devoted to the Goddess. Shri Vidya developed out of various influences, especially Kāśmīr Shaivism, and its doctrines remai ...

, by his current teacher, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, spiritual head of the Himalayan Institute. Stryker currently serves on the board of Give Back Yoga Foundation and is a featured faculty member of Yoga International. Stryker founded ParaYoga, a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga School, in the early 2000s. In August 2021, Stryker acknowledged having had a one-time consensual intimate encounter with a student two years earlier.

Personal life

Stryker has been married twice. His first marriage (from 1998 to 2001) was to his private student, former supermodel

Cheryl Tiegs Cheryl Rae Tiegs (born September 25, 1947) is an American model and fashion designer. Frequently described as America's first supermodel, Tiegs made multiple appearances on the covers of the ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue and ''Time'' ma ...

. They had twin sons, Jaden and Theo, who were born via surrogacy in 2000. Stryker's marriage to Tiegs was mentioned in "The Negotiation", Season 3 Episode 18 of The Office. Stryker's second marriage (2006–present) is to Gina D'Orazio. The couple has two children. He is brother to

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

writer Josh Gross. He currently lives in Colorado.

Works

Books

* *Stryker, Rod (2015) ''The Four Desires Workbook: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity, and Freedom''

CDs

*Meditations for Inner & Outer Peace (Audio, 76 minutes) *Meditations for Life (Audio, 73 minutes) *Relax Into Greatness (Audio, 88 minutes) *Tantra: The Radiant Soul of Yoga (Audio 23-CD set) *The Four Desires (Audio 2-CD Set)

References

External links

parayoga.com
*
Sanctuary with Rod Stryker
��The App {{DEFAULTSORT:Stryker, Rod Living people American yoga teachers American educators 1957 births American male writers