Minister Bio

Reverend Paraman Barsel has been a disciple of Sri Swami Satchidananda since 1970. He has served as president of Yogaville West, the Washington D.C. IYI, New York IYI, and Yogaville East in Connecticut and has served on the Board of Trustees and Spiritual Life Board at Satchidananda Ashram-Yogaville, Virginia, and was co-coordinator of the LOTUS dedication. Paraman was an editorial consultant on Inside the Yoga Sutras by Rev. Jaganath Carrera as well as several of Sri Swami Satchidananda’s works including the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

Paraman helped to design the first Integral Yoga Hatha Basic Teacher Training program and has taught Jnana Yoga, Raja Yoga, and the other branches of Integral Yoga for many years. He was ordained into the Integral Yoga Ministry in 2007. In addition to teaching, he currently helps with the Ashram Prison Project and, with his wife, Rev Lakshmi Barsel, has co-hosted the Yoga Sutra study gatherings in their home in person, and recently virtually, for many years.