Namaste <3
π Credentials & Highlights
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π§βοΈ 10,000+ Hour Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT 500), since 2014
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π§βοΈ Lead Instructor – 200 & 300 Hour Yoga Alliance Registered Schools, Est. 2018
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π Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider (YACEP)
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π Former owner, The Studio Cleveland (est. 2018) & Lakewood Yoga (est. 2022) until 2026
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π Completed 7 silent Vipassana meditation retreats
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π M.S. in Curriculum & Instruction – The University of Akron (2016)
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π B.S. in Psychology – John Carroll University (2013)
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π« Alcohol & narcotic-free since 2012 – From addiction to liberation
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π Momma to a wonderful baby boy <3
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Sara’s Story: Resilience, Authentic Lineage, and Radical Rebirth
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βLittle did I know that the high school yoga class I enrolled in back in 2008 for an easy grade and a physical education credit would be the first step of a lifelong journey of healing, introspection, and continual rebirth. At the time, I didn't take it seriously—I would often show up under the influence, using substances to numb a heavy cocktail of severe anxiety, depression, disordered eating, and a reality shadowed by domestic violence and sexual abuse.
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But at some point, the yoga simply started working. I found myself crying a sea of tears during Savasana with no apparent cause other than deeply repressed emotions finally rising to the surface. For the first time, I was processing subconscious pain. Leaving class, I felt a foreign, profound sense of calm. Having spent decades in a state of hypervigilance, I became hooked on that inner peace. Slowly, I began replacing late nights of getting blacked out at the bar with daily vinyasa classes. The practice gave me strength and a newfound confidence; as someone who had never played sports, joined clubs, or felt "good" at anything, this was a massive shift. In December 2011, I made the decision to permanently walk away from my antics as an alcoholic. To this day, I believe yoga saved my life.
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The Hermit Hole & Psycho-Spiritual Discovery
In 2012, I stepped away from the world. I isolated myself from toxic social circles and quit my job as a restaurant server because the environment was often riddled with the substances I was trying to escape. I fell into an inadvertent, six-month hermit hole of self-discovery while living at my mother's house, dedicating roughly three hours a day to meditation.
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During this time, I accidentally discovered the chakra system after buying a piece of rose quartz at a local mall because I was told it could "heal a broken heart." This was well before the age of social media, so to learn more about crystals and their healing potential, I started reading every book and article I could find. Integrating my academic background in psychology with the energetic framework of the chakras, I discovered a profound psycho-spiritual connection between the mind, body, and trauma. I spent months meditating on each individual chakra at the level of physical sensation and emotion, sitting with years of repressed fear and anger until they completely dissipated. I remember thinking, “I don’t want to be rich or famous when I grow up. I just want to wake up one day and be happy.” And through this practice, I found that happiness.
Lineage, Service, and Global Exploration.
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Up until 2014, my plan was to work within the standard medical system as a traditional therapist or medical doctor to help people face the battles I had overcome. But the universe had a different trajectory for me. That year, I completed my first 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training in Cahuita, Costa Rica. Driven by a desire to share this life-saving intervention, I spent my first year teaching entirely for free to students and staff at The University of Akron, anchoring my path in seva (selfless service).
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Since then, my love for growth has taken me to over 50 countries. I have traveled across the globe with the sole intention to learn, volunteer, and give back—whether teaching yoga abroad, supporting animal sanctuaries, or volunteering with children in Nicaragua and Guatemala.
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In 2016, I embarked on a three-month solo pilgrimage to India to immerse myself in the roots of the tradition. I completed my 300-hour Advanced Yoga Training in Mysore at Yoga Darshanam and had the immense privilege of studying at the K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute (KPJAYI) under Saraswathi Jois. This immersion solidified my devotion to authentic Vedic philosophy, discipline, and lineage.
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The Gift of Silence & True Mental Mastery
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In 2017, after nearly a decade of dedicated physical asana practice, I realized I was still navigating intense emotional highs and lows in daily life. Looking for deeper mental stability, I discovered Vipassana meditationin the lineage of S.N. Goenka. This meditation practice changed my life in the best way.
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To date, I have completed seven 10-day silent meditation retreats and have served as a course manager for two of them. Spending over 70 days in complete and absolute silence allowed my mind to truly quiet down. Today, I seamlessly integrate these Buddhist philosophies of equanimity, harmony, and balance into my daily life alongside my foundational practices: the Ashtanga Yoga Primary Series, studying the ethics of the Yamas and Niyamas, functional movement, and immersive time in nature.
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Leadership, Loss, and Alchemy
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In 2018, I transitioned into business ownership by purchasing The Studio Cleveland in Downtown Cleveland, transforming it into an inclusive, healing sanctuary. By 2019, I was leading my own 200-hour teacher trainings, later expanding to advanced 300-hour Yoga Teacher Trainings through Yoga Alliance, international and regional wellness retreats, and my renowned silent meditation courses.
I acquired my second location, Lakewood Yoga, and scaled the Yoga for Every BODY outdoor donation-based series, bringing accessible nature-infused yoga to literally tens of thousands of Clevelanders across Northeast Ohio.
Over the years, I have taught tens of thousands of hours across diverse settings—from universities and festivals to juvenile detention centers, addiction treatment programs, and mental health facilities.
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In 2025, I experienced the most profound joy of my life: becoming a mother to my beautiful baby boy, Wendell Raj Cotton.
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The following year, in 2026, I faced one of my life's most intense storms—losing both of my physical brick-and-mortar studios and my outdoor donation-based program through a highly contentious divorce. Yet, it is within this exact chapter that the true alchemy of my practice has been revealed. I am here to integrate it all—every dark night of the soul, every cycle of death and rebirth. Lately, I have been stepping back into the seat of the student, recognizing this period of radical empty-handedness as one of the greatest blessings of my present life.
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The Mission Ahead
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Today, at age 35, I look at spirituality and yoga through a completely different lens than the one offered by modern pop culture. To me, yoga is not a cute, trendy, aesthetic way to lift your butt, gain social media followers, or master a handstand. (Luckily, yoga found me before I ever had an Instagram).
To me, yoga is a rigorous, time-tested, life-saving intervention. It is the science of developing a self-awareness so sharp that we can consciously eradicate the deep-seated mental patterns (saαΉskΔras) that keep us suffering and stuck.
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My mission now is to carry the torch for authentic, traditional yoga rooted deeply in ancient Vedic philosophy, cutting through a modern landscape that has severely watered down and commercialized this sacred art.
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If you have ever been abused, ridiculed, assaulted, or harmed—if you are battling addiction, eating disorders, or debilitating fear and anxiety—I am living proof that you can use your deepest trauma as fuel to become a happier, healthier, more authentic, and deeply humble human being. My goal is to help women rebuild their lives from the ashes of tragic situations. I am here to share these ancient tools for inner transformation so that you too can remain steady and luminous, even amongst the storms of life.
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May all beings be free from suffering.
Om shanti, shanti, shanti.
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β¨ Connect with Me! :)
Instagram:
@saranadiasyed
@satyameditationandyogaschool
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Email:
Core Values
I operate as a yoga teacher and educator as best as I can within the framework of the yamas & niyamas.
No human alive is perfect, including myself, however, I do strive to base my decisions and actions within the framework of the timeless ethical and disciplinary code laid out by the sage Patañjali.
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I value the ancient traditions of yoga (as a path to liberation), Ayurveda and Vedic astrology.
Authenticity
Each human has a unique purpose for being here, also known as dharma. I encourage students to live and practice from a place of authenticity to help realize and live their dharma.
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One of the greatest gifts of yoga is self-study (svΔdhyΔya). The ancient yogic texts teach that much of our suffering arises from avidyΔ—ignorance or misidentification with the changing aspects of ourselves rather than our true nature.
Through consistent practice, self-inquiry, meditation, and ethical living, we gradually remove these layers of ignorance and begin to recognize who we truly are.
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The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates famously encouraged us to "Know thyself." Likewise, the yogic tradition invites us into a lifelong process of self-inquiry—not merely to understand our personality, but to realize the deeper Self that exists beyond the fluctuations of the mind.
As self-awareness grows, so too do compassion, discernment, resilience, and inner peace.
Tradition
Over thousands of years, the practice of yoga has evolved considerably. In many parts of the modern world, yoga is primarily associated with physical exercise and postural practice. Traditionally, however, Δsana was only one aspect of a much broader spiritual path whose ultimate purpose was self-realization, inner freedom, and union with the Divine.β
Yoga is far more than something we do on a mat. It is a complete way of life—a path toward greater peace, health, clarity, compassion, and ultimately, self-realization. While physical postures are an important part of the practice, they represent only one limb of the eightfold path described by the sage Patañjali.
If you study with me, you can rest knowing you are receiving complete knowledge of the entire eight-limbed ashtanga system in the Guru–ΕiαΉ£ya tradition.
What is Guru–ΕiαΉ£ya?
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In ancient India, the teachings of yoga were traditionally passed down orally from teacher to student through the guru–ΕiαΉ£ya paramparΔ (teacher–disciple lineage). This sacred method of transmission emphasized not only intellectual learning but also direct experience, personal guidance, and spiritual transformation.
Transformation
In the Vedic tradition, transformation is not about becoming someone new—it is about remembering who you truly are. In modern wellness culture, transformation often implies self-improvement or reinvention. In the Vedas, the UpaniαΉ£ads, the Yoga SΕ«tras, and the Bhagavad GΔ«tΔ, transformation is primarily the removal of ignorance (avidyΔ) so that one's true nature (Δtman) can shine forth.
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One of the central teachings of yoga is that your true Self is already whole, peaceful, and complete. The purpose of yoga is not to create a better version of yourself, but to remove the obstacles that prevent you from recognizing your true nature. Through practice, we gradually peel away the layers of fear, attachment, ego, conditioning, and ignorance that obscure the light already within us.
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The yogic path is one of purification (Εuddhi). As the body, breath, mind, and heart become more balanced, clarity naturally arises.
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This purification occurs through:
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ethical living (yama and niyama)
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physical practice (Δsana)
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breath regulation (prΔαΉΔyΔma)
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meditation (dhyΔna)
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self-study (svΔdhyΔya)
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selfless service (karma yoga)
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devotion (bhakti)
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Each practice helps quiet the mind and reduce the tendencies (saαΉskΔras and vΔsanΔs) that keep us caught in habitual patterns of suffering.
