Larry Payne, Phd

Larry Payne, Ph.D. is an internationally respected yoga teacher, back specialist, and widely regarded as the founding father of Yoga Therapy in America. Named by the L.A. Times as “one of America’s most respected yoga teachers,” he is the founding president of the International Association of Yoga Therapists, creator of the Corporate Yoga program at the J. Paul Getty Museum, and co-founder of the yoga program at the UCLA School of Medicine and the Yoga Therapy program at Loyola Marymount University. He is also the first yoga teacher ever to teach at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

A former advertising executive plagued by back pain and stress, Larry’s search for relief led him to study Yoga and health in eleven countries, inspiring a new career after certification in India. In 1980, he founded the Samata International Yoga and Health Center in Los Angeles, where he continues to teach groups and individuals both in person and online. He holds a Master’s and Ph.D. in Fitness Education with an emphasis in Hatha Yoga, has a background in Psychology, and completed graduate work in Physical Therapy at Cal State Long Beach.

Larry is author or co-author of 11 books, including the international bestseller AARP’s Yoga After 50 for Dummies, Yoga for Dummies (four editions in 12 languages), Chair Yoga for Dummies, Yoga Rx, and Yoga Therapy and Integrative Medicine. He is currently completing Autobiography of an American Yogi with Don Henry. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, national television and radio, and in six Yoga Therapy Rx DVDs.

A pioneer and educator in his field, Larry has received Outstanding Achievement Awards for Yoga in Europe, the U.S., and South America, and was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Yoga and the title “Yoga Thiligam” by Dr. Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani of Ananda Ashram in Pondicherry, India. He maintains a thriving practice in Marina del Rey and Malibu and continues to lead Yoga and health seminars worldwide.