Born and raised in Hiroshima Japan, Ruriko McElfresh was the youngest of three daughters. She developed an interest in running from a early age but it was ultimately yoga that stole her heart and took her on a personal journey to spread not just the physical but spiritual benefits of the practice.

Much of her youth was spent training to join the Japanese Olympic team for the Women’s 800m event. She won the Japanese title and placed 5th in the Asian championships. It was remarkably close to the Japanese record and also the Olympic qualifying time. Everyone believed she was the one to finally make it to the Olympics, but she started to suffer a mental slump which continued until she retired and went into deep depression with occasional thoughts of death. She decided to stop her athletics career and go to San Francisco to see a world which she had never seen or experienced before in her life.

There she was exposed to a myriad of different cultures and backgrounds. She had opportunities to feel life again and encountered yoga, a practice where you face yourself not only physically but mentally as well. Yoga brought her life back. It completely changed her perspective of life compared to the one where she only saw her meaning and worth of life through success on the track.

This was a large factor in her decision to change disciplines and begin to spread yoga as far and wide as she could and led her to the new chapter of her journey with yoga.

She now lives in Germany with her husband and daughter. Every day she is thankful that she can reach more people with her positive attitude and overall love of life.