Marlon Braccia

(Yogi) Marlon Braccia is a successful American yoga instructor, who teaches to a broad English-speaking audience via various sources of media. Braccia was first introduced on the cable TV show, ""Yoga Time with Marlon Braccia", which eventually aired to 11 million households weekly between 1997 and 2000, reaching more viewers than the infamous 1970's PBS series, Yoga and You with Lillias Folan. Braccia subsequently continued to teach yoga through video, when she appeared in 22 instructional VHS tapes, which became available on Amazon.com in 2000. As various forms of media such as DVD and digital downloads have emerged, Braccia has kept stride with releases. In 2003 Shiva Entertainment, which was founded and owned by Marlon Braccia and Jack Takacs, produced a series for Wal-Mart, at bargain prices as it was Braccia's desire to make yoga instruction widely available and affordable to mainstream audiences. Reported sales figures vary, but are generally reported between 350,000 and 575,000 units sold.In a less lucrative yet clever publicity stunt, Shiva Entertainment negotiated with English newspaper giant, Associated Newspapers, to include "Yoga For Absolute Beginners" DVDs in newspapers as a subscriber incentive. Within 60 days of UK releasee Braccia broadened her audience an additional 320,000 members creating a surge of interest in yoga in the United Kingdom, where it had been only moderately popular.Ask Yogi Marlon is both Marlon Braccia's website and Q&A column, which was published by Yogi Times until 2005 as well as other wellness magazines, newspapers and websites.Marlon studied yoga in New York City with Kavi Mani Finger [follower of Vivekananda] and his son Alan Finger, and later in Los Angeles under the guidance of mentor Yogiraj Rod Stryker. In 2000 she became an initiated Kriya Yogi, hence Yogi Marlon, as she is more commonly referred to.Braccia makes frequent additions to YouTube.com. Recent additions indicate an upcoming cooking series and cookbook. Braccia appeared briefly on Emeril Lagasse's one hour television special for The Food Network. On her website, Yogi Marlon writes that her intent 'is to allow yoga to cultivate awareness and deepen mastery of Self so (you) may reach (your) highest potential as a co-creator with the divine'.