Master of breath, mind, and body — researcher — entrepreneur
Over the past three decades, Dr. Paul Dallaghan has built a rare depth of experience in the breath-mind-body lifestyle field. His background bridges advanced practice, academic scholarship, and entrepreneurship, shaped by three long-term commitments that continue to inform his work today.
He holds a Ph.D. in Biological Anthropology from Emory University, one of the leading universities in the United States. His doctoral studies combined a deep exploration of the yoga tradition, philosophy, and textual history with scientific research on yoga and breath in relation to stress, anxiety, and longevity across physiological, neuroscientific, and psychological disciplines.
Within the yoga tradition, Paul has also been recognized with the title of Master Yogi-Prānācharya, an honor acknowledging his expertise in breath. From a young age, he immersed himself in original yogic culture and received direct one-on-one training alongside the study of ancient texts. He is known as a teacher of teachers and continues the Prānāyāma lineage through Sri O.P. Tiwari and Kuvalayananda’s Kaivalyadhama tradition in India. He also spent years practicing in Mysore, where he became one of only a small number of senior students personally certified by the late ashtanga vinyasa master P. Jois after reaching an advanced level of posture practice.
As a teacher and entrepreneur, Paul founded Centered Yoga in New York City in 1999 as a training school. In 2001, he moved to Thailand and later established Samahita Retreat in 2003, the first yoga-breath-meditation retreat center in Asia. The retreat was created on sustainable principles that the hospitality industry is only now beginning to fully recognize.
Throughout these years, Paul has maintained a daily breath-mind-body practice and taught thousands of people. Living in Thailand also brought him into close contact with Buddhist culture, including many retreats in forest monasteries that naturally supported his yoga practice. He remains a student as well as a teacher, and his interest lies in balance — what he calls being “centered.” Through academic research and teaching, he contributes to the living legacy of yoga: inner life, inner space, pure joy, sukha, centered.
At Samahita, Paul and the team welcome students from all backgrounds and all levels of physical and mental readiness. Their open-minded approach to Centered Yoga is designed to encourage inner awareness and support wellbeing through engaged practice.
Paul believes that yoga and meditation are part of one path, not separate techniques. He sees spiritual growth as a spectrum of practice that includes physical fitness for the body, āsana for neurophysiological cultivation, prānāyāma as a key to the inner dimension, and meditative techniques that deepen the experience further.
With his unique blend of lived experience, science, and teaching, Paul speaks with clarity on the practical applications of these practices for stress, anxiety, burnout, and the lifestyle market. He continues to teach, write, and research with the goal of helping people improve their mental and physical health. A gifted and natural speaker, he has taught and presented at events around the world.
His philosophy is grounded in inner peace, outer resilience, sincerity, and joy — along with a sustainable way of moving through life. He values sharing, caring, music, free movement, and the simple commitment to keep going. That spirit is also part of the life he shares with his two sons.