Lokta Joel

Lokta Joel (Joel Altman) is a spiritual teacher, linguist, and classically trained musician who founded Hariharalaya – Yoga & Meditation Center in Siem Reap, Cambodia, in 2010. For more than 25 years he has walked the inner path with devotion, integrating meditation, gentle yoga, breath, and vibration into a clear, embodied way of living. A hyperpolyglot conversant in over ten languages, Joel draws on a life of music, movement, service, and silence to guide people into steady presence, kind attention, and practical compassion. Rooted near the temples of Angkor, he has led more than 500 retreats for over 13,000 participants, sharing what he calls the Yoga of Awareness: a simple, potent synthesis that calms the mind, opens the heart, and restores the nervous system. In his sessions you can expect unhurried pacing, accessible postures, breath-led rhythm, and time to integrate what you feel. His background spans classical performance, linguistics, contemplative study, and years of retreat, giving his guidance both rigor and warmth. Joel’s teaching is devotional yet down-to-earth—less about concepts and more about direct experience. He holds space with humility and precision, meeting each person where they are and inviting what is essential to emerge. Whether in silence or in sound, his transmission points back to the same source: the quiet clarity of the present moment. His work is an invitation to come home—steadily, kindly, and for good.

Read more