Patricia Johnson (Devi Veenanand) and Mark A. Michaels (Swami Umeshanand Saraswati) are a devoted married couple, and have been teaching Tantra together since 1999. Their approach combines traditional lineage-based Tantra with the best contemporary methods so that students can bring heightened awareness and an expanded capacity for pleasure into all aspects of everyday life. Michaels and Johnson are the authors of The Essence of Tantric Sexuality (2006), which won the USA Book News National Best Books 2007 Award in Health: Sexuality. Their second book, Tantra for Erotic Empowerment: The Key to Enriching Your Sexual Life (2008) won a 2008 USA Book News Award. Their meditation CD set, Ananda Nidra: Blissful Sleep (Projekt Records) was a finalist for the 2012 COVR Visionary Award for Innerspace/Meditational/Healing Music. The couple has taught throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, and Australia.
Johnson is a retired professional operatic soprano who toured throughout the United States, Europe, and South America and performed with the New York City Opera, the Houston Grand Opera, and the Komsiche Oper Berlin. She currently is active in the conservation and preservation of New York's native turtles.