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Article #27: The Cure to Loneliness: Finding a Guru

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Copyright 2006 Alanna Kaivalya the west and truly adroit western yogis
Many people ask me if I can recommend at their respective helms.
where they should study yoga on their Yoga came into my life in a fairly
travels to the birthplace of this ancient traditional (American) way. I started
Indian philosophy. I humbly admit to going to classes during college simply
them that I have never been to India. My for health reasons, which is the way most
gurus are in New York-and they are people enter into a yoga practice.
American. Something very strong took hold, and I've
Most people are surprised at this been an avid practitioner since. A
admission. They question me regarding nagging desire sent me to study with
this. After all, if I am a yogi, Sharon Gannon and David Life, and my
shouldn't my guru be an Indian man? whole world turned upside down. In their
Well, the gurus of my gurus are Indian presence, I learned what the term "guru"
men, but in my case, I look into the soft meant. In short, I learned to surrender
brown eyes and pale skin of my gurus when to another being who could show me my
I bow before them. true Light.
It's funny. yoga has taken such a hold in I know what you're thinking, Wow, that's
America, yet some misconceptions are some pretty esoteric, frou frou talk for
still etched in the practice. For a western girl! Believe me, I would have
example, we think yoga is practiced in thought so myself before I stood in their
hot rooms just because it is hot in presence, but something in me shifted as
India; we have this image in our minds of I listened to them talk at my teacher
ancient yogis practicing warrior two and training. I felt that strong sense of
sun salutations, and we think that in individuality that Americans prize so
order to be a true guru, your nationality highly start to slip away. Suddenly,
matters. life wasn't all about me anymore, and for
In this day and age of yoga, its the first time, I didn't feel alone. To
evolution has taken a major turn, one put it bluntly, loneliness is nasty. A
towards the west. More westerners are study by the National Institute of Aging
doing yoga today, at least the practice says that, "People who feel lonely have
we define as yoga, than Indians. There more health problems and a shorter life
is a saying now that there is more yoga expectancy than those who do not feel
on the lower east side of Manhattan than lonely." Loneliness plagues Americans;
there is in all of India. Westerners it causes stress, shortens our lives,
have taken yoga to the next level-a level and, in general, makes us a despondent
of fitness, industry, and fashion-yet and sorrowful lot.
many yogis still try to remain close to Well, I've found the cure for this common
the roots of yoga. American disease called loneliness, and
One of the ways that yogis strive to it's a guru. Yes, finding someone who
remain closely tied to the true purpose will 'ru' (remove) your 'gu' (darkness or
of the practice is by tightening their muck) is a surefire way to find peace and
grip on what they think is most a release from the ills that plague you.
"classical," the finding of a guru. This You see, we are all like tiny drops of
is, in my opinion, the most important the ocean wandering around, and until we
piece of yogic philosophical principles. get back, we don't have the great vast
While the west has shaped yoga and turned sea of knowledge or bliss from which to
it into an amazing practice that many draw. One of the quickest ways to get
people need right now, the one thing that back to the ocean is to find yourself a
hasn't seemed to catch up with this tidal guru, a person or group of people, who
wave is the idea of a guru. can teach you life's greatest lessons
Many practitioners think that it's not without your protest and without your ego
important. In truth, some think that guru saying, "I'm going to do it my way."
is a bad word, and those who get over the Some people think that surrender to a
stigma of what a guru tends to represent guru makes you bland and uninteresting,
think a practitioner has to go to India but by adding your drop of the ocean back
to find one. This is simply not true. into the voluminous sea, you actually
Yoga, as we know it, is largely a western have more to draw from and can become a
phenomenon, and it is western yogis who much more rich and vibrant individual.
have created it and helped it to evolve You don't have to travel to India; you
into the practice we know today. It is don't even have to be Indian. You don't
they who have crafted the practical even have to practice yoga very much to
application of yoga for modern day find a guru. The great thing is about
living, so why should we not turn to them this tradition is that "when the student
to learn all we can of their designs? is ready, the teacher will appear," so,
Whether it is Ashtanga, Iyengar, Kripalu, sit back, relax, be receptive to all the
Jivamukti, Viniyoga, Power yoga, or any lessons life brings to you, and get ready
of the other multitudinous options, all to discover yoga's untapped resource-the
these practices have very strong roots in tremendous power of surrender to a guru.






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