Everything about Hindu Gurus and Yoga


The Cure to Loneliness: Finding a Guru

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



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