Yoga is Love
It was 1997 on the upper westside in NYC at the Universalist Church where my life quickly took a detour . Little did I know, my life would be changed forever. I would soon be traveling the world teaching Yoga for the next 25 years and never look back . I had been practicing Yoga Asana since 1995 but had a very humble awakening to a deeper meaning of the word "yoga" when I encountered this radiant 5'4" “Guru” from Kerala, a small fisherman village in Southern India .
Her devotees call her “AMMA”, which means “mother” in Hindi. She has become known around the world as “the hugging mother”. The word "Guru" in Sanskrit has several meanings and translations but literally means "One who removes". “Guru” is derived from the Sanskrit language and has a deep spiritual meaning. Its two syllables Gu and Ru stand for the following: Gu denotes the spiritual ignorance that most of humankind is in. Ru represents the radiance of spiritual knowledge that dispels the spiritual ignorance. In short, the Guru is the One who dispels the darkness of spiritual ignorance in humanity and bestows upon them spiritual experiences and spiritual knowledge.
When I entered the Universalist Church on that hot summer day in July 1997 it was as if for the first time, "God", "Spirit", my own "Higher Power" was staring right back at me as I witnessed true love and compassion in action. As I sat uncomfortably waiting 10 hrs to receive "Darshan" ( which means "to see or be in the presence of a holy being") Amma sat undisturbed receiving and embracing people, consoling their pain. To sit 20 +hrs voluntarily, giving endless unconditional love and compassion to strangers was unfathomable to me. No one could contain that much love and compassion for a total stranger, I thought! I longed and desired to know more. No words can truly capture what I witnessed or felt that day. In my quest to gain more knowledge of yoga and to learn more about Amma, I travelled to India in January of 2000 on my 30th birthday to Amma’s Ashram in Kerala where I lived for one month. Upon returning to NYC, I was committed and devoted to spreading her message of service, love, non-violence, and compassion through the vehicle of Yoga. I have since dedicated the past two decades of my life teaching and training thousands of students throughout the US and abroad, that YOGA is not just "asana" it is a lifestyle, a service to ourselves and to humanity. It is true love & compassion in action. I feel incredibly privileged to teach and practice yoga and forever grateful to Amma for lighting my path as well as the many teachers that have followed over the years.
Amma is a spiritual leader for humanity . She does not require you to believe in Hinduism ( her religion)or any particular faith to follow her. Many of Mother Teresa's nuns have gone and still go to visit Amma, as do many people from multiple religious beliefs. Amma does not believe in the separation of religion or race, she accepts all who come to her regardless of their faith, which is what separates her apart from many different religious organizations or spiritual leaders.
She is single handedly one of the largest humanitarian efforts in the world today, and has been honored multiple times by the UN . It is a fact that 100% of her proceeds go directly to the charities she is helping. She has given more in charitable funds than the US itself, to multiple disaster relief efforts, like Katrina.
Amma does not solicit for money like other organizations ,she simply lives by example. She has hundreds of free hospital care units and schools throughout India where people volunteer their time working.
I have never witnessed in my lifetime someone as selflessly giving and compassionate as this woman. In addition, with most religious or spiritual leaders of her stature, like the Dali Lama or the Pope, she allows people to have physical contact and individual time. Amma will sit up to 28-30 hours to embrace and console every single person that comes to see her without exception. I don't know anyone in history that has ever done this without pay or an alternate motive .
Click Here to watch a documentary about AMMA's life and some of her humanitarian efforts. Click Here for Amma’s personal website.