1. Amrit Desai is a pioneer of yoga in the West, and one of the few remaining living yoga gurus who originally brought over the authentic teachings of yoga in the early 1960s.
21 Facts About Amrit Desai
1. 2.
Amrit Desai is the creator of two brands of yoga, Kripalu Yoga and I AM Yoga, and is the founder of five yoga and health centers in the US.
3.
Amrit Desai was born on 16 October 1932, the second son of Chimanlal, a village merchant, and Buribhen Desa in Pratappura in Gujarat, India.
4.
Amrit Desai taught himself yoga postures from a chart he found tacked to the wall of the local gym, and then began teaching others outside the cowshed where his guru lived.
5.
Amrit Desai married his betrothed, Urmila Shah, in January 1955.
6.
Amrit Desai saved enough money to travel to the United States in February 1960, where he entered the Philadelphia College of Art with only enough money to cover his first semester's tuition and rent.
7.
Amrit Desai created distinct textures and patterns with razor blades and eye-droppers.
8.
Out of this experience Amrit Desai created a form of hatha yoga called Kripalu Yoga, named in honour of his guru.
9.
Amrit Desai reduced his teaching to once per week to make time for higher yoga practice.
10.
In 1974, Amrit Desai spent three months in seclusion at a small cottage on the property that came to be known as Muktidham.
11.
Yogi Amrit Desai was initiated into the secrets of Shaivite kundalini yoga by his guru, Swami Kripalu, a master of tantric sadhana.
12.
Clad in a flowing white robe and sitting before us, Amrit Desai easily assumed the lotus posture, his body perfectly poised.
13.
Amrit Desai led us into a meditation and the first thing I noticed was a wave of euphoria permeating my body.
14.
The irony was that the two most senior members of the community, including Amrit Desai, were practising adultery.
15.
When Michael A Singer, a long-time supporter and host of Desai's seminars, heard that Desai had left the Kripalu community, he invited him and his wife to spend some quiet time living with the Temple of the Universe community in Alachua, Florida.
16.
In 1996, Amrit Desai resumed teaching at the original Kripalu Ashram in Sumneytown, Pennsylvania.
17.
Amrit Desai Yoga Institute is an ashram where the guru-disciple relationship continues to flourish and residents enjoy the benefits of a traditional yogic lifestyle.
18.
The Salt Springs property was sold in 2023, but AYI continues to hold online classes, as well as in person classes elsewhere, and Yogi Amrit Desai continues to teach.
19.
Amrit Desai provided scholarships to the poor in India, and assisted approximately 5,000 women financially through the Bhuriben Trust, which he founded.
20.
Amrit Desai provided free medicines and medical treatment and helped launch a new children's school in Halol.
21.
Yogi Amrit Desai has been the subject of several biographies, including:.