Most people know about yoga these days, as it has broken into the mainstream over the past two decades
Stereotype to the practice from the early Nineties, that only hippies and strange earthy types did yoga, at least in America.
What most people imagined
For semi-educated people, it was common knowledge that yoga began in India, brought by immigrants who came to America.
That’s what makes this land the way it is in the first place
However, most people don’t know the exact history of how yoga made the long journey to North America. Below is a brief explanation of how this practice crossed from the opposite side of the world. ?♀️
Swami Vivekananda was an Indian writer and spokesman who wrote extensively about America and his love for the possibilities in the country.
In 1893, he famously wrote, “America is the place, the people, the opportunity for everything new.” He was also the first to speak at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago and was given a standing ovation. For instance, People in America loved Swami.
In 1920, the Swami came to Boston to address a crowd of religious liberals, sent by his guru Babaji, to “spread the message of kyiya yoga to the West.” This is where Americans and other North Americans were first introduced to the practice of yoga.
Above all, In 1924, when the immigration department imposed a quota on the number of Indians allowed into America per year, many Westerners began heading to India.
…to experience the teachings of yoga first-hand
Theos Bernard
Theos Bernard was one of the first Americans to do this and after many years abroad, returned to the United States in 1947 and published a source-book of yoga called Hatha Yoga: The Report of a Personal Experience.
He also became one of the first Westerners to study with Sri Krishnamacharya and the first to bring his teachings to the West. In other words, This man went on to become known as the grandfather of American yoga.
He wrote a book and sold millions of copies. He also made a television appearance in 1961 where he showed viewers how to do yoga.
By 1960, however yoga was a quickly spreading underground movement all over North America, due in part to the publishing of a new book called The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga, written by Swami Vishnu-devananda and illustrated by artist Peter Max.
Allowed followers of yoga to get into their techniques
The fact that there were detailed images of poses people should be doing on their own.
In the other words, The Swami Vishnu-devananda also went on to found the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers in Montreal.
Yoga truly exploded and could be accessed just about anywhere for it’s followers ?
By the 1970s, yoga could be found just about everywhere in the country. In Santa Cruz, California, the silent sage named Baba Hari Dass founded Mount Madonna to provide residential yoga programs everywhere.
New gurus were coming to America every year now and bringing a new set of teachings and styles with them. By the end of the 80s and early 90s, yoga becomes as popular as going to the gym. ?
We all have to chase our true calling?♂️
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