Jivamukti Yoga
What is jivamukti yoga? “Jiva” means “life” and “mukti” implies “freedom.” So, in essence, “jivamukti” means “freedom while living.” All of us often find ourselves mentally, physically, and emotionally entangled in the web of life; jivamukti yoga endeavors to liberate us from the karmic web and help us live a healthy non-attached life with total involvement.
History of jivamukti yoga. Its founders David Life and Sharon Gannon are musicians and social activists who began promoting their value system through art forms. They were introduced to Yoga in the late 1960s. Not impressed at first, they eventually realized its potential and began incorporating it in their music and dance performances to promote their social ideologies.
On meeting yoga gurus, such as Swami Nirmalananda and Shri K. Pabatthi Jois, on one of their trips to India, they decided to make conscious efforts towards formulating a new yoga school that reverberated their philosophies of non-violence, vegetarianism, and political and social activism. They called it jivamukti yoga. They modeled their yoga classes on the principles of ashtanga yoga and incorporated philosophical and spiritual teachings and chanting of mantras. They encompassed the old and new age spiritual and social ideologies, which appealed to a large section of people, transcending religious, age, and social barriers.
The main jivamukti yoga center is in New York City; it was established in the 1980s. Today, Toronto, London, Munich, Vancouver, South Carolina, and some other cities boast of jivamukti yoga centers. Innumerable people have benefited from this yoga methodology; in fact, many of them have acquired training as teachers of this school of yoga and have spread it to various parts of the world.
What does it entail? Jivamukti yoga focuses on breath-synchronization with each yoga pose. It is a fairly intense form of yoga and is not recommended for beginners. A regular practitioner of yoga who is well trained in breath synchronization and yoga asanas is aptly suited for this yogic school. There are intermediate and advanced versions of yoga postures, which are taught by jivamukti yoga teachers, and on considerable practice, one can graduate from one level to the next. It requires focus, energy, and determination to do this form of yoga as it is highly rigorous and challenging.
Each yoga class is modeled on a theme. Yogic scriptures, chants, and music relevant to that theme are focused upon, and subsequently, yoga postures are performed. In JYC centers, one will often find live traditional music being played while the class is in session. They believe that the right music can induce particular thought patterns and moods suitable for the chosen theme.
Celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Sting, and Christy Turlington swear by this form of yoga and are devoted practitioners.
