In 1967, the Beatles were intoduced to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and they almost immediately devoted themselves to his teachings. They were very interested in this Guru's instructions on Transcendental Meditation and all of the Fab Four were taught how to do this practice. It is pretty amazing the impression that Maharishi left on the gents since they only spent about three weeks with him. Some of them didn't even last three weeks! Due to a scandal involving the Guru and Mia Farrow, the Beatles decided to pack up and leave India. The scandal did not prove to be true and many of the Beatles did reconcile with Maharishi before he died in 2008. It has been reported that their interaction with Maharishi inspired the Beatles to write songs differently and this amazing creativity can be heard on their White Album and Abbey Road.
Now I know that I picked a pretty controversial Guru to start off with due to the fact that he was very secretive after the scandal and he charged a huge amount of money to learn the techniques of Transcendental Meditation. Or maybe people question his meditation method because the 'out of the box' director David Lynch swears by it. Who knows?! I am intrigued to learn this method and see what it is all about. Please email funds to.....hehe
Really this blog post is about Gurus in my life and to explain what a Guru really is. So here we go........
What is a Guru?
In Sanskrit, Guru means the remover of darkness. I like to think of a Guru as a person that knows way more than me, knows how to know more and practices what he or she has learned. In North America, traditional Gurus are hard to find and a traditional Guru may not fit our needs. When I think of a traditional Guru I think of a person that has devoted every minute of their day to guide students through their teachings. This person lives in an ashram or has created an ashram (a place of study). They may not have married or had children but that is more my catholic upbringing talking. The tradional Guru has been brought up with the teachings and has practiced them all his or her life. This is what I think a tradional Guru is but I have never meet a real bona fide Guru from India.
What is a North American Guru? This is a relivant question to me. They are different because they live in the same type of society as I do. They cannot live in a cave or stay in an ashram because our society is not designed for this type of life. A North American Guru has to support themselves, they may have a business such as a yoga shala or meditation center. They may have a full time job like being an engineer or law assistant. But yet they get up every morning to practice asana and pranayama. They know how to apply the teaching to a North American lifestyle. They may talk of practicing Ahimsa when you were just cut off in traffic or applying Satya to little white lies.
Why do you need a Guru?
We need an example to follow. We need someone that knows some of the answers to the questions so we can copy them and learn from them. Cheat off their exams. We will learn from their mistakes and learn from their successes. We have to be willing to learn! Wholeheartedly willing to learn! We need to dedicate ourselves to learning from our Gurus and to respect their teachings. That doesn't mean we have to believe and follow everything they say. An excellent Guru would teach their students to explore and to even prove their teachings wrong.
Who is my Guru?
I have a few Gurus that are 'North American Gurus'. I try to spend as much time as I can so I can be connected with their teachings.
Jeff & Harmony Lichty have been in my life as Gurus since I first started practicing in the
Ashtanga tradition of yoga. About 3 months after I found Ashtanga yoga I attended a weekend intensive with J & H. I had never heard about the other 7 limbs of yoga until I met them. As they were talking about the philosophy I had tears in my eyes as I felt in my heart that I had finally found what I was looking for.....a 'coming home' feeling. I would talk to my husband, Craig, about all the amazing things they talked about and he was so happy that I finally found what I was looking for.
Jeff really understands the mechanics of my tight body when I practice asana. He often repeats a statement that his Guru,
Pattabhi Jois, would often say. It goes something like 'Yoga is breath, don't forget the breath. And the rest is just gymnastics'. Jeff says simple things in short, to the point sentences that I find myself remembering at all times of my day. During practice. When I am driving. When I am walking.
His beautiful wife, Harmony, makes my heart sing every time I see her. She has the magic touch. She can touch your shoulder in a yoga posture and all of a sudden all the tension is gone. Her touch gives you effortless effort. You have to be willing to accept it but it is there. Sometimes she just needs to walk by you and your pose transforms into something you have never felt before.
As a team Jeff & Harmony can teach yoga philosophy, pranayama, asana, sanskrit chanting and all of the tools you need to have a yogic lifestyle. How to eat. How to sleep. How to think or not to think. They are Gurus. If they would allow me, I would bow down and kiss their feet. But they prefer hugs. I am so thankful for them.
My short week with J & H
I recently had a amazing opportunity to study with Jeff & Harmony in
their studio in Victoria for a few days. Usually I only get to see them when they come to Calgary every three months or so to teach 3 day workshops or one week Mysore classes at a local studio. My husband, Craig, finally had a chance to meet them and practice yoga with them for the first time. It was so nice to have him there with me. He normally doesn't get a chance to practice in a studio as he is at home taking care of our son. So this was a special treat for both of us. Craig received special attention from Jeff because he was a new face and new to the Mysore practice. It was inspiring to hear Jeff talk Craig through the different postures, teach him the importance of breath and give him the fourth bandha talk. (I will make a seperate post about the fourth bandha)
J & H's new son would sleep on a cushion in the front of the class room. He is just 3 or 4 months old and so cute. What an amazing gift, to be in the presence of all these yogis practicing and sleeping to the sound of their breath. This little boy is going to have an extraordinary life.
There have been other inspiring people in my life that could be called Gurus. I will be sure to write about them too. They knock my socks off and I get to spend time with them on a regular basis. I am truly blessed with all the wonderful teachers I have had in my life.
Jai Guru Deva
