YG: What was the yoga scene like in the early days in New York? Where people practicing at home or in yoga centers?
David: There was no yoga scene in 1983 in New York. Yoga was neither popular nor practiced much. There was a small Iyengar community, Sivananda and Integral yoga centers. Norman Allen had begun to teach Ashtanga Vinyasa in the 70s in New York, and many of his students continued to teach.
Of course, Dharma Mitra was a teacher to us and many others in the early days. It was a great time to experience the wonderful teachers from India that brought the teachings to the west, like J. Krishnamurti, Yogi Bhajan, Swami Satchidananda, BKS Iyengar, Vishnu-devananda, Swami Dhayananda Saraswati, Brahmananda Saraswati, and others, who were all in New York at some point.
Sharon: I am not a historian so I feel very inadequate to speak on this subject, but I know that Swami Prabhupada came to New York from India perhaps in the 1960s or 70s. He first came to Tompkins Square Park, which is across the street from where we live in the East Village. There is a large tree in the middle of the park, which is always adorned with flower garlands, put there by Krishna devotees in remembrance of the fact that Swami Prabhupada chanted the Hari Krishna mantra around that tree on his first visit to America.
Our teacher, Shri Brahmananda Saraswati, started the Yoga Society of New York in the 1960s. But when I moved to New York City in 1983, I was not aware of it. The main yoga schools which I was aware of at that time were the Sivananda Center, the Integral Center, Dharma Mittra’s, and Swami Bua taught out of his apartment. I think there must have been an Iyengar Center, but I never visited there. I don’t know if people practiced at home or in yoga centers at that time.
YG: Was anyone teaching vinyasa-style yoga?
Sharon: Norman Allan, who was an early student of Pattabhi Jois’s, taught Ashtanga yoga, I think in the 1970s in New York City. I do know that he taught Swami Sankarananda because we learned about Norman Allan through S. Sankarananda. Our first teacher in New York City, Tara Rose, besides being a Sivananda trained teacher, was a student of a man who had studied with Norman Allan. She incorporated Vinyasa aspects into her classes. She taught us Vinyasa, for instance, in the form of the Surya Namaskars from the Ashtanga system.
YG: Based on your experience training yoga teachers, what do you think makes a good teacher?
David: Three qualities:
- 1. Their good practice
- 2. Their good connection to a teacher who acknowledges them
- 3. Their good desire to serve others
Sharon: 1. Lineage, 2. Practice, 3. Other-centeredness
- 1. I think it is very important to acknowledge a teacher and to have a teacher acknowledge you as their student because the deeper teachings of yoga are transmitted from guru to student energetically.
- 2. In order to teach others, you must continuously immerse yourself in practice or you really can’t teach from a place of fresh experience.
- 3. To be a good teacher, you must have a sincere liking for other people. You have to like to be around other people -- not all yogic practitioners like to be around other people. It [the teaching experience] has to be not all about you. You have to want to put your students before you. A good teacher lives for their students and is only interested in facilitating the student’s enlightenment.
YG: Do you consider vegetarianism to be an important part of a yoga practice?
David: I consider vegetarianism as the traditional keystone to a yogic way of life. It is an action that can lead to liberation- the goal of yoga. However, I consider veganism as the modern imperative, the translation, if you will, of the principles of non-violence into action in the modern time where the implications of violent living and animal industries are threatening the continued existence of the earth.
Sharon: Vegetarianism, real vegetarianism, which means, not eating animals and only eating vegetables [veganism] is the most important aspect of a yoga practice. A vegan recognizes that animals do not belong to us -- they are not ours to eat, to wear, to experiment on or to use for entertainment or any other exploitive purpose. Our present culture is based on the arrogant notion that the earth and all other life forms exist for our human benefit. The enslavement of other animals is considered normal in our culture.
The yogi who is seeking enlightenment knows that if they themselves want to be free, then they cannot cause the imprisonment, the enslavement of others. What does what you eat have to do with yoga? Not everyone can stand on his or her head every day, but everyone eats. The goal of yoga is enlightenment. What is realized in the enlightened state is the oneness of being; the interconnectedness of all of life.
Traditionally, a yogi was an environmentalist and animal rights activist. The lineage comes from Lord Shiva who was considered the protector of the earth and all life forms. One of his names is Pasupati, which means protector of the animals. A yogi is moving toward enlightenment through living harmoniously with all of life. In order to harm another you must objectify and separate yourself from that other. As you do that, you become disconnected to the whole.
Yoga is a holy connection, a realization of the interconnectedness of all of life. Through eating a vegan diet, you contribute to the happiness and well being of others, yourself and the planet. (continued)
