I started on my yoga path many years ago in the Soviet Union (Russia) when the government there did not approve of yoga because it did not support the communist ideology. And thank goodness it did not. When I moved to the USA in 1978, I was studying and practicing many different styles of yoga available in America. In 1987 I discovered for myself Kripalu yoga and the Kripalu Center for Yoga and health in Lenox, MA. For many years I became a compassionate student of this style. In 1989 I participated in an intensive one-month yoga teacher training program at the Kripalu Center. This experience totally change my life, and I stepped into the path of transformation. A few years later I participated in the training program for advanced yoga teachers, which was guided by Gurudev himself. I began teaching yoga immediately after my graduation, and it has become the most exciting and inspirational period of my life.

The main idea of yoga for me is to surrender to and accept my limitations when I am ready to do so, and opening to my limitless highest self. In addition, some other important benefits of yoga practice include increased flexibility, better health, greater endurance, and peace of mind.

Light and Love – Jai Bhagvan, Tatyana Vinnikova