My journey with Yoga began not on the mat, but in meditation. As a devotee of Prem Pal Singh Rawat (formerly Guru Maharaji), I was introduced to his meditation practice, known as "Knowledge." That foundation—stillness, inner awareness, and direct experience—set the tone for everything that followed.

 

In the early 1980s, I accidentally stumbled into a Yoga Teacher Training Course (YTTC) led by Swami Maitreyananda, founder of the International Yoga Federation in Uruguay. Initially drawn in by the beauty and energy of the practitioners (mostly women at the time), I attended a class... and injured my spine. It turned out I had walked into an advanced teacher training—not a beginner class.

 

Swami Maitreyananda invited me to stay, using my injury as a real-life teaching moment to show how Yoga can be used therapeutically. Over three months, I healed under his guidance. Then, unexpectedly, he invited me to complete the training and become a Yoga teacher myself. That experience marked the beginning of my path as a teacher—and my deep appreciation for the healing power of Yoga.

 

Therapeutic Yoga and the Seeds of Grief Work

 

During my training, I was introduced to the profound and practical teachings of Swami Satyananda and the Bihar School of Yoga, where I studied with several of his Swamis and attended the World Yoga Conference at Mangrove Mountain Ashram in Australia. Their approach—“Yoga for [specific condition]”—made it clear that Yoga could be a potent therapeutic tool.

 

As part of my Karma Yoga, I was assigned to be the chauffeur for Rama Jyoti Vernon during an international conference Swami Maitreyananda organized. Although she couldn’t attend, this led to a connection years later in California, where she invited me to teach at the American Yoga College she had founded.

 

Around that time, grief entered my life in a deeply personal way with the loss of my mother. I was working with Lyn Prashant, who was developing her Integrative Grief Therapy program. She asked if I could design a Yoga sequence to address the physical aspects of grief. What emerged was a spontaneous and intuitive response: seven of the nine components now central to my own Yoga for Grief program were born that day.

 

Through that work, I began to understand how grief and Yoga are intricately connected. Grief is rooted in attachment, and, as the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali teach, attachment is a cause of suffering. The antidote? Vairagya—non-attachment. I also discovered a fascinating correlation between the seven chakras of Kundalini Yoga and Wilhelm Reich’s seven segments of body armoring—a compelling mind-body link that affirmed my intuition.

 

A Global Journey Through Classical and Modern Yoga

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I eventually became the Honorary Secretary for North America for the International Yoga Federation and a member of the World Yoga Council, positions that gave me a panoramic view of both classical and modern Yoga styles. Swami Satchidananda’s words—"One Truth, Many Paths"—deeply resonated with me and led to my long-standing relationship with the Integral Yoga Institute, where I’ve taught extensively in San Francisco, New York, and at the beautiful LOTUS Shrine in Virginia.

 

I was also drawn to the teachings of Swami Sivananda, the teacher of both Satyananda and Satchidananda. A physician by training, Swami Sivananda’s approach had a therapeutic undercurrent that aligned with my own evolving focus. I began teaching at the Sivananda Ashram in Grass Valley, California, and later at the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat in the Bahamas—where my teachings on grief were gratefully received.

 

Yoga Therapy Pioneer and Educator

 

I founded Yoga for Health: The International Yoga Therapy Conference—the first of its kind in the U.S.—bringing together thought leaders in therapeutic Yoga. I organized it for over a decade on both coasts, helping to create a conversation between classical Yoga and modern healing modalities. The International Association of Yoga Therapists eventually grandfathered me as a pioneer in the field and granted me CIAYT certification.

 

As my Yoga for Grief program matured, I began offering it to healthcare professionals—including physical therapists, hospice staff, and trauma workers—as a practical, embodied toolset for their clients and themselves. I’ve taught it at universities, hospitals, and retreat centers like Kripalu, and within Yoga therapy trainings such as:

• Ananda Seva Yoga Therapy Training

• Inner Peace Yoga Therapy Training

• Soul of Yoga Therapy Training

 

The program has also found a home in grief-adjacent communities—such as addiction recovery, stroke rehabilitation (notably with Carol Howard Wooton’s Keeping Hope Alive), and rites of passage like Young Men’s Ultimate Weekend. Most recently, I've partnered with YoloCares Hospice in Davis, CA, directed by Chris Erdman, to offer a grief-informed Yoga-based approach to end-of-life care.

 

Grief-Informed Yoga: A New Frontier

 

Through all of this, a core insight emerged: while perhaps 85% of people experience trauma, 100% experience grief. That led me to develop the idea of a Grief-Informed Approach to therapeutic intervention. I'm currently working on a new book titled:
"A Grief-Informed Approach to Therapeutic Interventions: Reclaiming the Wisdom of Loss in Clinical Practice and Society"
and exploring publishing partnerships.

 

Yoga first saved my life at a time of disconnection. It has since guided my professional path, shaped my understanding of healing, and given me a “manual for life” that is consistent, reliable, and holistic—body, mind, and spirit.
What joy!