Anusara School of Hatha Yoga, also known as Anusara Yoga (In

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

:अनुसार योग) is the successor of a modern school of

hatha yoga Haṭha yoga is a branch of yoga which uses physical techniques to try to preserve and channel the vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word हठ ''haṭha'' literally means "force", alluding to a system of physical techniques. Some haṭha ...

founded by American-born yoga teacher John Friend in 1997. Friend derived his style from the Iyengar style of yoga and reintroduced elements of

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

spirituality into a more health-oriented Western approach to Yoga.

Style of yoga

The Anusara style emphasizes a set of Universal Principles of Alignment which underlie all of the physical

asana An asana is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and later extended in hatha yoga ...

s and are connected to philosophical aspects of the practice. The school's ideology is "grounded in a Tantric philosophy of intrinsic goodness". The term "Anusara (a-nu-sar-a), means 'flowing with Grace,' 'flowing with Nature' and 'following your heart,'" as interpreted from the Sanskrit ' (अनुसार), meaning "custom, usage, natural state or condition". Instructors who are certified to teach Anusara are exclusively associated with the Anusara School of Hatha Yoga, formed in 2012, after John Friend and Anusara Inc. were embroiled in a scandal that resulted in Friend's stepping down from his role in Anusara. Friend transferred all rights to the name “Anusara” to the newly formed school and dissolved Anusara, Inc. The Anusara School of Hatha Yoga (ASHY) became a non-profit corporation in 2017 and is recognized as a 501(c)(3) by the United States Internal Revenue Service. It has over 800 teachers worldwide. ASHY's Vision is "To foster a unified community that inspires and supports all practitioners of Anusara yoga from local to global" and its Mission is "To provide the structure that promotes and sustains the growth of Anusara yoga’s philosophy and methodology."

Founder

John Friend (born May 30, 1959) started practicing yoga postures as shown in the book ''Integral Yoga Hatha'' by Swami Satchidananda at age 13. He lived in

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until 19 years old, and then moved to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Before becoming a yoga teacher, Friend worked as a

financial analyst A financial analyst is a professional, undertaking financial analysis for external or internal clients as a core feature of the job. The role may specifically be titled securities analyst, research analyst, equity analyst, investment analyst, ...

until he quit in 1986 to teach yoga full-time. In the years following he traveled to California to study with Judith Lasater, and began to focus on Iyengar yoga. Friend was a popular teacher in the Iyengar style and, during the 1990s, served on the board of the Iyengar Yoga Organization for four years before leaving to found Anusara, Inc. in 1997. Since 2012, Friend has had no role in Anusara nor the training and certifying of teachers in the Anusara School of Hatha Yoga.

2012 scandal and exit from Anusara

In February 2012 an anonymous author published online accusations against Friend. The allegations accused Friend of being associated with a

Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was ...

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made up of Anusara teachers and employees, and that Friend engaged in sexual relations with women in the coven, several of whom were married. Friend was also accused of de-funding employees' benefits plans without notifying them, and for arranging delivery of

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

shipped for his own use to Anusara's main office. Friend soon announced his resignation as officer and director of Anusara Inc. In September 2012, Friend returned to teaching a set hatha yoga sequence of 108

s called "The Roots" based on Anusara's Universal Principles of Alignment.

References

External links

Anusara yoga site
{{Asana Yoga schools Yoga styles