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Dharma Mittra is a guru of modern yoga and a student of Swami Kailashananda.
Mittra is known for his ''Master Yoga Chart ''of 908 Postures, each
Dharma Mittra was born on May 14, 1939, in
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 ...
illustrated with a photograph of Mittra performing the pose. He has been teaching since 1967, and is director of the Dharma Yoga Center in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
which he founded in 1975.
Life
Dharma Mittra was born on May 14, 1939, in Pirapora
Pirapora is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in northcentral Minas Gerais in Brazil. The population is 56,640 (2020 est.) in an area of 550 km². The name Pirapora comes from the Tupi language, Tupi words for "fish" + "jump", referring to t ...
, Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
, Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. He started studying Yoga in 1958. In 1964, he left the Brazilian Air Force
"Wings that protect the country"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = Hino dos Aviadores
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 22 May (anniver ...
and moved to New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, to study under his new guru
Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...
, Swami Kailashananda, known in America as Yogi Gupta. After intensive study of Ashtanga and Karma Yoga
Karma yoga ( sa, कर्म योग), also called Karma marga, is one of the four classical spiritual paths in Hinduism, one based on the "yoga of action", the others being Jnana yoga (path of knowledge), Rāja yoga (path of meditatio ...
, in 1966 he was accepted and initiated as a ''sannyasi
''Sannyasa'' (Sanskrit: संन्यास; IAST: ), sometimes spelled Sanyasa (सन्न्यास) or Sanyasi (for the person), is life of renunciation and the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' As ...
'' (one who renounces the world in order to realize God). Dharma began teaching in 1967, after spending a decade as a full-time yogi and ''brahmachari'' (a celibate religious student who lives with his teacher and devotes himself to the practice of spiritual disciplines). A celebrated teacher at his guru's ashram
An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or a ...
, he left in 1975 and founded the Dharma Yoga Center in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. He is director of the Dharma Yoga Center in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
Dharma Mittra completed the ''Master Yoga Chart of 908 Postures'' in 1984, after having photographed himself in 1300 Yoga postures, then cut and pasted the pictures to create the work; by 2003, it had sold over 50,000 copies. The ''Master Yoga Chart'' is hung in ashram
An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or a ...
s and Yoga centers worldwide, as a teaching tool and inspiration for all students of Yoga. His more recent book, entitled ''Asanas: 608 Yoga Poses'' was published in 2003. In 2006, he released an instructional Yoga video series entitled ''Maha Sadhana: The Great Practice''. Mittra is also featured as the inspiration and model for ''Yoga Journal
''Yoga Journal'' is a website and digital journal, formerly a print magazine, on yoga as exercise founded in California in 1975 with the goal of combining the essence of traditional yoga with scientific understanding. It has produced live events ...
s coffee table book
A coffee table book, also known as a cocktail table book, is an oversized, usually hard-covered book whose purpose is for display on a table intended for use in an area in which one entertains guests and from which it can serve to inspire convers ...
, entitled ''Yoga''.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mittra, Dharma Brazilian yogis American Hindus Brazilian Hindus Converts to Hinduism People from Minas Gerais Educators from New York City American yoga teachers 1939 births Living people Brazilian emigrants to the United States Modern yoga gurus