Donna Farhi (born 5 June 1959) is a teacher of
yoga as exercise
Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting mainly of postures, often connected by flowing sequences, sometimes accompanied by breathing exercises, and frequently ending with relaxation lying down or meditation. Yoga in this form has ...
and the author of five books on practising and teaching yoga. She has been described as a yoga "superstar".
Life
Farhi has been teaching yoga since 1982. She lives in
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
, New Zealand where she keeps horses and practises
dressage
Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...
as well as yoga.
She tours the world each year to teach yoga in different countries.
As well as yoga, she has been influenced by her friend the psychologist
Richard Miller, founder of the Integrative Restoration Institute, and teaches the restorative technique of
yoga nidra
Yoga nidra ( sa, योग निद्रा, ) or yogic sleep in modern usage is a state of consciousness between waking and sleeping, typically induced by a guided meditation.
A state called yoga nidra is mentioned in the Upanishads and the ...
.
She studied the
asanas
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 ...
with
B. K. S. Iyengar
Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar (14 December 1918 – 20 August 2014) was an Indian teacher of yoga and author. He is founder of the style of yoga as exercise, known as " Iyengar Yoga", and was considered one of the foremost yoga guru ...
in India, finding the practice formal and leading to constant injuries, and then with
Angela Farmer
Angela Farmer (born c. 1939) is a teacher of modern yoga as exercise in a non-lineage style that emphasizes the feminine, free-flowing aspect. She is known also as the creator of the first yoga mat.
She was trained by the yoga guru B. K. S. Iyen ...
to investigate a freer style of practice.
Farhi has written articles for ''Yoga International'' and ''
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 ...
''.
She has been described as a yoga "superstar",
and has been profiled in at least four publications as an exceptional yoga teacher, including in
Janice Gates
Janice Gates (January 28, 1965 – October 11, 2022) was a teacher of yoga as exercise and mindful yoga, known for her emphasis on the power of yoginis, women in yoga and her work in yoga therapy.
Life
Education
Janice Gates was educated at Sy ...
's 2006 ''Yogini: The Power of Women in Yoga''.
recorded that Farhi had experienced abuse from a yoga teacher when she was "in her late twenties", leading her to contribute to the
Yoga Alliance The Yoga Alliance is a U.S.-based nonprofit membership trade and professional organization for yoga teachers. The organization is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.
Registered Yoga Teacher, a title in the United States that designates a yoga t ...
's guidelines for teacher-pupil relationships.
Gates writes that Farhi is saddened by the "very strong, explicit identification with the body" in modern
yoga as exercise
Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting mainly of postures, often connected by flowing sequences, sometimes accompanied by breathing exercises, and frequently ending with relaxation lying down or meditation. Yoga in this form has ...
, a focus that in Farhi's view is diametrically opposed to
yoga's traditional philosophy that the focus should instead be on the force (
prana
In yoga, Indian medicine and Indian martial arts, prana ( sa2, प्राण, ; the Sanskrit word for breath, " life force", or "vital principle") permeates reality on all levels including inanimate objects. In Hindu literature, prāṇa is ...
) that animates the body. Her teaching "integrates breathing, movement, and inner inquiry".
The yoga teacher and author
Cyndi Lee described Farhi as a "renowned yoga teacher and author".
Books
* 1996: ''The Breathing Book''. Holt,
* 2000: ''Yoga Mind, Body and Spirit''. Holt,
* 2005: ''Bringing Yoga to Life''. HarperCollins,
* 2006: ''Teaching Yoga''. Rodmell,
* 2017: ''Pathways to a Centered Body''. Embodied Wisdom, (with Leila Stuart)
See also
*
Yoga for women
Modern yoga as exercise has often been taught by women to classes consisting mainly of women. This continued a tradition of gendered physical activity dating back to the early 20th century, with the Harmonic Gymnastics of Genevieve Stebbins in ...
References
Sources
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farhi, Donna
1959 births
Yoga teachers
Living people