Dru yoga is a style of

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

that works with postures, breath work, relaxation and

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

. Its

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in ...

or sequences are called Energy Block Release. According to "Dru World Wide" this yoga style has thousands of practitioners in 31 countries.
The word Dru in the name refers to

Dhruva Dhruva (Sanskrit: ध्रुव, , lit. "''unshakeable, immovable, or fixed"'') was an ascetic devotee of Vishnu mentioned in the Vishnu Purana and the Bhagavata Purana. The Sanskrit term ''dhruva nakshatra'' (ध्रुव नक्ष� ...

, a prince in

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 ...

mythology whom the god

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

honored with the eternal abode on the Pole Star. Dru can also be translated from Sanskrit as 'pole star' and represents our 'inner still-point'. Dru Yoga aims to create healing and unity by combining

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 ...

Pranayama Pranayama is the yogic practice of focusing on breath. In Sanskrit, '' prana'' means "vital life force", and ''yama'' means to gain control. In yoga, breath is associated with ''prana'', thus, pranayama is a means to elevate the '' prana'' ''sha ...

(breath control) and the ancient Eastern tradition of

Mudras A mudra (; sa, मुद्रा, , "seal", "mark", or "gesture"; ,) is a symbolic or ritual gesture or pose in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. As wel ...

(hand gestures). There are a number of books published about Dru Yoga.

History

Dru was started in 1978 by Mansukh Patel, Chris Barrington, Rita Goswami, Annie Jones and John Jones at

Bangor University , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

. It is inspired by the teachings of

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...

and

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

. With their head office in

Nant Ffrancon The Nant Ffrancon Pass in Snowdonia, North Wales, is the long steady climb of the A5 road between Bethesda, Gwynedd, and Llyn Ogwen in Conwy. The summit at is at Pont Wern-gof, about one-third of a mile beyond the eastern end of Llyn Ogwen. Fr ...

in a former

motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionaries ...

, near

Bethesda, Gwynedd Bethesda (; ) is a town and community on the River Ogwen and the A5 road on the edge of Snowdonia, in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is the fifth-largest community in Gwynedd. History The settlement's ancient name was Cilfoden, formerly know ...

Dru Worldwide and affiliates have registered Dru yoga as their trademark in Australia and the US. The organisation changed its name from Life Foundation School of Therapeutics Ltd to the World Peace Flame Foundation, and has also been known as Life Foundation International, Dru (UK) Ltd and Dru World Wide.

Criticism

The Sunday Mail reported in 2001 that of funds raised only a fraction went to charity. In 2006 ex-members of the organization came forward with allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse within the organization.Seks met Mansukh tilde je op een hoger plan
''Trouw'', 21 May 2006. Other efforts by the Life Foundation were criticized, such as the Eternal Peace Flame. The Dutch web directory SIMPOS was at one time collating articles in English, critical of the organisation and its former leader Mansukh Patel, who has since returned to the top of the leadership team.Dru Yoga: How to Handle a Cult Reputation Crisis
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References

Bibliography

* {{cite book , last=Barrington , first=Chris , title=Dru Yoga : stillness in motion , publisher=DRU Publications , location=Nant Ffrancon, Bethesda, North Wales, U.K , year=2005 , isbn=978-1-873606-25-4 , oclc=224680849

External links

Dru World Wide

Internet Archive of SIMPOS web directory, collation of critical articles in English

David C. Lane David Christopher Lane (born April 29, 1956 in Burbank, California) is a professor of philosophy and sociology at Mt. San Antonio College, in Walnut, California. He is notable for his book ''The Making of a Spiritual Movement: The Untold Story ...

, 1994 Yoga organizations Bethesda, Gwynedd Religious organizations established in 1970 New religious movements