Dharma Mittra is a guru of modern yoga[1] and a student of Swami Kailashananda.[2]

Sri Dharma Mittra
Born (1939-05-14) May 14, 1939 (age 85)
OccupationYoga teacher
Known forMaster Yoga Chart of 908 Postures
Mittra's 1984 "Master Yoga Chart of 908 Postures", his best-known work[3][4]

Mittra is known for his Master Yoga Chart of 908 Postures, each asana illustrated with a photograph of Mittra performing the pose.[3] He has been teaching since 1967, and is director of the Dharma Yoga Center in New York City which he founded in 1975.

Life

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Mittra's guru, Swami Kailashananda

Dharma Mittra was born on May 14, 1939, in Pirapora, Minas Gerais, Brazil. He started studying Yoga in 1958. In 1964, he left the Brazilian Air Force and moved to New York City, to study under his new guru, Swami Kailashananda, known in America as Yogi Gupta. After intensive study of Ashtanga and Karma Yoga, in 1966 he was accepted and initiated as a sannyasi (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, he left in 1975 and founded the Dharma Yoga Center in New York City. He is director of the Dharma Yoga Center in New York City.[3][5][6]

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.[3][4] The Master Yoga Chart is hung in ashrams 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's coffee table book, entitled Yoga.

References

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  1. ^ "15 Yoga Gurus That Are Empowering The World Through Social Media". Influence Digest +. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  2. ^ Mittra, Dharma (2003). "Asanas: 608 Yoga Poses". Publishers Group West. p. 12. ISBN 978-1577314028.
  3. ^ a b c d Phelps, Nicole (March 2004). "Talking Shop with Dharma Mittra". Yoga Journal. No. 180, Mar-Apr 2004. p. 22. Archived from the original on 2007-08-20. Retrieved 2005-12-16.
  4. ^ a b Schneider, Carrie (2003). American Yoga: The paths and practices of America's greatest yoga masters. Barnes & Noble. pp. 132–137. ISBN 978-0760745588.
  5. ^ "The Life of Sri Dharma". Dharma Yoga Center. Archived from the original on 2013-03-06. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  6. ^ Anderson, Diane (5 April 2017). "Dharma Mittra: Interview with the Great Yoga Teacher". Yoga Journal.