Amrit Yoga and the Yoga Sutras

The roots of Amrit Yoga are firmly planted in Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga. Novices and experienced practitioners alike will benefit from this clear presentation of Amrit Yoga practices and philosophies. The ancient threads of Patanjali’s eight-limbed yoga are woven into vibrant relevancy in the yoga system developed by Yogi Desai.

The roots of Amrit Yoga are firmly planted in Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga. Novices and experienced practitioners alike will benefit from this clear presentation of Amrit Yoga practices and philosophies. The ancient threads of Patanjali’s eight-limbed yoga are woven into vibrant relevancy in the yoga system developed by Yogi Desai.

Yogi Amrit Desai is a renowned authority on yoga and holistic living. As a teacher, his special gift is his unique ability to present profound essential yogic wisdom as a practical method anyone can adopt. His very presence radiates the inner warmth, divine joy and spiritual energy that are the outward expressions of awakened consciousness. Yogi Desai’s spiritual odyssey began at 16 in Gujarat, a rural western state in India. At that time, his Guru, Sri Swami Kripalvanandi recognized that the young Amrit possessed special gifts as a spiritual teacher. As a result of his Kundalini awakening in 1970, Yogi Desai directly realized the unity within all life and the divine essence within each of us. This experience became the basis of the work he called Kripalu Yoga, Meditation in Motion, in honor of his Guru. In this work, he refined methodologies that shattered the current notions of yoga as a physical discipline and opened the way for participants to embark on a path of self-discovery and enlightenment through the practice of yoga and meditation. Immigrating to the U.S. in 1960 to study at the Philadelphia College of Art, he soon realized his true calling lay in the teachings of yoga. He founded a Yoga Ashram in Sumneytown, PA, that later grew into the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, the largest center of its kind in North America, and later, the Amrit Yoga Institute. For the next 20 years he continued developing this yoga system. Today, his methodology is taught and practiced by thousands of people around the world. Yogi Desai is neither a philosopher nor a psychologist. He represents a mystic, Tantric tradition, imparting energetic experience through direct transmission. He is a Master whose presence creates a palpable energetic field where synergy transports one to a state of consciousness, stillness, peace and tranquility.