birthday event. The celebration takes place October 19-21 at the Marriott Hotel in Jacksonville, FL. The weekend is open to students of all yoga schools and Ayurveda. Special guest appearances include yoga luminaries Panache Desai, Mickey Singer and ecstatic chanting with members of Mayapuri Kirtan.
Yogi Amrit Desai was born in Halol in Gujurat, India in 1932, and in 1947 he met his teacher, Swami Kripalvanandji, Babuji, who had come to Halol to teach. He immediately became a disciple of the master. After studying engineering and then teaching in India, the young Amrit Desai arrived in America in February 1960, initially to study art. His spiritual mission drove him to begin teaching yoga which became his life’s work.
Yogi Desai remains the only living guru from the wave of great yogis who came to the U.S. in the 1960s to share the gifts of yoga and meditation. An internationally recognized authority on yoga and holistic living, Yogi Desai’s contribution has changed the accessibility of yoga in the U.S. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world have learned to teach and practice yoga; meditate and pursue their spiritual development as a result of his teachings. Yogi Desai is the author of numerous books, CDs and DVDs and frequently contributes at yoga conferences. He has been repeatedly honored in the U.S. and abroad, earning the rare Vishwa Yoga Ratna, awarded by the President of India.
In the late 1970s, Yogi Desai brought his guru Swami Kripalvanandji, to the United States from India. A few years later, he founded his third ashram, the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, which became the largest of its kind in North America. He continues to teach the most profound and spiritual aspects of yoga for personal and global transformation. The non-profit Amrit Yoga Institute offers year-round workshops and certified trainings in Yoga, Yoga Nidra and Ayurveda.
Mickey Singer, a featured guest on the Oprah Winfrey Network program, "Super Soul Sunday" (August 2012), writes "I have known Amrit Desai for more than 35 years. There is simply no way to write about such a special human being in just a few paragraphs, other than what a blessing he has been to my life." Yogi Desai’s daughter, Kamini Desai, PhD, Director of Education at the Amrit Yoga Institute, will receive a distinguished award recognizing her unique service to countless students and the lineage. Kamini Desai frequently teaches yoga workshops at studios across the Northeast.
Celebrate and reunite with fellow devotees to rejoice in the gifts of the guru. Event location is the Jacksonville Marriott at 4670 Salisbury Road, Jacksonville, FL 32256. The $495 cost includes a Gala Dinner and closing brunch. For more information or to make a reservation call 352-685-3001 or visit: http://www.AmritYoga.org . A discount on rooms is available, 800-962-9786.