I. Personal experiences and assessment of Yoga

1. Could you please tell me about your experiences in yoga practices. When and where did you first encounter yoga? And why?

SHARON: From the time I was 16 to when I moved to NYC when I was 32 years old, I lived in Seattle Washington, a city in the Northwestern part of the United States. When I was 18 I started to practice meditation, after attending a lecture by a student of Krishnamurti, where the simple instructions “close your eyes, sit still and quiet for a few minutes,” were given to the members of the audience. Shortly after that I started to study Yogic Scriptures and to read books about Indian and Tibetan yogis, saints and practices. When I attended college as a dance student, I also studied Indian history, spirituality, art, music and dance.

In 1982 I saw a film-The Animals' Film-a British documentary that probed into the relationship between human beings and other animals. Those 2 hours and 20 minutes in that movie theatre altered my life like no other single incident. The film explored the many cruel ways that we exploit animals. The movie caused me to rethink everything I was doing with my life. I knew that I had glimpsed into a reality that not many people had seen or cared to know about. Right after the film, I devoted my life to doing something that might change what I saw in the film. I wanted to stop the insanity and suffering I saw in that film. I wanted to help to free the animals and to free the minds of human beings who were abusing animals. I wanted to find out if we could live in a different way-a way based on kindness, not degradation, cruelty and slavery. I realized that for a whole society to change I had to be willing to change myself. I became a vegan. But I was still unable to speak effectively to others about animals-as I was too filled with sadness, anger, blame and self-righteousness. About a year later I broke my back in an accident and went to see a yoga teacher to help me with my pain. During that first class I realized that yoga was going to be my way to change myself, and if I could change myself-then that was the first step to changing the world. Only through the power of love can we discover the ability to truly change.

2. In your opinion, what does it mean to you to practice yoga? And why?

SHARON: Yoga practices are practices to wake a person up to who they really are. I am interested in waking up, which entails dropping who I think I am and letting go of my ignorance, negative emotions and all that separates me from reality-from others and from God. I want to experience the Truth. I pray every day that I can be humble enough and focused enough in order to let go and allow myself to be open to transformation.

3. In what situation had you decided to teach yoga? Why?

SHARON: When I lived in NYC during the early 1980s, I was an artist, musician, dancer and painter and had been studying and practicing yoga for some years. Many of the people who would come to my performances knew that I also practiced yoga. They began asking me to teach them some yoga practices. Very quickly I had more requests for yoga than I did for my music, dance or art performances. So I realized that if I was going to be helpful to others-it was through the medium of yoga that I was going to be able to do that, so I should become better at what I was doing-so as to benefit others.

4. How long have you been teaching yoga?

SHARON: Over 25 years.

5. In your opinion, what does it mean to you to teach yoga? And why?

SHARON: To teach provides me with an opportunity to purify my perception of others-to see others as holy beings.

6. Could you please share your opinions/philosophy of yoga teaching?

SHARON: The word yoga is the aim as well as the practice. Yoga is enlightenment. A teacher of yoga teaches the way to enlightenment. To be able to do that, a teacher should be an enlightened being. In the same way that a piano teacher should be able to play piano-a yoga teacher needs to know about yoga. My beloved teacher Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati said that, “Because it is the Kali Yuga, many people will be interested in yoga, and these people need teachers. It isn’t necessary that a yoga teacher be an enlightened being, but they must be able to immerse themselves in the study of the teachings."

The great Shri Krishnamacharya, the guru to my beloved teacher Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, said that what makes a good yoga teacher is: (1) They are connected to a lineage-they have a teacher whom they acknowledge as their teacher, and the teacher has acknowledged them as their student; (2) They have a regular daily practice; and (3) They must really like people-they have to be devoted to the happiness and liberation of their students.

7. In your opinion, what is the most important thing/idea to your students in your teaching?

SHARON: To convey the truth that we are all connected. There is no separation between self and god or between self and other or between self and nature. What is realized in the enlightened state of yoga is this Oneness of Being-non-duality. Yoga is not something you can “do” as in “I do yoga.” Yoga is who we really are-yoked, joined together with all of existence!

8. In your opinion, what is yoga? And what is the nature/spirit of yoga?

SHARON: See above #7: Yoga is Enlightenment-the ecstatic realization of the Oneness of being. Yogash Chitta Vritti Nirodha PYS1.2, which I like to translate as: When you stop identifying with your thoughts; fluctuations of mind, then there is Yoga, identity with Self, which is samadhi, happiness, bliss and ecstasy.

9. How do you think of the secularization of yoga phenomenon (yoga = asana; yoga = exercise) in modern world?

SHARON: People can only see according to the limits of their own perception. I don’t feel that it is helpful to be critical of others who are teaching yoga. Each person teaches in the best way that they can-according to what is important to them. Personally I feel that asana is a very important and powerful yoga practice and that it can lead to enlightenment. Asana means connection to the Earth. At this time in our planetary history our human connection/relationship to the Earth is not mutually beneficial. We are causing a global crisis because of our greed, enslavement and exploitation of other animals, which includes the devastation of the forest and all of the plant kingdom, the pollution of the soil, water air and atmosphere. Our bodies are made of our past karmas-everything we have ever done and have left undone or unresolved goes to make up our present body. When we practice asana we feel the presence of every animal that we have eaten or harmed in some way, every unkind word we have said or thought, all the anger and blame, jealousy and resentment-it is all stored in the cells and tissues of our physical bodies. Yoga asana provides a potent therapy to heal those relationships-I wouldn’t underestimate it.

10. How do you think of a research finding reported that over 87% of Taiwanese people regard yoga as an exercise?

SHARON: Great! The practices of Yoga are exercises. I think the concept of “exercise” as in “to work-out” is actually a pretty apt way to describe what happens when you practice yoga-especially yoga asanas. You actually work out the negativity from your body/mind system. You let go of some of the neuroses, fear, tension, tightness and uptightness. In the process you feel lighter, happier and more comfortable, which are all feelings that indicate you are close to your true nature which, according to yoga is defined as boundless, limitless joy or absolute unconditional love-Satchidananda, which translates from Sanskrit to mean: the knowledge that you are existing as absolute bliss.

II. The emergence and development of Jivamukti Yoga School

1. In what situation and for what reasons did you and David establish Jivamukti Yoga School?

SHARON: We wanted to contribute in some way to the dismantling of our present culture-a culture which is founded upon the enslavement and exploitation of animals and the Earth’s environment. We wanted to provide practical methods to people that would allow them to feel happy with themselves, with others and with the world without having to harm or exploit others. Yoga provides those methods. Yoga practices give people the methods to live in musical harmony with all of life. Our culture tells us that the “Earth belongs to us.” Whereas yoga teaches that success and strength will come from being friendly and kind to others (maitri adisu balani PYS III.24) and that if we really want to be happy, then our relationship to the Earth and all beings should come from a place of steadiness and joy; it should be a mutually beneficial relationship, rather than a selfish, one-sided relationship (sthira sukham asanam PYS II.46) The best way to uplift our own lives is to do all we can to uplift the lives of others. To leave this Earth more beautiful than how we found it.

2. In your opinion, what is the yoga tradition? Is there any connection between the yoga tradition and Jivamukti yoga? What is it?

SHARON: The “yoga tradition” refers to the techniques and methods for attaining enlightenment, which have been transmitted from guru to student for thousands of years. Traditionally, yoga was a reaction against agri-culture and urbanization. Around 10,000 ago human beings started to enslave animals. Farms (prisons designed to confine and exploit animals) were established and along with that, tracks of land were fenced to grow crops to feed those animals, which all gave rise to urban areas where markets could sell products that came from the exploitation of those animal slaves: wool, eggs, milk, meat, livestock. Religions were established to provide justification for domestication and waging war against nature and all that is wild and untamed. The first human wars were fought over cattle. Around that same time another group of human beings decided that that kind of life wasn’t for them. They retreated into the more isolated places in the mountains, forest and jungles and started to experiment to see if they could find a way to become happy through learning how to operate their own body/mind instrument. They lived in wild harmony with nature and did not seek to exploit Her. They sought the truth: to realize the ecstasy of their own divine nature and the divine nature of nature.

I strongly feel that the popularity of yoga today has come about because the Earth needs us. The planet needs us yogis to teach other human beings what they seem to have forgotten-how to live in harmony with the Earth. Planet Earth is dying due to the artificial lifestyle of human beings. Our greed and selfishness has been left unexplained for too many years, we are now at a tipping point. Many people do realize that we will have to radically change our way of living on this Earth. If we as a species are to survive then the Earth must also survive. We are not disconnected from the Earth. When we poison the water we poison ourselves, when we poison the air we poison ourselves, when we enslave animals we enslave ourselves-in truth we are One with all of life. Jivamukti Yoga is dedicated to teaching others how to live in harmony with the Earth and all of life according to the timeless traditions of Yoga. The word jivanmukti is a Sanskrit word, which means to live-liberated! As Jivamukti teachers we advocate for a lifestyle that is happy, wild and free and also contributes to the happiness, wildness and freedom for others.

3. What are the characteristics of participants in Jivamukti Yoga School?

SHARON: A sincere desire for happiness, a sense of adventure and an openness to change.

4. In your opinion, how is a Jivamukti certified teacher different from a Yoga Alliance certified teacher?

SHARON: The Jivamukti Teacher Training certification is a higher standard than Yoga Alliance.

5. How many Taiwanese have been certified as Jivamukti teachers by the School?

SHARON: As of now, four lovely students, all from Taipei, have become certified Jivamukti Yoga Teachers they are:
L-Fang (Shantih Linda) Chen, Suming Cheng, Nora Kuo Chi Ting, and Lynn Lin Lang Chao

6. What is the similarity and difference between Jivamukti Yoga School and other urban yoga (asana based) centers such as YogaWorks in America?

SHARON: The Jivamukti Yoga School is a “school” that is focused on education and that follows the philosophy of one lineage, not a yoga “center” where many different forms of yoga are offered.

7. Does Jivamukti Yoga School have any connection or association with other yoga or religious groups in America and abroad? If so, how are they connected/associated?

SHARON: We are not associated with any religious community. We do not view yoga as a religion, but as a spiritual practice that could complement a person’s religion and/or free a personal of constricting dogma.

8. In what situation was the idea of Jivamukti Yoga first introduced to abroad? And to which country?

SHARON: We had (and still have) many students who would travel from other countries to study with us in NYC. Then many of those students invited us to come to their countries to teach. The first Jivamukti Yoga school to open outside of the USA was in Munich Germany. It was opened about 10 years ago by two of our senior students, Dr. Patrick Broome and Gabriela Bozic.

9. How is the connection between Jivamukti Yoga School in NYC and other Jivamukti centers in America? And how is it connected with centers abroad such as in Germany and England?

SHARON: Our students approach us and ask if they could open a Jivamukti center in their city. We then discuss with them what this would entail and together decide if they are ready to make the commitment. The most important question always is: Are there enough certified Jivamukti Yoga teachers in the area where you live, who would teach at your center?

10. Will there be Jivamukti centers established in other countries sometime in the future in addition to centers in Germany and England? And in Taiwan?

SHARON: That depends on whether or not an advanced certified Jivamukti Yoga teacher wants to open a center. At the moment the Jivamukti Yoga Method is taught worldwide at Jivamukti Yoga Schools and affiliated centers, which are now in New York City-US, Charleston SC-US, Washington DC-US, Toronto-Canada, London-UK, Munich-Germany, Berlin-Germany, Moscow-Russia, Stavanger-Norway and Sydney-Australia.

11. Can you provide a brief description of what Jivamukti Yoga is?

SHARON: Jivamukti Yoga is a path to enlightenment through compassion for all beings. The method, developed by Sharon Gannon and David Life in 1986, is taught as spiritual activation/activism and offers the contemporary yogi a creative approach to living in the world today. Grounded in the ancient scriptures and ethical practices of yoga, Jivamukti, a Sanskrit word which means “living liberated,” is a practical philosophy that teaches how spiritual values can help us work with the challenges of everyday life with more joy, compassion and positive effectiveness.
By means of asana and other traditional yogic practices, Jivamukti Yoga provides a path to enlightenment for the sincere seeker. Its five foundational elements are:
Ahimsa (nonviolence and compassion towards all beings, which includes eating a vegan diet-by being kind to others you create an atmosphere of peace within and around yourself which extends into the greater world)
Bhakti (devotion-offering everything you do to something greater than your ego/small self- acknowledgment that Self or God realization is the goal of all yoga practices)
Dhyana (meditation-connecting to that unchanging reality of eternal joy within)
Nada (through sacred music and sonic techniques learn how to enhance the development of a sound body and mind through deep listening)
Shastra (the study of Sanskrit scriptures and how they apply to the here and now)

12. In your opinion, what is the future of Yoga?

SHARON: There is no future for yoga. Yoga has no future. Yoga always exists in the present. Yoga is eternal and timeless.

OM is the sacred sound for the yogi. OM is the pranava: that which is eternally ever renewing. Eternity is happening NOW! Atha Yoga Nusasanam PYS1.1 Now this is yoga as I have discovered it in the natural world-right now!-so lets go! -- And truly let go of all that might be holding us back from Yoga, from who we really are-boundless, limitless, eternal, ever-present- joy!

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