![\"Krishnamacharya](\"https:\/\/aliaom.com\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Krishnamacharya-and-students.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div>Following in the Footsteps of Indra Devi
The Secret Unlocking Yoga for Women<\/h3>\n<\/div>Yoga is not just a physical practice. It is philosophy, wisdom, and a way of life. Originally, yoga was taught only to men. Masters shared teachings privately with male students. Today, however, it is women who shape the global yoga community.<\/p>\n
What changed?
The story begins with Indra Devi,<\/strong>\u00a0the first woman in history to study with one of yoga\u2019s greatest teachers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n- Who Was Indra Devi?<\/a><\/li>\n
- My First Yoga Experience in New York<\/a><\/li>\n
- Mysore: The Heart of Yoga Practice<\/a><\/li>\n
- Yoga Therapy Turning Point<\/a><\/li>\n
- Deepening My Yoga Studies<\/a><\/li>\n
- A Modern Yoga Renaissance<\/a><\/li>\n
- Back to India with My Students<\/a><\/li>\n
- Yoga as a Way of Life<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Who Was Indra Devi?<\/h2>\n<\/div>Indra Devi was born Eugenie Peterson<\/strong>, a Russian aristocrat with a passion for Indian culture. In 1937, no woman, and especially no foreign woman, was expected to study yoga. Indra Devi discovered yoga in Mysore, where she attended a demonstration by T. Krishnamacharya for the Maharaja of Mysore<\/strong>. This moment marked the beginning of her desire to study with him.<\/p>\nAfter an initial refusal, support from the Maharaja<\/strong>\u00a0convinced T. Krishnamacharya<\/strong> to accept her as a student. She became the first woman and first Westerner to study under his guidance.<\/p>\nShe later opened yoga centers in China<\/strong> and Hollywood<\/strong>, where she taught figures such as Greta Garbo<\/strong> and Marilyn Monroe<\/strong>. Although Indra Devi is often associated with Marilyn Monroe, there is no verified historical evidence that she actually taught her yoga.<\/p>\n\n\u201cIf we do not encourage women, the great Indian traditions will die.\u201d<\/em>
\u2014 Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, 1938<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>
Yoga is not just a physical practice. It is philosophy, wisdom, and a way of life. Originally, yoga was taught only to men. Masters shared teachings privately with male students. Today, however, it is women who shape the global yoga community.<\/p>\n
What changed? Indra Devi was born Eugenie Peterson<\/strong>, a Russian aristocrat with a passion for Indian culture. In 1937, no woman, and especially no foreign woman, was expected to study yoga. Indra Devi discovered yoga in Mysore, where she attended a demonstration by T. Krishnamacharya for the Maharaja of Mysore<\/strong>. This moment marked the beginning of her desire to study with him.<\/p>\n After an initial refusal, support from the Maharaja<\/strong>\u00a0convinced T. Krishnamacharya<\/strong> to accept her as a student. She became the first woman and first Westerner to study under his guidance.<\/p>\n She later opened yoga centers in China<\/strong> and Hollywood<\/strong>, where she taught figures such as Greta Garbo<\/strong> and Marilyn Monroe<\/strong>. Although Indra Devi is often associated with Marilyn Monroe, there is no verified historical evidence that she actually taught her yoga.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we do not encourage women, the great Indian traditions will die.\u201d<\/em>
The story begins with Indra Devi,<\/strong>\u00a0the first woman in history to study with one of yoga\u2019s greatest teachers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Who Was Indra Devi?<\/h2>\n<\/div>
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\u2014 Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, 1938<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>