Cyndi Lee is a teacher of

mindful yoga Mindful Yoga or Mindfulness Yoga combines Buddhism, Buddhist-style mindfulness practice with yoga as exercise to provide a means of exercise that is also Meditation, meditative and useful for Stress reduction, reducing stress. Buddhism and Hin ...

, a combination of

Tibetan Buddhist Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Darjeeling, Sikkim, and Arunachal Prades ...

practice and

yoga as exercise Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting mainly of asana, postures, often connected by vinyasa, flowing sequences, sometimes accompanied by pranayama, breathing exercises, and frequently ending with savasana, relaxation lying down or ...

. She has an international reputation and is the author of several books on her approach and runs her business from New York City.

Biography

Early life

Cyndi Lee was born in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

; her father was a

protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

minister; her mother was a tailor and ceramicist. She was educated at Chapman College, California, starting in 1971. She gained her MFA at

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

, with a thesis on "Women, Spirituality and Indian Dance". She won an Art History Fellowship to the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is a Modern art, modern and Contemporary art, contemporary American art museum located in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighbor ...

in New York and started to teach yoga around 1980 in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

, working also as a

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

Career

Lee states that her "root guru" was the Tibetan master

Gelek Rimpoche Kyabje Nawang Gehlek Rimpoche () was a Tibetan Buddhist lama born in Lhasa, Tibet on October 26, 1939. His personal name was Gelek; ''kyabje'' and '' rimpoche'' are titles meaning "teacher" (lit., "lord of refuge") and "precious," respectively; he ...

, from the late 1980s. She began teaching meditation by 1990. She trained as a lay Buddhist chaplain under Roshi Joan Halifax at Upaya Zen Center in 2013, and was ordained in 2018. Most impacted by yoga teachers

Sharon Gannon Sharon Gannon (born July 4, 1951 in Washington, D.C.) is a yoga as exercise, yoga teacher, animal rights advocate, musician, author, dancer and choreographer. Along with David Life, she is the co-founder of the Jivamukti Yoga method. Early life ...

Rodney Yee Rodney Yee is an American yoga instructor who rose to national prominence in the mid-1990s when he was featured on the cover of ''Yoga Journal'' magazine and later starred in a series of Gaiam/Living Arts yoga instructional videos and DVDs. Yee h ...

and

B.K.S. Iyengar Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar (14 December 1918 – 20 August 2014) was an Indian teacher of yoga and author. He is the founder of the style of yoga as exercise, known as "Iyengar Yoga", and was considered one of the foremost Modern ...

. She founded the OM yoga centre in New York City in 1998, closing it in 2012. She runs teacher training courses in

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

and

restorative yoga Restorative Yoga is the practice of asanas, each held for longer than in conventional yoga as exercise classes, often with the support of props such as folded blankets, to relax the body, reduce stress, and often to prepare for pranayama. The pract ...

. She runs workshops and trainings across America including at Kripalu, and in Europe at venues such as London's Triyoga. She has published five books on yoga and Buddhism, and writes for magazines including ''

Yoga Journal ''Yoga Journal'' is a website and digital journal, formerly a print magazine, on yoga as exercise founded in California in 1975 with the goal of combining the essence of traditional yoga with scientific understanding. It has produced live events ...

'', where she began its "Vinyasa/Home Practice" column, ''

Real Simple ''Real Simple'' (stylized in all caps) is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. The magazine features articles and information related to homemaking, childcare, cooking, and emotional well-being. The magazine is distinguis ...

'', and '' Lion's Roar''.

Reception

The yoga and meditation teacher and author Anne Cushman, reviewing ''Yoga Body, Buddha Mind'' for '' Tricycle: The Buddhist Review'', writes that Lee's book was the most readable of the three

works she was reviewing. Cushman states that "Lee is well known as both an inspiring teacher and a good storyteller, and has a wide following from her books, retreats, and Om Yoga in a Box practice kits." Kathleen Kraft, interviewing Lee for ''

Yoga International The 'Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy'' (HIYSP) is an international non-profit organization, which promotes yoga and holistic health through yoga retreats, residential programs, health products and services, media publications i ...

'', writes that Lee had been a featured teacher on the site, and was "not afraid to reinvent herself". She describes Lee as an "influential and soulful yoga teacher". Nirmala Nataraj, in ''Yogi Times'', calls Lee's combination of Hatha Yoga and Tibetan Buddhism "a unique way to explore yoga's discipline". Susanna Smith, reviewing ''OM Yoga in a Box'' for VideoFitness.com, found the package of audio and practical materials an excellent deal, containing "very doable" exercises with "much less woo woo than ''Yoga Chants'' by

Shiva Rea Shiva Rea is a teacher of Vinyasa flow yoga and yoga trance dance. She is the founder of Prana Vinyasa Yoga. She is one of the best-known yoga teachers in America, and around the world. Life Shiva Rea was born in Hermosa Beach, California, in 19 ...

Works

Books

* 2003 ''OM at home'' (

Chronicle Books Chronicle Books is a San Francisco–based American publishing company that publishes books for both adults and children. History The company was established in 1967 by Phelps Dewey, an executive with Chronicle Publishing Company, then-publish ...

) * 2004 ''OM yoga today'' (

) * 2004 ''Yoga Body, Buddha Mind'' (Riverhead Books) * 2013 ''May I Be Happy: A Memoir of Love, Yoga, and Changing My Mind'' (

Plume Books Plume is a publishing company in the United States, founded in 1970 as the trade paperback imprint of New American Library. Today it is a division of Penguin Group Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random H ...

) * 2017 (with Ruthie Fraser) ''Stack your bones'' (The Experiment) * 2019 (with Sage Rountree and Alexandra Desiato) ''Teaching Yoga Beyond the Poses'' (

North Atlantic Books North Atlantic Books is a non-profit, independent publisher based in Berkeley, California, United States. Distributed by Penguin Random House Publisher Services, North Atlantic Books is a mission-driven social justice-oriented publisher. Founded ...

)

Self-instruction

* 2003 ''OM Yoga in a Box'' (instructional CD, music CD, yoga strap, incense and holder, tea candle, set of

asana An āsana (Sanskrit: आसन) is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and late ...

flash cards) (

Hay House Hay House is a publisher founded in 1984 by author Louise Hay, who is known for her books on New Thought. ''The New York Times'' dubbed Hay "The Queen of the New Age," noting that she became "one of the bestselling authors in ...

, )

References

External links

*
Lee interviews

Matthew Remski Matthew S. Remski (born 1971) is a yoga practitioner and author who has written on the connection between yoga and conspiracy theories. His work has been informed by his past experience as a cult member. Remski was instrumental in exposing inappro ...

on yoga's abuse crisis
Lee on Yoga Alliance
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Cyndi 1950s births Mindfulness (Buddhism) Living people Mindful Yoga American yoga teachers