Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa
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Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa ( Mary May Gibson; born 1942/1943) is a teacher of Kundalini yoga, as taught by
Yogi Bhajan Yogi Bhajan (born Harbhajan Singh Puri) (August 26, 1929 – October 6, 2004), also known as Siri Singh Sahib to his followers, was an American entrepreneur, yoga guru, and putative spiritual teacher. He introduced his version of Kundalin ...
, and a pioneer in the field of pre-natal yoga. She is the co-founder and director of the Golden Bridge Yoga Center in Los Angeles, and the author of two books and three DVDs. She has become a
yoga guru Modern yoga gurus are people widely acknowledged to be gurus of modern yoga in any of its forms, whether religious or not. The role implies being well-known and having a large following; in contrast to the old guru-shishya tradition, the modern ...
for Hollywood film stars.


Early years

Mary May Gibson was born in a small Illinois town, to middle-class, Methodist parents. At age nineteen, she left her home to attend college at
San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is ...
in California. There, she married a Ph.D. student, and in 1964, gave birth to a boy with a
congenital heart defect A congenital heart defect (CHD), also known as a congenital heart anomaly, congenital cardiovascular malformation, and congenital heart disease, is a defect in the structure of the heart or great vessels that is present at birth. A congenital h ...
. The child died seven months later, and the marriage ended in an amicable divorce. From living in
Haight Ashbury Haight-Ashbury () is a district of San Francisco, California, named for the intersection of Haight Street, Haight and Ashbury streets. It is also called the Haight and the Upper Haight. The neighborhood is known as one of the main centers of th ...
, Gibson traveled to
Big Sur Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Carmel Highlands and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Range, Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from th ...
, then to Mexico, where she lived among tribal peoples. She subsequently resided in
Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...
. Gibson later moved to a
Zen Buddhist Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...
zendō () or is a Japanese meditation hall. In Zen Buddhism, the ''zen-dō'' is a spiritual ''dōjō'' where ''zazen'' (sitting meditation) is practiced. A full-sized Zen Buddhist temple will typically have at least one ''zen-dō'' as well as a ''h ...
, where she practiced silent meditation seven hours a day for a year.


Introduction to Kundalini yoga

In 1970, Gibson and a colleague went to the
3HO 3HO (Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization), also known as Sikh Dharma of the Western Hemisphere or Sikh Dharma International, is a controversial American organization founded in 1969 by Harbhajan Singh Khalsa, also called "Yogi Bhajan".Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
, Arizona. She stayed in Arizona for two years, working at the ashram, and taught yoga at the
University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...
as well as at the Arizona State Correctional Facility. It was in 1970, at the ashram, that she met
Yogi Bhajan Yogi Bhajan (born Harbhajan Singh Puri) (August 26, 1929 – October 6, 2004), also known as Siri Singh Sahib to his followers, was an American entrepreneur, yoga guru, and putative spiritual teacher. He introduced his version of Kundalin ...
, a Kundalini yoga master. On their first meeting, he gave Gibson a new name, "Gurmukh", meaning "the one whose face is towards the guru (meaning they have dedicated their lives to their guru)". He also told her she would help deliver babies. She then worked in the field of home births with a Santa Fe obstetrician/gynecologist, after which teaching yoga became her full-time occupation.


Yoga for pregnant mothers

In 1977, Gurmukh went on a pilgrimage to India, and on her return, moved to
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, where she met Gurushabd Singh Khalsa, whom she married on September 29, 1982, aged 39. In February 1982, she gave birth to their daughter, at home, with the help of a midwife. Thereafter, Gurmukh used her knowledge of Kundalini yoga, as taught by Yogi Bhajan, and her own pregnancy experiences, to give classes for expectant mothers. This eventually led to a childbirth education program she was to call "the Khalsa Way", which included her own pre- and post-natal videos. She also began a sixty-hour Khalsa Way teacher training certification course for women from around the world to take to their communities. In 2003, Gurmukh published the book ''Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful: Exploring the Natural Power of Pregnancy and Birth with Kundalini Yoga and Meditation'', through
St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building (New York City), Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishe ...
.


Kundalini yoga

In her career as a Kundalini yoga teacher based in Los Angeles, Gurmukh developed a celebrity clientele, which included
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
,
Courtney Love Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, Love has had a career spanning four decades. She rose to promi ...
,
Gwyneth Paltrow Gwyneth Kate Paltrow ( ; born September 27, 1972) is an American actress and businesswoman. The daughter of filmmaker Bruce Paltrow and actress Blythe Danner, she established herself as a leading lady appearing in mainly mid-budget and perio ...
,
David Duchovny David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, and musician. He received his breakthrough with the role of Fox Mulder in The X-Files franchise, earning Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards a ...
,
Annette Bening Annette Carol Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American actress. With a career spanning over four decades, she is known for List of Annette Bening performances, her versatile work across screen and stage. Bening has received List of awards an ...
, and
Rosanna Arquette Rosanna Lisa Arquette (; born August 10, 1959) is an American actress. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance in the TV film '' The Executioner's Song'' (1982) and won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for th ...
. Eventually, with the guidance of her teacher, Gurmukh Kaur stopped offering private classes to celebrities. In 2000, she published the guide ''Eight Human Talents: The Yoga Way to Restore the Balance and Serenity Within You'' through
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...
. In 2002, Gurmukh and Gurutej Kaur co-founded the Golden Bridge Yoga Center in Los Angeles, where she and her husband teach classes and workshops. They also offer teacher trainings around the world. In 2007, '' Vanity Fair'' described Gurmukh as the "glamour girl of Kundalini".


Publications

* Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, ''Eight Human Talents: The Yoga Way to Restore the Balance and Serenity Within You'', New York, Harper Collins, 2000. * Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, ''Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful: Exploring the Natural Power of Pregnancy and Birth with Kundalini Yoga and Meditation'', New York, St. Martins Griffin, 2003.


DVDs

* ''Prenatal Kundalini Yoga and meditation for mothers-to-be'',
Gaiam Gaia, Inc. is an American media company founded in 1988 by Jirka Rysavy in Louisville, Colorado. It owns and operates Gaia TV, a subscription video on-demand service consisting of original and licensed alternative media documentaries. While the ...
(2000) * Postnatal Kundalini Yoga for new mothers, Gaiam (2000) * ''Kundalini Yoga with Gurmukh'', Living Arts (2004)


Articles

* Joanne Chen, "Spiritual Love," ''
Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...
'', April 1999. * Anna Dubrovsky,
Kundalini's Queen: Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa
, ''
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 ...
'' * Samantha Dunn,
L.A. (Yoga) Story
, ''
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 ...
'', July–August 1999 * Julie Deife,
Sitting Down with Gurmukh
, ''LA Yoga Magazine'', January–February 2005 * *


References


External links


Golden Bridge Global Yoga

Khalsa Way prenatal yoga teacher training
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurmukh Living people American yoga teachers Converts to Sikhism American Sikhs 1940s births Date of birth missing (living people) San Francisco State University alumni American expatriates in Mexico People from Downers Grove, Illinois