The American Yoga Foundation

American Yoga

American Yoga is the spiritual dimension of the alignment and breathing work that was developed by Monica Lind Hathaway and extended by Harmon Hathaway. In that light, it can be said that this yoga is America's first yoga! It can also be said that Monica was America's first yogini. This doesn't mean that the west doesn't abound with yoginis past and present, but, those of us who have known Monica are all in accord; she had that eternal understanding that you are love, open space and eternally unborn yet ever existent.

The traditional yogas of the east are many and varied, from Hatha Yoga, Karma Yoga, Bhakthi Yoga, Jnana Yoga to Dream Yoga, from Kundalini Yoga to the Yoga of the Thatness and many more. These forms are essential and very operative. They provide a natural abundance, as we see in all of nature, each one being a jewel to appreciate and admire. We are proud to have added to the various forms of disciplines a new (perfecting knowledge) American Yoga.

The spiritually activating elements of American Yoga are a result of focusing your attention on the body and the breath. By breathing purposefully you are automatically bringing your awareness to the now, as you would in any centering process. Your attention is then placed on the space around you and inside of you and the thought process is given a rest, or allowed to cool.

By becoming aware of working with our breath for the maintenance of the body's health we also are bringing this awareness to the now and becoming more accessible to what is happening right now. This in turn broadens the possibilities of seeing accurately what is, without the intrusion of the thought process. The thought process generally wants to give meaning or significance to our experience, based on prior conditioning, rather then allowing the immediate spontaneous action and reaction. This is like a natural Mindfulness practice.

The practice of Mindfulness is a meditation process that was developed at the turn of the century by Mahasi Sayadaw a Buddhist meditation master. Mahasi Sayadaw tells us that his inspiration for this contemporary form is the Sutra of the Buddha's, called the Satipatthana Sutra. In this sutra the Buddha says "When I take in a long breath, I am aware that "I am taking in a long breath." When I let out a long breath I am aware that "I am letting out a long breath". When I take in a short breath I am aware that "I am taking in a short breath". When I let out a short breath I am aware that "I am letting out a short breath." This is said to have been the Buddha's favorite practice, focusing his attention on the breath.

The Mindfulness practice is a formal meditation that you do for a specific period of time, while breathing to help your alignment and well-being is like an informal process of meditation. The formal practice of mindfulness is excellent and should be experienced. This meditation tool would help you appreciate the natural breathing that you initiate and its centering capabilities.

The areas of work in American Yoga for preparation on the path to seeing are study, meditation, and fulfillment.

Study is an essential to seeing and understanding. It gives you the wisdom tools for the development of insight. This is an eclectic research area of ancient and modern masters.

Meditation is the process of slowing the mind and developing insight. That insight that the wisdom masters have gained and gently coax us to enjoy.

Fulfillment is the stage of living your life as wisdom guides you. Being a warrior, involves cutting through the nonsense mind, and flowing with the currents of space and time as one would dance to music.

THE BEGINNINGS OF AMERICAN YOGA

It can be said the American Yoga started like so many other discoveries, by coincidence.

Monica Lind, a ballet dancer trained by Lew Christenson and Leonid Massine, had her career interrupted by polio. At that time Monica had just completed a Broadway show for Julie Stein and Sammy Cahn and was dancing lead roles for Leonid Massine of the Ballet Rousse in New York.

Determined to cure this illness and dance again Monica went home to Portland, Oregon. There, she contacted George Emigh, the trainer of the Portland Beavers baseball team. They worked on developing exercises that would get Monica to move her right leg and hip. Monica also developed intuitive movements and within a year, by working with these movements, despite severe pain, Monica was able to resume teaching basic ballet classes at her own dance school. By the end of three years Monica was once again ready to pursue her brilliant career in dance.

This experience coupled with the acute physical awareness required of a ballet dancer was a rare mixture for Monica and she became interested in freeing up the body in general. In the dance field there are many physical problems that Monica felt were due to an insufficient knowledge of the body and its releasing capabilities through natural means. Monica worked with many dancers on their physical problems and started to develop an instinct for designing natural exercises that would help people release distortions and tensions from the body.

Then while studying singing, Monica made some startling discoveries related to breathing and the body. This led her to experience many releases that were evasive until that time. The magic ingredient, the body's own breathing apparatus which can expand and move the body from the inside and help restore the vitality to muscles, is now an integral part of American Yoga.

While teaching dance in Portland, Oregon to children, Monica saw how the children imitated bodily habits and emotional attitudes of parents and adults. This imitation was well developed in many children and would shape and limit them for many years of their lives. This led to discoveries on freeing the body-mind of conditioned attitudes.

Between dancing engagements in New York, Monica donated her time to working with the elderly at old age homes helping them to release their bodies. This illustrated that the alignment principles she discovered work effectively through the spectrum of age.

Then while performing in NYC and operating a dance school. Monica started a practice of private and group classes. Dramanatomy, was a therapy through dance movement, breathing and analytical examination of emotional attitudes that inhibit a person's physical performance. Monica introduced and innovated many new exercises combining breathing and movement that were extremely successful. Lovingly, her students named this method an American Yoga, the yoga of performance.

In 1962 Harmon Hathaway, a therapeutic counselor and accomplished athlete and gymnast, started working with Monica. By 1966 Harmon was working in partnership with Monica, teaching and developing sessions to help athletes release accumulated tensions and stress.

Over 33 years Harmon and Monica synthesized the work they researched and developed into two areas of relevance; Wholeness and Holistic.

In 1968 they formed The American Yoga Foundation and a center was built on 130 acres in upper NY State. The Center is for the continued development of American Yoga and for Meditation.

note: Monica Lind's career is documented at the Performing Arts Library of Lincoln Center in New York City.