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 guru-follower relationship is not secretive, not exclusive, and does not necessarily involve a tradition. Many such gurus, but not all, teach a form of yoga as exercise; others teach forms which are more devotional or meditational; many teach a combination. Several have been affected by scandals of various kinds.

Gurus

+ Well-known gurus of modern yoga Guru Dates Gender Country Lineage (guru) Schoolor order Postures(Asana) Meditation(Dhyana) Devotion(Bhakti) Other practices Scandal(alleged abuses) Anandamayi Ma 1896–1982 Female India Self-realization No Yes Sri Aurobindo 1872–1950 Male India Sri Aurobindo Ashram No Yes Beryl Bender Birch 1942– Female US K. Pattabhi Jois Power Yoga Yes No No Yogi Bhajan 1929–2004 Male India Kundalini Yoga Yes Yes Guru Nanak Sexual Gregorian Bivolaru 1952– Male Romania Movement for Spiritual Integration into the Absolute Yes Yes No Tantra Sex with minors, human trafficking, financial Bikram Choudhury 1944– Male India Bikram Yoga Yes No No Fixed sequence of postures, in heated room Sexual, assault, racism, homophobia Amrit DesaiGoldberg, Ellen. "Amrit Desai and the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health" in 1932– Male India Kripalvananda Kripalu Yoga Yes Kundalini yoga, Hatha yoga Sexual John Friend 1959– Male US Anusara Yoga Yes Yes No SexualFinancial Gurmukh 1943– Female US Yogi Bhajan Kundalini Yoga No Yes Yoga in pregnancy Gurumayi ChidvilasanandaWilliamson, Lola. "Swamis, Scholars, and Gurus: Siddha Yoga's American Legacy" in 1955– Female India Muktananda Siddha Yoga No Yes Yes Shaktipat, japa B. K. S. Iyengar 1918–2014 Male India Krishnamacharya Iyengar Yoga Yes No No Yoga props Jaggi Vasudev 1957– Male India Malladihalli Raghavendra Isha Foundation Yes Yes "Inner Engineering", japa, pranayama K. Pattabhi Jois 1915–2009 Male India Krishnamacharya Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga Yes No No Vinyasas Sexual Krishnamacharya 1888–1989 Male India Vinyasa Krama Yoga Yes No No Vinyasas Kriyananda 1926–2013 Male US Yogananda Ananda yoga No Yes Yes Copyright disputes Sexual Kuvalayananda 1883–1966 Male India Paramahamsa Madhavdas Kaivalyadhama Yes Ayurveda Maharishi Mahesh Yogi 1918–2008 Male India Brahmananda Saraswati Transcendental Meditation No Yes Meher Baba 1894–1969 Male India Avatar Meher Baba Trust No Sufism Dharma Mittra 1939– Male Brazil Kailashananda Dharma Yoga Center Yes Muktananda 1908–1982 Male India Bhagawan Nityananda Siddha Yoga No Yes Shaktipat Sexual Nirmala Srivastava(Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi) 1923–2011 Female India Sahaja Yoga No Yes Kundalini awakening Swami Rama 1925–1996 Male India Himalayan Institute No Yes Sexual Ram DassCharet, F. X. "Ram Dass: The Vicissitudes of Devotion and Ferocity of Grace" in 1931–2019 Male US Neem Karoli Baba No Yes Pranayama Baba Ramdev 1965– Male India Patanjali Yogpeeth Yes Yes Ayurveda, pranayama Sivananda 1887–1963 Male India Divine Life Society No Yes Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 1956– Male India Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Art of Living Foundation Yes Yes Sudarshan Kriya, pranayama Satchidananda Saraswati 1914–2002 Male India Sivananda Integral Yoga Yes Yes Yes Pranayama, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Japa Sexual Sathya Sai Baba 1926–2011 Male India Sathya Sai Organization No Shankarananda"'Secret' sex shakes yoga school", Keith Platt, Mornington Peninsula News, 20 January 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015."Guru sex scandal at Mt Eliza yoga retreat", Miki Perkins, The Age, 20 January 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015. 1942– Male US Shiva Yoga No Yes Sexual Vishnudevananda Saraswati 1927–1993 Male India Sivananda Sivananda Yoga Yes Yes Pranayama, Sattvic diet Sexual Vivekananda 1863–1902 Male India Ramakrishna Vedanta No Yes Paramahansa Yogananda 1893–1952 Male India Sri Yukteswar Giri Self-Realization Fellowship Yes Yes Yes Kriya Yoga Yogendra 1897–1989 Male India The Yoga Institute Yes Yes

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