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| About Isha Institute |
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The First Isha Yoga Program in the United States...
Sadhguru was first hosted in the United States in 1997 to teach a 13-day program in Nashville, TN. This initial program was attended by 23 people. Since then, interest in Isha Yoga has grown steadily through 'word of mouth' and grassroots marketing alone. Today, Isha Yoga has touched the lives of nearly 10,000 people in the United States, with seven city-based centers hosting yearly programs including Nashville, TN; Atlanta, GA; Columbus, OH; Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; New York, NY; Phoenix, AZ and most recently, San Francisco, CA.
First discussion of the need for a U.S. Center arose in 2004. Many meditators were interested in having a dedicated atmosphere for advanced programs where they themselves and increasing numbers of new participants could explore deeper dimensions of spirituality. Volunteers as a group also discussed the rapidly increasing need of the U.S. public for natural alternatives to mounting U.S. health problems and a growing public desire for classes that offer genuine methods of yoga and meditation.
Finding the Land and Developing a Plan...
In January 2005, 240 volunteers had a retreat with Sadhguru where a vision of the U.S. Center was developed and an action plan was outlined. Volunteers first began searching for a location in a natural environment away from the city that had favorable weather. Among a number of centrally-located states, somehow we found our search ending back where we had first begun-in southeastern Tennessee. Once a prime plot of land was found, volunteers acted quickly. Through various fundraising efforts in each city and generous private donations, the land was acquired on June 30, 2005.
About the Land and the Surrounding Community...
The site of developing Isha Yoga Center, U.S.A is located on 1150 acres of land on Tennessee's spectacular Cumberland Plateau, one of the most biodiverse regions in the South. The Center's environment offers stunning bluff overlooks and broad forested valleys, imposing rock formations and deep caves, as well as streams, waterfalls, and a spring-fed lake.
The area surrounding the yoga center includes popular tourist destinations of natural and historical significance, such as Fall Creek Falls State Park, Cumberland Caverns, South Cumberland State Park, and Cumberland Mountain State Park. Passing nearby from North to South is the Cumberland Trail, a 300-mile hiking trail running from the Cumberland Gap in southern Kentucky to the Prentice Cooper Wildlife Management Area just outside Chattanooga.
McMinnville, Tennessee is the closest town to the Center.
McMinnville is primarily an agricultural town with a population of about 13,000 people. The town was founded on the path of an old American Indian war trace between southeastern Tennessee and Kentucky and many Indian mounds can be found in the vicinity. The Trail of Tears brought almost 10,000 Cherokee Indians through the area during the government mandated resettlement of eastern tribes to Oklahoma in 1838. The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail is an historic landmark of the journey.
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