Day 38

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” -Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī

Mataji's (Indra Devi) celebrated 102 birthdays. "You give love and light to everybody. Those who love you, those who harm you, those whom you know, those whom you don't know. It makes no difference. You just give light and love," said this yoga luminary whose practice toward the end of her life consisted only of Padmasana, Janu Sirsasana, Ardha Sirsasana, and Ardha Matsyendrasana, but whose light has shined on the whole world.

Indra Devi, or Mataji, was often called "The First Lady of Yoga." In 1937, Krishnamacharya admitted her into his school, making her the first woman chela (pupil) and the first Western woman ever at an Indian ashram and personally supervised her asana and pranayama training. For over 60 years, Indra Devi was Yoga's most prominent female force. She pursued the practice of Yoga in an era when women were normally not accepted as students. Of European descent, she not only brought Yoga to her native Russia, she taught Yoga to Hindus themselves in India. She also brought yoga teachings to America by writing books and teaching to celebrities in North and South America.