Mukunda Stiles Passes – A Great Yoga Therapy Pioneer

On February 18, Mukunda Stiles, a pioneer in the field of Yoga Therapy passed away. Stiles created the Structural Yoga Therapy System  and was Director of the Yoga Therapy Center. He was a week shy of his 65th birthday when he died.

He began studying yoga in 1969. In 1974 he had a “meeting with destiny” when Swami Muktananda initiated him into a deeper level of spiritual life through the Tantric Kundalini process of Shaktipat.

According to his biography, the effect of this was a deep and profound connection with Spirit. “My life has never been the same,” said Stiles. His Guru encouraged him to study with masters in the Krishnamacharya lineage including Rama Jyoti Vernon, BKS Iyengar, Indra Devi, AG Mohan and TKV Desikachar.

He was author of the best-selling Structural Yoga Therapy, a well-received translation of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and he edited 7 books on Ayurveda as well.

In 1981 he founded the Yoga Therapy Center in Massachusetts and worked by referral from hospitals, physicians, and therapists to provide personalized yoga therapy for many medical and psychological conditions.  This began a trend that has grown tremendously and helped hundreds of thousands of people as well as giving focus and direction to countless young yogis.  In 1992 he co-founded the American Yoga College and gave trainings around the world.  He was also on the Board of Advisors of the International Association of Yoga Therapists.

YogaCity NYC expresses deep condolences to Chinnamasta Stiles, Mukunda’s other family members, as well as friends and associates.  We will all miss this brilliant healer of the heart, the mind and the body.

— Brette Popper