West Coast Integral Yoga Teacher, Patricia "Meera" Kerr, shares her story with AmaZe magazine on creating Big Yoga and her excitement of her upcoming book.

When Patricia Kerr left the midwest in the mid 70's, she wasn't exactly seeking enlightenment. What she really had in mind was fame and fortune in the record business, so she put together an all-female band, Ira Gobu. While woodshedding in Connecticut, the girls discovered an Integral Yoga center and began coming for hatha classes, and Friday night kirtan. One day their teacher, Padma, informed them that her guru, Swami Satchidananda was coming to town, and they were invited to meet him in a small private satsang at his home.

It was a meeting that would change her life. Patricia asked Swamiji to bless her little band, and he serenely told her to "give the people something uplifting" with the music. After that, a series of events transpired, like beads on a mala, (rosary) all strung together: She went to a ten day silent retreat to be initiated by Swamiji himself, where she met her future husband, who then got her a record deal at RCA, where she recorded her signature ballad, "Water My Soul", which she often sang for Sri Gurudev, Swami Satchidananda, and the other devotees.

He gave her the name Meera, the celestial singer.

A corporate purge at RCA left "Water My Soul" languishing on the shelf, but Meera continued to write and record while her interest in yoga was flourishing. She took the Integral Yoga teacher training in 1978 at the Satchidananada Ashram, began teaching at the IYI in New York City, and got married.

A week after her husband, Les Alexander, left for California to produce his first sit-com, "No Soap Radio", Meera gave birth to her latest production, Sam. They moved to the west coast, where Les began producing movies. Two years later,son Dave was born. Although Meera was a full time mom, she continued to teach yoga privately in her home, and when the boys were a little older, moved with them to the Yogaville Ashram in Virginia. For the next three years, Sam and Dave attended school at the Vidyalayam, (Temple of Learning) where they had close contact with Sri Gurudev, and were taught in the yogic tradition.

One of the outstanding aspects of the Ashram was the Lotus Temple, an ecumenical shrine designed by Satchidananada as a spiritual home for people of all faiths. Meditating together every day at noon became Meera's cherished ritual, and it was during one of those divine meditations that Big Yoga came to her.

"Hatha Yoga is one of the building blocks of the comprehensive lifestyle changes proven to reduce the frequency of angina, and improve blood flow to theheart. Meera's Big Yoga is an inspiration to plus-size patients who will find her adaptations of traditional yoga poses both invigorating and restorative."
-Dean Ornish, M.D. Founder and President, Preventive Medicine Research Institute Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

It wasn't until she came back to the West Coast that Meera actually started teaching Big Yoga. With Sam and Dave off at college, Meera has devoted more time to teaching her unique class, which is an adapted version of Integral Yoga Beginners Hatha One. And now, the first of several videos is ready for release. Yoga can benefit everyone.

Big Yoga is not just in terms of large, but expansive, inclusive, integrating all aspects of yoga, including chanting, asana, pranayama, deep relaxation, jnana, raja, kriya and karma yoga, as she had been taught under the guidance of her Guru.

"With more and more people facing the challenges of being plus-sized, at last here's a video they can comfortably embrace. Yoga provides unique healing qualities documented to help prevent and reverse high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and other illnesses associated with excess weight. I highly recommend Big Yoga Hatha One."
-Dr. Sandra Amrita McClanahan, author of "Surgery and Its Alternatives"

As a companion to the Big Yoga Hatha One video, Meera is working on a book, Big Yoga Hatha. It will be the first book of its kind, with yoga poses being demonstrated by --- HORRORS !! --- a fat person !! As a special gift to her students, the book will include a free DVD of the video.

For Meera Patricia Kerr's CD's - Water My Soul - Inspirational Music and also Omniscient Om - Inspirational Chants log onto www.bigyogaonline.com.