maintained their correspondence by mail until his
death. She then began to study with SWAMI RAMA
(1900–72) and to travel in India.
Christensen began to teach yoga in 1965. As a
student of Swami Rama she represented his teach-
ings in the West. In 1968 she founded the Light
Society (known later as the American Yoga Asso-
ciation) in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. By 1972 11
yoga centers were established in India, Australia,
and the United States. During this time the first
book published by the association was released,
The American Yoga Association Beginner’s Manual.
After Swami Rama’s death in 1972, Christensen
continued to study yoga as a student of Sri LAKSH-
MANJOO (1907–92), a teacher of KASHMIRI SHAIVISM.
Christensen would remain his student, frequently
traveling to Kashmir, until his death in 1992.
The American Yoga Association provides edu-
cational services to program developers in health-
related fields as well as writers seeking information
on yoga. During the late 1960s Christensen inau-
gurated a program called Easy Does It Yoga, which
the association continues to offer to seniors and
those with physical limitations. The program has
gained wide respect for its effectiveness in help-
ing older adults regain independence. Following
the Kashmiri Shaivism system, the association
emphasizes a self-directed approach to yoga that
encourages its participants to engage in inner
awareness for the purpose of releasing potential
for self-knowledge. The association offers books
and videotapes by Christensen.
Further reading: Alice Christensen, The American
Yoga Association Beginner’s Manual (New York: Simon
& Schuster, 2002); ———, The American Yoga Asso-
ciation’s Easy Does It Yoga (New York: Fireside Books,
1999).
amrita
Amrita is the term used in the VEDAS for SOMA,
comparable to the ambrosia of the Greeks. It is
considered a nectar of immortality of sorts and is
taken during certain rites to achieve transcendent
insight. Perhaps because the Moon is sometimes
called Soma, amrita in the Vedic context is said to
be found on the Moon; it feeds the Fathers in the
dark half of the Moon’s phases and the gods in the
bright half.
The story goes that the gods and antigods
(asuras) once joined together to churn the MILK
OCEAN to make amrita. A huge mountain was used
as a churning stick and the divine snake ADISHESHA
(or Vasuki) was used as the rope around the stick.
Many things emerged from the Milk Ocean at that
time including the special divine wish-giving cow
who appears in later mythology. Finally, the amrita
emerged held in a cup by the divine physician
Dhanvantari. The gods then plotted with VISHNU
so that the antigods (asuras) would not be able to
drink the nectar. Vishnu took on his form of the
dazzling maiden, MOHINI, and as he distracted the
asuras, the gods drank all the amrita themselves.
One story says that when the gods drank the
amrita it spilled at four sites: HARDVAR, Nasik,
Ujjain, and ALLAHABAD (Prayag). In esoteric HATHA
YOGA it is thought that amrita can be accumulated
in the skull above the posterior of the nasal pas-
sage. This amrita is understood to be transformed
semen that can create bodily immortality. By sev-
ering the frenulum, or skin attachment under the
bottom of the tongue, a yogi can force his tongue
backward into what is called the Khechara MUDRA,
in order to drink the amrita.Further reading: Cornelia Dimmitt and J. A. B. van Buite-
nen, Classical Hindu Mythology: A Reader in the Sanskrit
Puranas (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1978);
Alfred Hillebrandt, Vedic Mythology (Delhi: Motilal Banar-
sidass, 1990); E. Washburn Hopkins, Epic Mythology
(Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1986); W. J. Wilkins, Hindu
Mythology, Vedic and Puranic (Calcutta: Rupa, 1973).Amrita Foundation (est. 1970s)
The Amrita Foundation was founded in Dallas,
Texas, during the 1970s by former associates of theAmrita Foundation 25 J