DAVID LIFE WAS BORN IN A SMALL TOWN in Michigan. He graduated from Michigan State University in 1972 with a BFA in art.
Jivamukti Yoga—Together with Sharon Gannon and through the blessings of his teachers, David created the Jivamukti Yoga method, which focuses on teaching and practicing yoga as a means to enlightenment. The Jivamukti Yoga method is taught worldwide in Jivamukti Yoga centers independently owned and directed by David and Sharon’s students in Munich, London, Toronto, Detroit, and the West Village of New York City. Time magazine recognized the Jivamukti Yoga method as one of the nine methods of Hatha Yoga taught in the world today, and it is featured in the acclaimed video What Is Yoga?
Yoga Master—David is a certified Advanced Level II practitioner of the Ashtanga system of Shri K. Pattabhi Jois of Mysore, India. He has studied yoga around the world with many teachers, including his gurus Shri Brahmananda Saraswati, Shri Swami Nirmalananda, and Shri K. Pattabhi Jois. He spent several years as a sannyas (renunciate) of a lineage of yogic monks in India. He has received Kalachakra and Bodhisattva initiation from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.
His artistic, literary, and metaphysical studies support his interest in yoga. As a respected, popular, and in-demand teacher around the globe, David imbues his classes with metaphor, musicality, and spirituality, spiced with humor, vigor, and spontaneity. Considered a “teacher’s teacher,” he has taught for 20 years throughout the United States and as far afield as Canada, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, India, Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, Hong Kong, the Caribbean, and Israel.
Since 1993 he has presented annually at various national conferences hosted by the Omega Institute, Yoga Journal, Southwest Yoga, Arizona Yoga Conference, Midwest Yoga Conference, and others. Along with Sharon Gannon, he teaches a one-month intensive Jivamukti Yoga teacher training course offered at the Omega Institute. His high-profile students include Sting, Russell Simmons, Donna Karan, and Geshe Michael Roach.
He has written articles, and been featured in many articles, in Yoga Journal, and is pictured often in Yoga by Linda Sparrow (Yoga Journal Books).
Influential Artist & Founder of Life Café—David has lived in New York City since 1979. When he created Life Café in 1980, it was a coffeehouse with vegetarian chili and espresso made one cup at a time on an electric hotplate. Life Café featured jazz, art, and poetry. In the 1980s David became an influential performer, artist, and spokesperson for the lively arts community in New York City’s Lower East Side. Life Café is featured in the Broadway musical Rent.
Author & Teacher—David has contributed to several publications, including Yoga Journal and Yoga International. Together with Sharon Gannon, he co-authored two books, Jivamukti Yoga: Practices for Liberating Body and Soul and The Art of Yoga.
Animal Advocacy—Together with Sharon Gannon and Janet Rienstra, David established the Animal Mukti Free Spay and Neuter Clinic at the Humane Society of New York City in 1999. He is a longtime vanguard member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), working with the organization on various projects and campaigns to help make this world a kinder place. Along with Sharon, he established a 76-acre wildlife forest sanctuary in upstate New York.
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