Ready to share the depth of her knowledge and passion with others, Lynne opened her first yoga studio in the small, university town of Bemidji, Minnesota. She named it Moksha Yoga, which means “freedom” or “spiritual liberation.” To no surprise, the studio quickly gained a devoted following, and was an unqualified success. Four years and over 2000 yoga classes later, Lynne closed the studio and traveled to India for the first time. For three months she traveled alone on an inspired, inward journey to find her Satguru, or “true teacher.” Among the memorable and lasting highlights of this personal journey of self-discovery, Lynne was blessed by Amma in Kerala; chanted at Papa Ram Das’ Ashram in Karnatika; sang, danced and rode a camel in the deserts of Rajastan; attended the International Yoga Festival in Rishikesh; sat silent for a ten day Vipassana meditation in Dehradun; and hiked the Himalayan mountains. A degree of enlightenment from these life-changing experiences allowed Lynne to conclude that for her, the Satguru exists within.

In 2006, Lynne discovered her father was seriously ill and immediately returned home from India to care for him. A devoted daughter, who loved and adored her father, Lynne was able to “be present” on so many levels during this emotionally challenging time …a true gift that allowed her to fully process the rite of care and passing of a loved family member. Since her father’s death she has returned to India twice.

Currently, Lynne is a full-time yoga teacher in the Detroit area. She also guides annual yoga and meditation retreats to the sacred country of India, where she feels most truly at home in mind, body and spirit. Next journey is Feb. 2010 www.travelightindia.com

India was a place I had wanted to visit since I met my first teacher and fell in love with yoga. She had traveled there many times in her seventy-three years and even had a Sankrit name, Madage, which means sacred mother. It was 1996 and most of the students in her class were new to yoga, like myself. But somehow we knew that we were in the presence of a true teacher: someone who had become a sannyasin and taken vows of poverty, someone who trusted that God would take care of her, someone who had been touched by this holy land and returned to it whenever the universe provided. For me, I’ve always been a rebel, doing things differently than most. I enjoy the challenge of silence for a day, a weekend or longer. I look forward to weekends with friends, sharing homemade Indian food and lively conversation about spirituality. Or a Saturday night celebration of sacred Kirtan chanting. I knew I was ready to go deeper and I knew that India could take me there. I had done months of therapy to uncover and discard many layers of Avidya from this lifetime. I read all the books my teachers suggested on yoga and meditation. Six months after I finished my certification in 2001 I opened a yoga studio in a small town in Minnesota and plunged right into teaching full-time.  Wow, had my life changed. How had all of this happened? I used to be like everyone else, getting up every morning and going to my “dead end job”, as Lama Marut would say. But I always knew there was something more for me and when I stumbled into my first yoga class, I knew I had found it.