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About Mukunda Mukunda Stiles—Yoga Therapy
Center Director
Author of 4 books: Structural Yoga Therapy, Yoga
Sutras of Patanjali, Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy, and Tantra Yoga Secrets
available now Swami Muktananda Paramahansa with his disciple Swami Prakashananda Babaji
Mukunda was the Yoga instructor at four of Muktananda's ashrams in the US and in India.
During his many trips to India he has studied with both secret and well known spiritual teachers.
Babaji Prakashananda of Suptashring Devi became his spiritual teacher following the mahasamadhi (death) of Baba Muktananda later
that same year. Babaji initiated him into the devotional aspects of Tantrik Kundalini Yoga focused on the Divine Mother.
Mukunda's book The Yoga Poet describe these Tantrik yogic teachings. While under Baba Muktananda’s spiritual guidance, he trained in the
900-year old lineage of the master of hatha yoga masters, Prof. Krishnamacharya. While not directly being a
student of the master he was drawn to K. famous and hidden teachers including psychiatrist
Paul Copeland MD, Indra Devi, BKS Iyengar, TKV Desikachar, and AG Mohan. A video of the Master’s practice
in 1938 can be found
here (On the same page you can view a 1938 practice with BKS Iyengar.) Mukunda worked closely with Rama Jyoti Vernon, founder of America’s first
professional Yoga school, the Institute for Yoga Teacher Education (now the San Francisco Iyengar Yoga Institute).
Mukunda was in the first class to graduate this 2 year, 560 hour teaching certification in 1976. In 1978 he developed Structural Yoga Therapy (TM).
To polish his understanding of anatomy and kinesiology he undertook a year’s graduate study in physical therapy at California State University in Sacramento. Since 1978 Mukunda has offered a 575 hour Structural Yoga Therapist certification course.
Yoga teachers world-wide have participated in this intensive training and since 1999 more than 80 graduates
have successfully been certified. In 1981 Baba Muktananda sent Mukunda to Boston to be on the staff of the
SYDA ashram. Soon after this he became independent of the ashram and worked by referral from hospitals, physicians,
and therapists to provide personalized Yoga Therapy for a multitude of medical and psychological conditions.
He wrote a series of articles on Yoga Therapy
for knees and shoulders published by Yoga International magazine. He taught to both patients and staff
of the Mind Body Medical Institute, headed by Herbert Benson, M.D. and Joan Borysenko, Ph.D. for five years and
published a paper entitled a Survey of Yoga therapy.
Mukunda with Indra Devi at her 100th Birthday. May 12th 1999
Since the passing of his two spiritual teachers, the Inner Teacher has continued to actively providing him guidance in all avenues of life. Being a devotee of the Divine Mother, Mukunda completed teacher training in TriYoga with Kali Rae and has had Darshan of Ammachi since the first of her 20 years of world tours. Inspite of the passing of his spiritual teachers they have proved worthy of the title of guru – “one whose presence and illumination never leaves their student”. While in Boston from 1982 -2000 he trained in Ayurveda with John Douillard, from whom he learned pulse diagnosis, Dr. Vasant Lad, David Frawley and Robert Svoboda. Mukunda worked to reframe the connection of Ayurveda’s emphasis on health and lifestyle within the spiritual framework of a Yoga lifestyle. To this end he has been on the staff of the Rocky Mountain Institute for Yoga and Ayurveda and the International Ayurvedic Institute (IAI), working as editor of seven books on Ayurveda, Yoga Therapy and a five volume course manual written by David Frawley. He is currently on the Advisory Board of the International Association of Yoga Therapists. His books Structural Yoga Therapy and Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are published by Samuel Weiser, Inc. Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy is published by Lotus Press. His most recent book Tantra Yoga Secrets is due to be published August 2011. This book is the culmination of his 40 years of all avenues of Classical Yoga practice. He now resides in Novato, California - north of San Francisco, with his tantric Devi Chinnamasta.
Chinnamasta Stiles trained as an Intensive Care Pediatric Nurse for 12 years in a major University Hospital in Rotterdam, Holland from the age of 18 - 30 years. She developed a personal interest for Ayurveda & Yoga when it became clear to her that living a healthy life, began with finding balance in her own personal and professional life. Experiencing the difficult process of suffering inspired her to seek a spiritual resolution to pain beyond the western medical view. This led to an ongoing awakening to Spirit even during the natural transition to life beyond death. She began to guide parents in how to deal with illness of their children and on how to gracefully embrace death when that was inevitable. These years of profound confrontation with death created the fertile soil for connection to the infinite Spiritual Heart. She received end of life counseling training with psychiatrist Michael Murphy, the founder of the hospice movement in New York. She worked as the General Manager of the major Ayurvedic Spa in Holland from 1997-2000, where she started guiding people individually in returning to a healthy lifestyle with the principles of yoga and ayurveda. She finished a 700 hr. classical hatha yoga training program in Holland and graduated with a thesis on "Dealing on living, dealing with dying from Yogic perspective". She completed a thesis on Ayurveda and Chakra Psychology. After her graduation she decided to make a career change, by leaving her demanding position and focusing on Yoga & Ayurveda teaching for groups and individuals. Vaidya Baba Biharilal 
During this period of discipleship she was also graced by special encounters with Vaidya Baba Biharilal. She had several experiences where she felt lifted out of her body, overcome by Grace. She was very fortunate to travel in India and sit next to these traditional Vaidyas who gave teachings accompanied by the blessings of their remarkable siddhis in intimate family scenes. These gurus have never left her and daily she feels grateful for their healing presence and guidance. In 2005 Baba Biharilal introduced her to Bhagavan Nityananda of Ganeshpuri, by giving her a very rare original edition of the book "The Voice of the Self" - even though at that time she was not realizing the kind of gem that had been offered to her, since Bhagavan had left his body 44 years previous. She met Mukunda for the first time during a week of Structural Yoga Therapy Training in Switzerland, and as they looked each other in the eyes there was an instant recognition and knowing. Mukunda became her spiritual teacher and guide and a year later, she received initiation - Shaktipat into the lineage of Bhagavan Nityananda and Swami Muktananda of Ganeshpuri. Mukunda asked her whether she had a picture of Nityananda. It was only during a vivid dream that she realized the "treasure" book she had with the picture of Nityananda on the cover, waiting on the book shell "to be held close to the heart". That picture would literally come alive during devotional puja and resulted in personal guidance via tantric experiences. She studied with Mukunda in Europe and the US for 3 years before becoming a certified Structural Yoga Therapist in 2007 and wrote a case study on "Structural Yoga Therapy & Whiplash injury". She taught Ayurvedic Yoga and Tantra to groups and individuals in Holland, France and Costa Rica, with his spiritual guidance and blessings. She guided many people in 1 to 1 sessions and retreats in their quest for a fulfilling life from Yogic, Ayurvedic and Tantric perspective. Her spiritual practices in Tantric Yoga led her to a unique relationship with Mukunda, as they deepened their sadhana by becoming consorts. This evolution is a continuous transformative process through which Spirit provides guidance to them through the Divine Mother. Bhakti pulled her to the deeper wisdom teachings of the trinity of Classical Yoga, Ayurveda and Tantra. Chinnamasta was given her spiritual name, which is the embodiment of the Goddess benevolent attribute of transformation. She currently offers personalized and group retreats with Mukunda throughout the US, Europe and India. Her website is www.shivashaktiloka.com
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As a youth Tom was an eagle boy scout and a congressional nominee to West Point Military Academy.
While in the army he experienced a tantric awakening
to the inner teacher (guru). After four years of practice he began to teach what arose as psychic healing and Classical
Yoga at University of Calif. at Davis in 1973. In April of 1974, he had another abrupt meeting with destiny through
Swami Muktananda who initiated him into a spontaneous Tantrik Kundalini Yoga process of Shaktipat. "My life has never been the same". He moved into a new direction
and received a degree in religious studies with a thesis on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras.
Baba Muktananda gave his blessings to Mukunda to make Classical Yoga his profession.
He gave him the name Mukunda, meaning "compassionate liberator" and authorized him to give spiritual initiation
(Dhivya diksha), give spiritual names, and to transmit Shaktipat (spiritual awakening).
He continues this tradition through individual sessions as a 
