Kabalah Yoga For the Masses

By Dr. Audi (Yehuda) Gozlan, Inspiring a Generation

To dream is to enter the realm of the subconscious and imagine the impossible becoming possible.

As a child, the Rebbe dreamed of a world of peace and redemption. As a Rebbe, he lived every moment of his life to make this dream come true.

Unlike any other Jewish leader in our generation, the Rebbe had a unique vision of a world existing in entire harmony and ready to welcome Moshiach. He shared with us his dream and saw in each of us the power to make it a reality.

The Rebbe knew that you and I could make a difference, and he repeatedly reminded us that each bit of light shed through kindness could dispel much darkness. He believed in the human potential and felt that within each of us there exist great treasures of possibilities.

Everything in this world had a purpose, provided that the spark of good could rise and open the soul deeply. When the soul is open, then our hearts become warm. When the heart is warm then our bodies become warmer. And when the body is warmer, then every thought we think, every word we say, and everything we do also becomes affected by this warmth.

The Rebbe himself spoke with much warmth and passion. Every word he said was penetrating and eternal. The greatness of being a chassid, disciple of the Rebbe, is that, no matter where he is or what it is he is doing, he hears the Rebbe’s voice vibrating deep inside.

When the Rebbe repeated his message over and over again, then it was clear that he wanted us to take action. Meditation and yoga were among those subjects upon which action was needed.

Mind-Brain Connection

In Judaism meditation is often associated with hitbonenut (contemplation), hitbodedut (isolation and conversation with G-d), and kavana (Divine meaning), practiced while praying or learning of deep concepts. These forms of meditation have existed since Biblical times and were all developed by the founders of Chassidus.

According to Time, “over 15 million Americans practice some form of yoga.” Of these, according to another source, over two million are Jewish. I have also seen statistics that estimate that thirty percent of Jews, nicknamed “JuBus,” practice Buddhist meditation.

For most people, meditation is the art of focusing the brain to transcend the never-ending flow of thoughts that circulate within the head. In Eastern teachings, this is known as the science of controlled breathing while steering the mind toward inner awareness.

Meditation can be performed by sitting still, lying down, or even walking calmly and steadily. Your eyes can be open or closed and you can concentrate on a specific idea such as ein sof (eternal light) and visualize its many forms and meanings.

On the other hand, yoga, a word derived from the Sanskrit root yuj, is “to bind, join, attach, and yoke” and relates to the harmony that could be attained for the mind and body through patterned breathing. The physical practice of yoga postures is basically considered meditation in motion.

When you physically move your body with more awareness and join your actions with your breathing you can become more energetic and graceful. In Tanya this is known as the mind focusing the heart. When the mind and heart are aligned then we can live in harmony and reveal the benoni, someone totally self-controlled.

Return to Roots

Meditation gained popularity in the West during the 1960s, when, in the wake of the Vietnam War, a spirit of rebelliousness swept over the youth of America. Radical fads, music, and pop culture emerged from the east. Hinduism, yoga, and Transcendental Meditation (TM) became widespread.

The Beatles also played a major part in disseminating these Eastern teachings. They traveled to the Himalayas at the height of their fame to study at the ashram of the guru and founder of TM, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. During this period, many Jews turned to these Eastern ways in search of spirituality.

The Rebbe was aware of this situation. “Transcendental Meditation (TM) and Yoga have attracted many Jewish followers, particularly among the young generation,” he wrote in Tevet 5738. He understood the Eastern traditions behind it and its impact on the West.

The Rebbe also understood what was contrary to Judaism in these teachings, and he realized that something must be done quickly to prevent Jews from adopting customs foreign to Judaism. “Every moment that could be saved in speeding the implementation of a program could be spiritual pikuach nefesh (lifesaver).”

However, the Rebbe recognized these practices’ healing abilities, which might be useful if rid of Hindu rites and rituals. “It follows that if these therapeutic methods, insofar as they are utterly devoid of any ritual implications, many could benefit from such treatment,” he wrote.

“This is a matter of healing of the highest order, since it has to do with the mind. It would therefore be wrong to deny such treatment to those who need it . . . if they had a choice of getting it the kosher way.” Therefore, a well thought-out plan on how to create a kosher system had to be devised in order to make the Rebbe’s point of view public.

Defining Down

If we were to define meditation and yoga according to Chassidic teachings, they would be considered as a klipas noga, a “neutral shell.” Unlike something that is entirely unredeemable and another that can be transformed to positive if the intention is pure, meditation and yoga were concepts that could go both ways. They can either be used for holy purposes, or abused for unholy.

For example, a knife can be a tool for a doctor to cut open the patient’s chest and unblock an artery, or it can be a weapon by a criminal to maim or kill. The difference between the two depends upon the intention of the individual who holds a knife.

In other words, if the intention is positive, then the outcome of the action will also be positive. And when we go a step further and align our intention with G-d’s, then our actions not only have a useful effect but the means of drawing more light into the world.

This the Rebbe had in mind when implementing his form of “Eastern practice.” He foresaw a kosher type of yoga and meditation that could be introduced as an alternative to Eastern methods.

“Needless to say,” he wrote, “even if one feels doubtful whether he can advance this cause, or whether the expectation warrants the effort, the vital importance and urgency of saving so many souls from avodah zarah not only warrants but dictates every possible effort, even if there be doubt or a double doubt about achieving success, certainly when there is every reason to believe that much indeed can be achieved with G-d’s help and zechus harabbim” (Tevet 5738).

Holy Mission

In Bereishis (Genesis) it says “And Yehuda was sent (by Yakov) to Goshen (in Egypt), before him.” The Rebbe explains that a shliach is sometimes sent off by his Rebbe to the most obscure places of the world in order to purify the air and bring light into the most challenging circumstances.

One such shliach chosen by the Rebbe to initiate this task of “kosherizing” meditation was Dr. Yehuda Landes, a resident of Palo Alto, California, who was among the few key people that the Rebbe spoke freely with regarding these ideas.

A clinical psychologist, Dr. Landes was highly knowledgeable about Eastern philosophies, especially Transcendental Meditation. He conversed with the Rebbe about yoga, meditation, and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi himself.

Together the Rebbe and Dr. Landes devised a plan: They would create a center that would teach meditation, breathing and posture exercises for health—a center developed “with halachic (legal) and general chassidic orientation for the dissemination… of these techniques to Jews and non-Jews.”

The Rebbe became a partner in the plan and told Dr. Landes in Adar 2, 5738, that, “if in the first stage of implementing the program there would be need for funding the initial outlay, my secretariat would make such funds available.” Dr. Landes replied that he felt privileged to be made junior partner.

On 13 Tammuz 5769 (1979) the Rebbe held a farbrengen, where he discussed meditation and its potential to bring menuchat hanefesh, peaceful mind, and chizuk bebriut, strengthened health. This was a historic moment in Lubavitch of which only today can we truly appreciate its significance. The Rebbe wanted the project promoted in the media and papers across America. In his own words, “All due publicity should be given about the availability of such methods.”

Although in 1979, the project did not get off the ground as was hoped for, today however, such a project has become possible. In many ways, the Rebbe was ahead of his time.

Back to the Future

In 1990, I was busy developing a kosher system to meditation. After practicing it for quite a few years, I was aware of the Rebbe’s views, although I had not yet been privileged to see the Rebbe’s letters.

In 2000, I wrote a book called Gifts of Abraham, a kosher guide to meditation. For several years following, I gave many lectures at Chabad houses, shuls, and retreats. In my heart I knew that a kosher form of yoga as a meditation in motion had to be developed, as well.

One day, like a revelation, I saw the shapes of the Hebrew letters in yoga movements. After much research and training, I realized that shaping the body into Hebrew letters could bring healing to the body and mind in the same way as yoga. I also saw that achieving yoga postures according to Hebrew letters could combat all aspects of avodah zarah (idolatry) and effect a kosher way to meditation whether in movement or in stillness.

It was at a farbrengen in 2004 at my house when a gentleman approached me with the news he had personal letters from the Rebbe on yoga and meditation that might further my project. At the time I paid him little attention, until four months later I had a dream that led me to the Rebbe’s letters.

I dreamed I was on a highway driving to New York to go to 770, and as I walked into 770 I was greeted by the same chassid from the farbrengen. He stood at the entrance with a stack of letters in his hands and said, “Yehuda, what are you waiting for? Take these letters and get to work!” I woke up with a sudden urge to see the Rebbe’s letters. Shortly later, I finally got hold of them.

They were all addressed to Dr. Landes, who shares my Hebrew name, Yehuda. This coincidence left me doubly inspired to set up a kosher system of movement and meditation for the body and mind. Consisting of a series of stretches and poses in the shape of the Hebrew letters, Kabalah Yoga promotes a healthy body through exercise and a healthy mind through meditation on the shapes and meaning of the Hebrew letters.

When there is a will to search deeper than what meets the eye, Divine Providence guides us there, with the power to explore the unknown. The unknown can be something experienced by anyone who opens his heart to finding truth. My hope is that my own efforts succeed in transforming darkness into light, bitterness into sweetness, and follow in the direction of the Rebbe.

— Audi Gozlan, Ph.D., a Lubavitcher from Montreal, is a lawyer, artist, and writer who practices and teaches kosher meditation and yoga. His website is www.kabalahyoga.com. All right reserved.

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