Gurmukh

Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa ( Mary May Gibson; born 1942/1943) is a teacher of Kundalini yoga, as taught by Yogi Bhajan, and a pioneer in the field of pre-natal yoga. She has become a yoga guru for Hollywood film stars.

Early years Mary May Gibson was born in a small Illinois town, to middle-class, Methodist parents.

Introduction to Kundalini yoga In 1970, Gibson and a colleague went to the 3HO ashram in Tucson, Arizona. She stayed in Arizona for two years, working at the ashram, and taught yoga at the University of Arizona as well as at the Arizona State Correctional Facility. On their first meeting, he gave Gibson a new name, "Gurmukh", meaning "the one whose face is towards the guru (meaning they have dedicated their lives to their guru)". He also told her she would help deliver babies. She then worked in the field of home births with a Santa Fe obstetrician/gynecologist, after which teaching yoga became her full-time occupation. Thereafter, Gurmukh used her knowledge of Kundalini yoga, as taught by Yogi Bhajan, and her own pregnancy experiences, to give classes for expectant mothers. She also began a sixty-hour Khalsa Way teacher training certification course for women from around the world to take to their communities. In 2003, Gurmukh published the book Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful: Exploring the Natural Power of Pregnancy and Birth with Kundalini Yoga and Meditation, through St. Martin's Press. which included Madonna, Courtney Love, Gwyneth Paltrow, David Duchovny, Annette Bening, and Rosanna Arquette. Eventually, with the guidance of her teacher, Gurmukh Kaur stopped offering private classes to celebrities.

In 2007, Vanity Fair described Gurmukh as the "glamour girl of Kundalini".

Publications Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, Eight Human Talents: The Yoga Way to Restore the Balance and Serenity Within You, New York, Harper Collins, 2000. Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful: Exploring the Natural Power of Pregnancy and Birth with Kundalini Yoga and Meditation, New York, St. Martins Griffin, 2003.

DVDs Prenatal Kundalini Yoga and meditation for mothers-to-be, Gaiam (2000) Postnatal Kundalini Yoga for new mothers, Gaiam (2000) Kundalini Yoga with Gurmukh, Living Arts (2004)

Articles Joanne Chen, "Spiritual Love," Vogue, April 1999. Anna Dubrovsky, "Kundalini's Queen: Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa", Yoga International Samantha Dunn, "L.A. (Yoga) Story", Yoga Journal, July–August 1999 Julie Deife, "Sitting Down with Gurmukh", LA Yoga Magazine, January–February 2005