CHAPTER 6

Sara

“My Foolish Heart (Bhaja Govinda).”

—KRISHNA DAS

SARA IVANHOE KNOCKED ON THE DOOR OF MY HEART.

I ducked from view, hoping she wouldn’t see I was home. She knocked again.

And again.

And yet again.

She just wouldn’t go away.

She can be so annoying sometimes.

Sara is a master yoga teacher, scholar, and sadhu. She is also one of my best friends. For many years I worked part time as her assistant, apprentice, and eventually took over the business side of her empire, Yoganation. During this time I watched literally thousands of people at classes, workshops, conferences and festivals come up to her after a class, crying and unraveling about how she saved their lives.

“Your Russell Simmons DVD was the first time I did yoga.”

“When you taught Jeff Conway to walk on Celebrity Rehab, my whole family was crying!”

“That holistic doctor you sent me to alleviated all my pain.”

“That agent you introduced me to got me my dream role.”

“Thank you for teaching me to be sexy again after the baby.”

“You saved my marriage.”

“Sara is the one who introduced us! Sweetie, come here and say thank you to Sara.”

She had the great honor of officiating one of these students’ weddings—one of the happiest, proudest moments of her life.

Between sweat-inducing vinyasas, some of the usual yogis flowed in…

“Sara helps us peel off all the layers of distracting stuff with breath and movement, and then suggests we ask the question:“Is there anything the Universe wants me to know?’ I get answers in there because I become quiet and still enough to listen. I wish I could meditate and do that any time I want—but for now, I’ll keep going to Sara’s class.”

—Kristina Brittenham, Lawyer, Pacific Palisades, CA

“I find Sara an incredibly challenging, smart and spiritual teacher. She has great sequencing and mixes it up so every class feels fresh. I always leave feeling energized and calm.”

—Deb Schoeneman, Writer/HBO’sGirls

“Challenging, enriching, heart-pumping, but most of all a blast, Sara Ivanhoe never disappoints while leading the best 90 minutes of yoga in LA.”

—Joshua Levine, Novelist/Shangrila, Topanga, CA

“Sara’s classes are like Grateful Dead concerts; no two are ever the same. I love Sara’s energy and passion when it comes to all things Yoga. She’s a gifted teacher who isn’t timid about exploring new avenues on the road to spiritual enlightenment, both hers and her students.”

—Billy Gottlieb, Music Supervisor, Hollywood Hills, CA

“Sara is a straight up g