When the woman who would become Indra Devi was born in Russia in 1899, yoga was almost unknown outside India. By the time of her death in 2002, yoga was practiced everywhere, from Brooklyn to Berlin and Ulaanbaatar. In the book The Goddess Pose, author Michelle Goldberg draws on the incredible story of the woman who brought yoga to the West, while also outlining a broad picture of the twentieth century. Devi, born into the lower aristocracy as Eugenia Peterson, grew up during one of the most tumultuous times in human history. She was forced to flee the Russian revolution as a teenager, joined a famous cabaret in Berlin, immersed herself in the vibrant pre-war spiritualism movement, and, at a time when it was almost unthinkable for a young European woman to travel alone, she followed the charismatic theosophist Jiddu Krishnamurti to India. During her stay on the continent, she participated in Indian cinema and developed relationships with the leaders of the independence movement. But her greatest achievement was persuading a reluctant yoga master to train her in the secrets of his art. Devi would go on to train and spread yoga worldwide, teaching in Shanghai during World War II and later in Hollywood, where her students included Gloria Swanson and Greta Garbo. She managed a yoga school in Mexico during the cultural crackdown, served as a spiritual advisor to the general who tried to overthrow the dictator dominating Panama, and, in her eighties, moved to Buenos Aires at the invitation of an enamored rock star. Everywhere, Indra Devi promoted yoga, making it a global phenomenon that continues unabated. Written with vivid clarity, The Goddess Pose brings to the forefront her remarkable story as an actor, yogini, and adventurous traveler.
