{"id":187111,"date":"2025-02-05T19:29:44","date_gmt":"2025-02-05T19:29:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/?p=187111"},"modified":"2025-02-09T19:58:14","modified_gmt":"2025-02-09T19:58:14","slug":"shetoo-the-experience-of-misa-women-2-following-gregorian-bivolaru","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/shetoo-the-experience-of-misa-women-2-following-gregorian-bivolaru\/","title":{"rendered":"#SheToo: The Experience of MISA Women. 2. Following Gregorian Bivolaru"},"content":{"rendered":"

Women students reveal fascinating details on how MISA began and their personal relationship with its founder.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Article 2 of 6. Read article 1<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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An early image of Gregorian Bivolaru.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gregorian Bivolaru (b. 1952) is a Romanian yoga teacher, spiritual master, and the founder of MISA, the Movement for Spiritual Integration into the Absolute. Today, MISA is the oldest and largest yoga school in Romania. The ATMAN Federation, based in the UK, is an umbrella organization for different schools of yoga that teach the courses of Gregorian Bivolaru as well as other yoga courses. Each affiliate yoga school enjoys administrative and legal autonomy within its own country.<\/p>\n

Bivolaru emerged as a popular yoga teacher shortly after the collapse of the Communist regime. On Christmas Day in 1989, a firing squad executed Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceau\u0219escu and his wife. Within two days, Bivolaru was released from forcible confinement in a psychiatric hospital for political dissidents. Ten days later, in January 1990, he gave his first lecture. In March 1990, he held his first public yoga class.<\/p>\n

Many of my informants were university students at the time, and they said that thirty-three years ago they could take yoga courses in the university: \u201cIf they offered sports in their sports hall, they would also offer a class on yoga outside the school program<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bivolaru turned out to be more than just a hatha yoga teacher. He soon began to teach Hindu philosophy and share his worldview. D. noted: \u201cWe had a lot of questions about life, about God, about Grieg\u2019s vision of life, about where we go after we die. And in his answers, we saw a man who was very wise, and very kind and intelligent. And we were impressed. Many people were waiting for him to come to give these little conferences. And he would have the answers to help guide us in our lives. And we would feel enlightenment in our soul<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many women noted Grieg\u2019s charismatic presence. H. recalled: \u201cWell, first time when I saw him it was at a conference\u2026 it was so powerful\u2026 I was very, very impressed\u2026 Grieg is so smart, he is a genius, he knows everything from so many fields, and he can explain everything so well<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

N. recalled the extraordinary success of Grieg\u2019s early lectures on esoteric topics: \u201cEvery Monday, after the advanced yoga class, Grieg had these meetings in the biggest yoga hall in Bucharest, where he would stay and talk with people, often for two or three days. He didn\u2019t really take any breaks; he would eat there in the hall and offer to share his food with us. I was impressed by his resilience, his willingness to help others. We were lining up, asking his advice\u2026 We slept in the hall, waiting to speak with him. We [each] had a number and were waiting our turn<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

D. commented on his kindness: \u201cI was impressed by\u2026 the kindness and the love that I felt in his presence\u2026 I just felt like I was in a space that I could call home\u2026 like I could rest. I had found something I was searching for all over\u2026 You can ask anything in any\u2026 area of interest, and he can answer anything. He reads a lot, he loves books. This combination of modesty and intelligence and kindness and love that he is emanating, it\u2019s so touching. Convincing, let\u2019s say<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Bivolaru at the 1998 Costine\u0219ti \u201cspiritual holiday.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the 1990s MISA organized \u201cyoga spiritual holiday\u201d camps at the seaside town of Costine\u0219ti in August, and in the mountains of Herculane in May. R. described this period: \u201cWhen I was 16, in high school\u2026 I heard about it on a radio program. Somebody was so enthusiastic about the camp held in Costine\u0219ti at the seaside\u2026 saying she never saw people so happy and joyful\u2026 And one year later my friend from high school came by with some printed courses\u2026 about vegetarian diet and spiritual resonance\u2026 And for us\u2014just two or three years after the revolution, after the Communist regime\u2014it was something out of the box completely!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

One of Bivolaru\u2019s first female deputy yoga instructors gave a vivid description of the dynamic growth of his yoga school in Bucharest: \u201c[Grieg] was teaching every week, several times in the first year, two times in the second year, and then only our class. There was a super big demand of teachers of yoga all over\u2026 Our generation was very thirsty for spirituality [after] how dry we were kept by the Communists. When we started yoga, we were so many that we could not fit into the Sports Hall\u2014we were more than 600 persons in a room practicing yoga with him. So, he had to do it over three days. Then some of his senior teachers would teach the practice and he would come only for theory. And only two years after I started, he asked me to teach the first-year yoga class<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adina Stoian, who is part of the women\u2019s Tantra course, gave a fascinating account of her conversion experience as a young university student: \u201cI was 20\u2026 two years into my university [Polytechnic University in Bucharest ]\u2026 and I went to the first lecture Grieg ever gave on January 12, 1990\u2026 in the students\u2019 hall. It was so full, this hall. I didn\u2019t manage to get a place. But I knew the students\u2019 hall, so I went up the back stairs and sat at the back of the stage with my boyfriend. We were behind the screen, and there was Grieg and two of his senior students sitting with their backs to us, facing the audience\u2026 And so, I could hear him, but I didn\u2019t see him. He started to speak to us, telling us, \u2018You are more than the physical body.\u2019 (I already had accepted this idea because\u2026 I was familiar with the bioenergetic structure and with how to see auras). But Grieg [was] saying we have five layers\u2026 My thirst for knowledge took me to tears. I started to cry\u2026 It was such a beautiful moment\u2026 my heart melted completely. And then Grieg spoke about reincarnation. He said, \u2018This is not our first life. We have lived before\u2026 and our main purpose in this life is to figure out who we are, where are we coming from, and where are we going after the so-called death. And what\u2019s the point of this life? What\u2019s our destiny?\u2019 And it spoke to my heart. My boyfriend was holding my hand, \u2018What\u2019s up with you? Like, are you in pain? Are you hurt?\u2019 (I\u2019m not a crying person normally.) I told him, \u2018It\u2019s so beautiful what he is saying!\u2019 And I would take notes. I still keep that notebook ever since, my notes from Grieg\u2019s first lecture. And it was a very, very long lecture! And people wouldn\u2019t let him go. There was a queue, and they all came up on the stage to ask him about healing and all kinds of stuff. And by now it was very crowded so I could not reach him from behind the screen\u2026 And my boyfriend was saying, \u2018Okay, did you finish crying? Like, what\u2019s up with you?\u2019 And I said, \u2018This is what I want to do for the rest of my life!\u2019 Then he said, \u2018But you don\u2019t even know what he looks like.\u2019 And I said, \u2018I don\u2019t care how he looks. If he is teaching that, I will follow him.\u2019 What can I say more? This is how I started yoga<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Adina Stoian in 2016. From Facebook.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some women described Grieg\u2019s psychic powers: \u201cI would meet Grieg occasionally at the library\u2026 Whenever I had something that I needed to be advised about, I could always write to him or even ask him somehow in my heart. And I could feel that an answer is on the way\u2026 he always answers, and is advising me the best<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several described Grieg\u2019s psychic powers and gift of healing: \u201cI was very slim when I started university, very stressed. There was a lot of work, many seminars, and Bucharest was very big, not like Pite\u0219ti. I met Grieg in a group context with many people around us, and he turned to me, \u2018Please, you have to eat, you are too devitalized, you are very slim.\u2019 And I said, \u2018Yes, I know, but I don\u2019t have time, I am so busy, I have to go everywhere.\u2019 And he said kindly: \u2018Yes, but it\u2019s very important for you to put some weight on. Please take a sandwich with you, take care of yourself and make sure you eat.\u2019 I said, \u2018But I am so busy, it\u2019s so complicated for me, I don\u2019t have time for this.\u2019 And then he looked at me with so much compassion and he asked, \u2018But to suffer, do you have time for that? Do you have time to suffer?\u2019 And it was very powerful for me. I understood that he was right, and I put more effort into gaining weight<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

C. told a story about how she had been healed at a distance through a photograph: \u201cI had a terrible pain in my leg and was planning to have surgery. My lover spoke to Grieg on my behalf. Grieg asked for my photograph and put it in his pocket and walked away. That was all. Miraculously, the next day I didn\u2019t have any pain, it disappeared forever<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

B. was assigned a yoga posture by Grieg to cure her back pains: \u201cMy radiography, my X-ray, showed that almost all my spinal column was damaged. So, when my turn came, I asked Grieg what to do because I had back pains. And he told me I should practice\u2026 the exercise for the elongation of the spine. It\u2019s a warmup exercise; we bend forward, exhaling. We rise slowly, inhaling. He told me that if I would do this 35 times every day, I should fix my problem. This was after a few years where my spinal column was so bad that I couldn\u2019t even move and I had very, very big pains. So, I took his advice and did this exercise every day. After three months, I noticed I didn\u2019t have pain. I could bend in front and move normally. Since then, I never had problems with my spinal column<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

G. spoke of how Grieg\u2019s paranormal powers enabled her to pass an exam: \u201cI was studying to become a nurse. I just went to Grieg, \u2018Please help me pass the exams.\u2019 He said, \u2018Yes, I will help you.\u2019 I did not study at all for the exams, but it just so occurred that I passed the exams in a very mysterious way. On the biochemistry exam I didn\u2019t know any of the answers. I was just looking at the questions when the [invigilating] teacher who was sitting close to me suddenly decided to walk to the other part of the room. Then the person next to me whispered, \u2018What questions do you have?\u2019 He just took my paper, \u2018But this is very easy. I will answer for you.\u2019 I sat there looking stupid (\u2018What is this?\u2019). Then, he gave my exam back, saying, \u2018I answered for you.\u2019 I was shocked and surprised. After that, the teacher came back, and I was thinking, \u2018My God, what is this? It is like a miracle!\u2019 Then suddenly I remembered how Grieg told me he would help me<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

P. summed up what she felt Bivolaru\u2019s yoga program had contributed to her life: \u201cI think that this whole yoga class, it is so complex, so well put together, it has touched every area of my life and transformed it in a magical and beautiful way. And I have learned how to live at a higher level of consciousness, of loving, of giving. It somehow took me out of my little selfish ego and made me a lot bigger<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read Article 3<\/a><\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

About the author<\/strong><\/p>\n

Susan J. Palmer is an Affiliate Professor in the Religions and Cultures Department at Concordia University in Montreal. She is also directing the Children on Sectarian Religions and State Control<\/em> project at McGill University, supported by the Social Sciences and the Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). She is the author of twelve books, notably The New Heretics of France<\/em> (Oxford University Press, 2012).<\/p>\n

Source: bitterwinter.org<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

yogaesoteric
\nFebruary 5, 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

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