Michelle Goldberg Boeken

When the woman who would become Indra Devi was born in Russia in 1899, yoga was virtually unknown outside India. By her death in 2002, it was practiced worldwide. In this compelling narrative, best-selling author Michelle Goldberg chronicles the life of the woman who introduced yoga to the West, while also capturing the essence of the twentieth century. Born Eugenia Peterson into minor aristocracy, Devi experienced one of history's most tumultuous eras. After fleeing the Russian Revolution as a teenager, she joined a renowned Berlin cabaret troupe and immersed herself in the prewar spiritualist movement. Defying norms for a young European woman, she traveled alone to India, drawn by the charismatic Theosophical leader Jiddu Krishnamurti. In India, she acted in silent films and mingled with independence movement leaders, but her most significant achievement was persuading a master yogi to teach her. Devi later shared this knowledge globally, teaching in Shanghai during World War II and in Hollywood, where her students included celebrities like Gloria Swanson and Greta Garbo. She established a yoga school in Mexico during the counterculture era and served as a spiritual adviser in Panama. In her eighties, she moved to Buenos Aires at the invitation of a rock star. Indra Devi's passion for yoga sparked a global craze that endures today, and her remarkable journey as an actress, yogi, and adventurer is vividly brought to life.

‘Without free speech there is no true thought.’ –Jordan Peterson‘You’re telling me I’m being sensitive, and students looking for safe spaces that they’re being hypersensitive. If you’re white, this country is one giant safe space.’–Michael Eric DysonIs political correctness an enemy of free speech, open debate and the free exchange of ideas? Or is it a progressive force, eroding the dominant power relationships and social norms that exclude marginalised groups from society?