SharedBliss: Interview with Donna Davidge, Yogi & Retreat Owner

Donna "Amrita" Davidge, Yogi
& Owner of Sewall House

Listening to: The painterly images in this video seemed appropriate to Donna.

Today's Bliss Formula: For some reason, this summer has been quieter than others. I am grateful for this. Normally by early afternoon, there are so many children and so much noise. Perhaps this year, they all have camps they are attending?

This photo of Donna allows me to explain a bit about the Sikh connections within the Kundalini yoga community.

Not everyone who practices Kundalini is a Sikh. I'm not. Ravi Singh and Ana Brett do not wear turbans and I get the impression that they do not solely associate themselves with Sikhism. Kundalini, like all yoga, is open to anyone and helpful to anyone, regardless of your "official" religious affiliation. At a Kundalini yoga event, like White Tantric Yoga, you are asked to wear white (because it combines all colors) and to cover your head -- but you don't have to wear a turban.
Sikhism itself is only 500 years old. I find it a tolerant and loving mystical tradition. Their concept of God is not at all anthropomorphic and they see yoga and meditation as a way to God. They follow the traditions of ten gurus. For more, go here.

Yogi Bhajan, the man responsible for bringing the secrets of Kundalini yoga to the west, was a Sikh, and he was also Donna Davidge's first teacher. She has been teaching Kundalini yoga since 1985 but has not stopped her learning there. Her teaching now integrates other forms of yoga.

You can see the integration in her DVD's, which were my first experience of her. A friend of mine had gone to Donna's retreat in Maine and brought the DVD's home; they are beautifully produced and challenging (and her husband, Swedish singer and songwriter, Kent Bonham, provides music).

Yogi Bhajan gave Donna her spiritual name, Amrita, which in Sanskrit means "nectar of immortality."

A side note about Kundalini yoga and Sikhism: everyone I have encountered in this community exemplifies the principles of this tradition. They are open minded and caring and helpful. They walk their talk. And Donna had been one more wonderful example of this.

Describe the PrimeBliss of your life. How did you come to know that this was your PrimeBliss?

My prime bliss was getting on to a spiritual path that felt helpful and loving instead of a religious path I had known in my childhood that had made me feel fearful and not good (the original sin concept). In yoga and related philosophies, the idea is that we are a reflection of God, all inherently good and pure and powerfully connected to the infinite.

What types of choices and sacrifices did you make to be able to craft this bliss-filled life?

I gave up a wonderful marriage and career in my mid 20's to run off to Europe to "find myself." It was veiled in a pseudo-modeling career, but the things that happened to me and the growth I needed in order to be happy started with this tumultuous time and choice in my life. So I guess you could say I sacrificed security and the "American dream." It was rather selfish at the time, but we are often selfish in a destructive way until we learn to undo some of our past hurts, to love ourselves and others and to learn the importance of serving from a healed and more whole place.

How does your PrimeBliss radiate out into the rest of your life?

I became a teacher because my first teacher, Ravi Singh, told me to! When I started there were not all these teacher trainings and yoga was still quite odd and non-mainstream. I did it primarily because I knew it had already begun to spin the tapestry of my life in a better direction and I knew that if I could radiate to others the healing and joy it had given me then I could serve a positive purpose in other people's lives, no matter if it was just one person. Ravi once told me "If one person shows up, teach." Yogi Bhajan said "If you want to master something, teach it" so I knew I wanted to keep studying and practicing and evolving as I became a teacher quite early into my studies.

What are some other activities that also give you this sense of bliss? Things that make you lose track of time?

I love being with my cats: one is old and blind and hyperthryoid, and the other had been in a shelter for over 7 months and is big and black and fluffy and the sweetest cat I have ever owned. Animals teach us SO much. I also love to be in nature, whether in New Mexico at the Kundalini Summer Solstice or on the porch of our retreat home in Maine, which holds special significance to me because my great grandfather built it and I have heard amazing things about him as a "metaphysician" so I aspire to carry on his work. The most special place, though, is my mother's 60 year old lake cabin that I inherited (with my older sister) when my mother passed. It is absolutely isolated on a lake and all you hear are loons and the occasional fishing boat. You cannot even get there by car! I also love writing, which I did as a child a lot. When I studied acting with Michael Moriarty in NY City, he urged us to write a one woman show. I wrote one about my great grandmother's life in Maine. When I shared my writing in class, he called me Donna Davidge Throeau! So I guess my love of nature showed through. I am also blessed with a lovely husband from Sweden, whom I met through Kundalini Yoga and married at age 48. He has whole-heartedly embraced my yoga retreat adventure, and we are a great team, enjoying each other's company even when we are wallpapering(!) and he is now the chef serving the guests, so I think it important that even when working, we are happy and grateful! (Like the Buddhists say, our work and play should be the same!) This is not to say there are not challenges, all of us have them!

What is your daily or weekly spiritual practice?

Most days, I have some physical asana practice. When I am in NY City, it is primarily a Mysore Ashtanga practice at a studio owned by Eddie Stern, who is a wonderful teacher. It is a quiet and sacred space, really a world apart from NYC for me energetically. I also study some with Dharma Mittra. He is amazing. For years, I have done many Kundalini sets, meditations and sometime practices that either Yogi Bhajan or Guru Dev have given me from the many manuals. In Maine, we have 30 minutes just sitting in silence every morning. For about 10 years, I did the 2 and a half hour Kundalini Sadhana at 4 in the morning as much as I could, but frankly, I got very tired during the day as I teach A LOT so I have sort of created my own practice since then as suggested above, it sort of evolved that way! I think Sadhana is important! I love chanting and breathing and asana practice as all part of my sadhana.

What music is your bliss?

Of course, I love my husband's music; he is just starting his own mantra project after composing and performing the music for our 2 Kundalini Yoga DVDs. I love a lot of the music from 3HO and Kundalini Yoga - Snatam, Sat Kartar, Guru Ganesha, Sat Kirin and many others. I also like Krishna Das and many of the non-Kundalini yoga artists as well. I used to incorporate non-yoga music, even Barbara Streisand, but I don't so much any more into my teaching and life.

Name books or authors/poets or people who are your bliss, who influenced your bliss.

Yogi Bhajan for sure is my biggest influence and I can thank Ravi Singh, again, for leading me to him. I had the chance to be around him a lot and get a spiritual name from him in person and his teachings have really transformed my life. I love Deepak Chopra's 7 Spiritual Laws for Success. We have lots of other great related books at Sewall House. I have devoured many of these books over the years. In general, I find people's lives inspiring so I have read a lot of biographies over the years on people from all walks of life, latest being Obama's "Dreams For My Father," which he wrote in 1994 and is wonderful. I also loved Tolstoy's War & Peace, which I read years ago. As a yoga person, I have studied the Sutras some as well.

What advice would you give to someone who feels they have not yet discovered their PrimeBliss?

I would suggest that no one ever give up on finding their happiness. Sometimes we have to take a really true, hard look at our lives and ourselves, and change is not easy but it is the gift life gives us. Some changes we can choose and some choose us but we can constantly work on our emotions, old ingrained patterns, and our inner life to become a happier more inspiring person. We may not "have" everything we would like, but what we can chose is how to "be." I have been through a lot of "stuff" in my life, and one thing I never did was give up; many things did not turn out the way I would have liked or hoped, but I can honestly say I am a happy person, and every day, I have my physical and mental health without the crutch of drugs or addictive relationships and all the things that can destroy a sensitive, wounded human being. I am thankful for life. Yogi Bhajan taught us to be aware and then to make choices from that place, choices that were constructive rather than destructive, to ourselves and to others. If you find something that seems to be good for you in a healthy way, stay committed!

Do you have a favorite quote you would like to share?

I think it was Helen Keller "Life is a daring adventure or nothing at all."

Thanks, Christine, for giving me this opportunity to share a little of my life experience on this humble path of learning.

And thank you, Donna, for being so open and candid.