Ganga White & Tracey Rich

(A Chronological Biography)

1963 - 1966 California State University, Science-Engineering Major. Electronics Technician.
1966 Began study of Yoga and Eastern Religion with Dr. Framroze Bode, Zoroastrian High Priest and doctor of religion in Los Angeles.
1967 Began living-studies in the Sivananda Yoga Ashram, Canada. Founded the White Lotus Foundation.
1967 - 1992 Founder - president of his first Yoga Center in Los Angeles for 25 years. The Center was the premier institute in Los Angeles spearheading the new wave of Yoga in the USA. A continuous stream of famous Yogis, teachers and masters made their first US or California visits here including Vishnudevananda, Venkatesa, Chidananda, Muktananda, BKS Iyengar, K. Pattabhi Jois and numerous others. The Center and its leaders were often featured in TV specials and in movies. The Center has given the training and inspiration to institutes established around the nation and world. Its format has become the basis for yoga centers worldwide . The Center evolved into the "Center for Yoga" and was sold in 1992 to its then director Jake Jacobson, and was eventually turned from a nonprofit organization to a profit company, acquired by Yoga Works, Inc and used by them as a model for their expanding centers around the country and the world.
1968 - 1969 Awarded the "Yoga Acharya" title, meaning master or professor of Yoga, from the Sivananda Yoga-Vedanta International, Rishikesh, HImalayas.
1968 - 1972 Vice-president of Sivananda Yoga Centers, International.
1968 - 1972 Hosted, traveled and studied with international Yoga masters and Swamis (U.S.A., Canada, Europe, India).

Opened Yoga institutes in Washington D.C., Toronto, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles as well as retreat centers in Nassau, Bahamas and Grass Valley, California.

Assisted with or conducted the first Yoga Teacher Trainings in North America at Sivananda Ashrams and Centers.

1969 - 1970 Organized and led the Yoga World Brotherhood tour throughout the United States under the sponsorship of the of the Sivananda Yoga Centers (and co-sponsored by the Unity Churches). Lectured and demonstrated at centers and universities nationwide.

Coordinated the Indian Peace and Music Festival in Quebec, Canada, sponsored by Sivananda Yoga Centers, International.

Assisted in organizing the first American fire walk sponsoring the visit of sacred firewalkers from South India. Walked on hot coals with 40 North Americans.

1969 - 1975 Personal instructor to Peter Sellers.
1970 - 1972 Resident instructor, director, Yoga Island Retreat, Nassau, Bahamas.
1971 - 1973 Led Yoga Pilgrimage study tours to India. Conducted yoga classes and a Himalayan tour for the American Embassy School, New Delhi, India.
1972 - 1973 Conducted two Yoga study tours to the Himalayas, India
1972 - 1976 Traveled with renowned teacher Swami Venkates in Canada, Europe, the USA and India.
1974 Received training and worked on Plant Response with Cleve Backster in New York and at the Findhorn Community in Scotland.
1975 Sponsored by the Prime Minister and government of Belize (British Honduras) to introduce Yoga to the country.
1975 President of the Yoga Association of Southern California. Board Member of the Iyengar Yoga Association.
1976 - 1983 Studied with J. Krishnamurti in Ojai, California.; Saanen, Switzerland; Brockwood Park, England; Rishi Valley, Bombay and Madras, India and California.

Appeared and served as Yoga Research Consultant in movies (including Billy Jack) and numerous CBS and NBC TV specials.

1977 Lectured and demonstrated in Japan during a tour hosted by the Japan Yoga Foundation.
1978 Created a new system of Yoga, Double Yoga, for partner practice.

Appeared in Aliens on Planet Earth, a movie on spiritual teachers hosted by Donovan.

1980 Double Yoga published by Viking-Penguin. The book is considered a classic on partner Yoga.

Personal Instructor to Paul Michael Glaser, Richard Perry, Leigh Taylor-Young and Jennifer Warnes.

Participated in teacher training in the USA and India with BKS Iyengar.

1983 Received second Yoga Acharya degree from Yoga Niketan, Himalayas, India.
Received Yogiraj title from Swami Venkatesananda. Trained in Homeopathy in Sivananda Homeo Clinic, Rishikesh, Himalayas.
Began intensive training in Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga with K. Pattabi Jois.
1983 - Pres. Founded/directed White Lotus Yoga Retreat in Santa Barbara, California with Tracey Rich.
1989 Produced Yoga-The Flow Series video with Tracey Rich, the first Yoga workout and vinyasa video setting a new standard for Yoga videos.
1990 Began research and exploration of Entheogens and Amazonian Shamanism.
1991 Featured delegate and speaker at the 1st International Yoga and Peace Conference in Moscow, Russia
1992 Delegate to the Earth Summit in Brazil, Wisdom Keeper's Conference Division
1993 Karma Yoga Award for service work including Rain Forest work.
1993 Created and produced the Total Yoga Video with Tracey Rich.
1995 Ganga's interview on Yoga with Sting, published in Yoga Journal helped launch the Yoga and Ashtanga boom internationally.
1996 Yoga Teacher of the Year
1996 - 2004 Total Yoga video, with Tracey Rich, sold over 1.4 million copies and was #1 best-selling Yoga Video 2 years running in the US and Internationally and 4th best selling exercise video. One of the best selling Yoga videos of all time.
2000 White Lotus Santa Barbara retreat featured on Oprah as one of top 3 "spiritual" retreats in USA.
2001 TOTAL YOGA: Earth, Water, Fire videos released by Warner. DVD release November 2004.
2003 Yoga Anywhere CD class released.
2003 White Lotus celebrates 35 years and celebrates 20 years at Santa Barbara retreat.
2003 Total Yoga, Earth, Water, Fire and Original released on DVD by Razor Digital Entertainment.
2004 Completing his treatise on Yoga soon to be published and released as books on tape.
2005 Meditation is Your Life CD with radical inquiry into Meditation, including non-traditional forms of meditation, released.
2005 Speaker at first Asia Pacific Yoga Conference
2007 Release of Yoga Beyond Belief--Insights to Awaken and Deepen Your Practice, 240 page text on all aspects of yoga and meditation.
2010 Interviewed in feature film 2012--Time for Change framing this time as opportunity for positive transformation to green.
2010 - 2014 White Lotus Foundation named one of top retreats in the world, a life adventure not to be missed, and life changing, by Taschen, Sunset, Gayot, Huffpost, and ELLE. 
2019 Yoga Beyond Belief, by Ganga White, continues to be a primary text in Yoga Teacher Trainings around world.  New eBook, MultiDimensional Yoga--Journeys of a Psychedelic Yogi in final stages of completion. Click here to sign up to be notified of it's release.