An Adventure with Sam Weinstein
Sam Weinstein has been teaching yoga for over 37 great years. He attended his first class in the 60’s with a bunch of crazy hippies on a road trip to Wyoming where they did Kundalini yoga in fields along the way. As a child Sam did yoga sitting by his mom’s side as she watched the famous yoga show “Lilias Yoga and You”. This led Sam to his destiny to become a teacher of yoga.
The biggest influence on Sam’s life was his mother Louise. She taught him that no matter how horrendous life seems to be, the cup is always half full not half empty. His mother was a holocaust survivor who beyond all her hardships lived a life of unconditional love and acceptance. She was an eccentric woman and a well known medium who was keen to share her gifts with her children. Whilst this might have given Sam a certain flair, what is really important to him is the love and acceptance passed on from his mother.
Sam’s first mentor was the yoga master Pujari from California. Pujari started Sam on his path with yoga, meditation, therapy, spirituality, gurus, consciousness, and adventure. Sam started teaching yoga after completing Pujari’s teacher training in 1974. From 1975 to 1981 Sam studied yoga and meditation in India. Studying mostly with BKS Iyengar who shaped Sam’s way of teaching yoga with intelligence and precision. Sam loved doing teacher trainings and participated in many retreats around the world. Sam now leads his own retreats to the Australian bush and magical Bali.
Sam has a Masters Degree in sports science. He has also studied family counseling and guidance counseling. As a teenager Sam was an avid sportsman, he showed horses in state competitions, trained in top level US competition swimming and even had a go at spring board diving. During his life he has coached many sports from soccer to surfing.
In 1985 Sam suffered a serious accident that changed his life. A railway sleeper fell five meters from a truck onto his head, shoulder, leg and foot. Sam gained much as a result of his accident, on the good side an amazing near death experience and on the bad, the possible loss of his foot. Using yoga, healing and the support of his friends and wife Sydel, Sam rehabilitated his foot and injuries. It took several years for Sam to walk unaided and even now Sam is working with his injuries and the jolt it gave his metabolism. His journey has brought him great empathy and an understanding that the path to healing can be long and complex.
Sam has total faith in all his students, their goodness and their beauty. It is with this faith that he encourages each student to discover themselves.