American Meditation Institute for Yoga Science and Philosophy

The American Meditation Institute was established in the mid-1990s by Leonard and Jenness Cortez Perlmutter, both students of the late Swami Rama (1925-1996), founder of the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy, known for his demonstration of extraordinary skills while being tested by Western scientists. The Perlmutters began their study of yoga and meditation in 1975. Leonard Perlmutter is a graduate of American University and George Washington University School of Law. Following completion of his schooling, from 1971-1975 he published and edited the Washington Park Spirit, a newspaper in Albany, New York. In 1976 he became the president of Classic Gallery. Jenness Cortez Perlmutter is a landscape artist who studied at the Herron School of Art and the Art Students League.

The American Meditation Institute offers a broad range of courses in meditation and yoga and has a correspondence course in meditation. Groups of the Permutter's students gather in various locations around the Northeast and Midwest. The material they learned as students of Swami Rama forms the backbone of the institute's teachings, though material from other Eastern teachers, especially Eknath Easwaran (d. 1999) of the Blue Mountain Center for Meditation, has been integrated into the curriculum. Cordial relationships have also been established with the Kripalu Yoga Center in Albany.

The American Meditation Institute for Yoga Science and Philosophy is located at 60 Garner Rd., P.O. Box 430, Averill Park, NY 12018. It has an Internet site at http://www.americanmeditation.org/. It publishes a newsletter, Transformation.

Sources:

American Meditation Institute. http://www.americanmeditation.org/. April 23, 2000.

Transformation. Averille, N.Y., n.d.