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Further Resources: By Disease A to L
Here is a list of books to read, free online videos, podcasts, CDs and websites to help you find Yoga-based complementary health resources by disease or syndrome. We hope to add to this list and please let us know what other resources you may know.DIRECTORIES OF...
Yogic Meal Prayer
In almost every culture there are different ways to say prayers before consuming food. Most of these prayers offer an opportunity to express the gratitude we feel to have the food we are about to eat. They sometimes give us pause to also reflect upon those who are...
The Calm Classroom
Integral Yoga teacher Jai Luster developed a program that integrates concentration and breathing techniques for calmer more productive schools and classrooms. In this interview he discusses his innovative approach to changing the entire school culture. In this...
Teaching an Integral Yoga Class
When Sri Swami Satchidananda designed the Integral Yoga Hatha class, he formulated a clear methodology for his system. The Integral Yoga Hatha method was designed to draw the practitioner into a physical and mental stillness that leads to an experience of one’s true...
Who Am I? A Guided Meditation
Sri Swami Satchidananda recorded a self-inquiry process that he recommended as a meditation technique. Here is the process he gave: One wonderful meditation technique is self-analysis. It’s a process that leads you to identify with the inner Self, the Knower, rather...
Try a Karma Yoga Week
I often suggest this practice: try for just one week to be completely selfless. Do every action as a service. "For the whole week, let me be selfless. Let me always give, give, give and love, love, love." If you really don't get any benefit, if you don't enjoy that...
What Does “OM” Really Mean?
To truly comprehend the depth and profundity of “OM,” we have to go back to the ancient Indic texts known as the Vedic literature, to the seed-mantra, Omkara. But before this, it might be worthwhile to know that OM is not a sectarian sound, nor is it peculiar to Hindu...
Cultivating Japa as a Relationship
In this interview, Prentiss Alter explains that japa (chanting or silent repetition of a mantra) essentially is a relationship. He explains four components of alignment that help guide the practitioner into relationship, communication and connection. That’s why, even...
The Yoga of Kirtan
Steven J. Rosen’s book, The Yoga of Kirtan, offers interviews with 21 musicians—including Krishna Das, Jai Uttal, Deva Premal, Snatam Kaur, David Newman, Ragani—leading the kirtan revolution. The book focuses not only on kirtan but on the lives of those being...
Integral Yoga Hatha Class For Children (ages 4-12)
Integral Yoga Standard Class: The poses in this section form the basis of the Integral Yoga Hatha practice. They are recommended for daily practice as they offer the maximum health benefits in the minimum amount of poses. Having a basic sequence to follow gives a firm...
Service in Satchidananda: Lifelights Network
Lifelights is part of the Service in Satchidananda (SIS) network of people around the world who have felt their lives enriched, inspired, and changed for the better by the teachings and service of one of the greatest peacemakers and humanitarians in the world, Sri...
Cosmic vs. Cosmetic Beauty
What makes the mind dirty? All the dirty thoughts. Because the mind is nothing but a bunch of thoughts. When the thoughts are clean, the mind is clean. When the thoughts are ugly with jealousy, hatred, or vengeance, the mind becomes that. And a dirty mind makes a...
Yoga Nidra Resources: Books, CDs, Websites
1. Yoga Nidra by Swami Satyananda Saraswati remains today the classic book on the subject. Written by this disciple of Sri Swami Sivananda and brother monk of Sri Swami Satchidananda, the text explains the theory of Yoga Nidra in both yogic and scientific terms and...
Integrative Restoration: The iRest® Program
Among the most successful (using scientifically verified studies) therapeutic applications of Yoga Nidra is Dr. Richard Miller's Integrative Restoration Yoga Nidra or iRest ®. This program is fast becoming a major healing tool, having been used by Walter Reade Army...
The Art of Relaxation
Life has become very complex these days. The struggle for existence is very acute and keen. A great deal of constant mental and physical strain is imposed on humanity by its daily work and unhealthy mode of life. Action produces movements and these in turn cause...
Pranayama Resources: Books and CDs
There are some classic books on the practice of pranayama, the theory and philosophy of the subtle, vital pranic force and Swami Satchidananda’s “Breath of Life” CD that includes a guided pranic healing visualization. 1. Breath of Life CD: Integral Yoga Pranayama...
Swami Sivananda’s “Science of Pranayama”
Written in 1935, Sri Swami Sivananda’s book, classic book, The Science of Pranayama, is available for free download as a PDF and it is also available in hard copy from Integral Yoga Distribution or from the Divine Life Society of Rishikesh who generously has made the...
Resources: Dictionaries/Pronunciation Guides
There are many good online resources for looking up Sanskrit words, finding books on the subject and finding help with pronunciation. We’ve listed some of the best and classic resources on the language. Dictionaries/Pronunciation Guides 1. The Monier-Williams Online...
Resources: Classes & Camps for Children
There are many good DVDs, online videos and Yoga studios either specializing in Yoga for children, or who include classes for children. Some offer weekend workshops for kids and also summer camps. We’ve highlighted some of the best programs in the USA, including...
Yoga for Children Resources: Books
There are dozens of books available on teaching Yoga and meditation to children of various ages. There are also inspiring children’s books that convey the message of Yoga. We’ve selected some of the ones we’ve carried for years at Integral Yoga Distribution that have...
Sadhana: Means to Spiritual Perfection
When we want to achieve any goal, we must have a means or method for reaching that goal. This necessity of a “means” is true in the material as well as in the spiritual world. To reach anywhere, there must be a way of getting there. Means in itself, however, does not...
The Power of Meditation
There is a pretty Indian fable to the effect that if it rains when the star Svati is in the ascendant, and a drop of rain falls into an oyster, that drop becomes a pearl. The oysters know this, so they come to the surface when that star shines, and wait to catch the...
Yoga at Work ™
In this interview, we talk with Chandra Jo Sgammato, the general manager of the Integral Yoga Institute of New York, which oversees the Yoga at Work™ program bringing Yoga into corporate settings. See more details at the end of this article on how you can have a Yoga...
Yoga Mom, Buddha Baby
According to Jyothi Larson, “Practicing Yoga with your baby is a wonderful way to add joy to your first year together.” This popular Yoga teacher talks about the specially adapted Yoga poses she has taught hundreds of moms and their “Buddha babies”—her term for the...
Yoga and Pregnancy
The happiest moment in a woman's life comes when she gives birth to a child. It is said that a woman becomes complete when she attains motherhood. But to attain motherhood, she has to go though pregnancy which is perhaps the most difficult journey in a woman's life....