Sixteen years ago, I founded Yoga Gives Back (YGB). When anyone asks me, “What inspired you to found Yoga Gives Back,” I usually reply: “Hope for the future.” I founded YGB out of a Yoga classroom in Los Angeles where, as a beginning Yoga student, I was getting so...
Nalanie Chellaram Honored with Gibraltar “Mayor’s Award”
Nalanie Chellaram, Integral Yoga master teacher and Integral Yoga Centre head, was recently honored with the "Mayor's Award" in Gibraltar. The Mayor’s Awards scheme is given to members of the public, either individuals or groups, who had served Gibraltar in...
Yoga Gives Back Online Gala 2021: Nov. 13th
On Saturday, Nov. 13th, the Yoga Gives Back Annual Gala will take place. The schedule includes classes, inspiring talks and culminates in the "Namaste Award" presentation to Dr. Muhammad Yunus, father of microcredit, an economic movement that has helped lift millions...
AIDS Activist and Yoga Teacher Prema Pleva Celebrated for a “Lifetime of Service”
In the 1980s, when the gay community in New York City was under siege, suffering and dying from a vicious plague yet to be named HIV, Prema Pleva was an inspiring force for Integral Yoga in New York as she welcomed and served those suffering most. In 1985, she...
International Yoga Day: Yoga Gives Back
The United Nations proclaimed June 21 as International Yoga Day to recognize the global impact of this ancient practice. This is the perfect time to express our gratitude for the gift of Yoga that enriches our lives, especially during this time. More than 1400 women...
Karma Yoga Mom
Long-time Integral Yoga community member and Karma Yogi, Mary Klipp, shares her story of how she first began her Yoga journey. And, part of that journey has included a special Karma Yoga "secret mission" of cleaning up the environment. Mary's son Joshua made this...
Luckshmi Cannon: Helping Eliminate Hunger in the Algarve
REFOOD Almancil is an organization in the Algarve area of Portugal whose mission is to eliminate hunger, food waste and strengthen the bonds of the local community. Integral Yoga Teacher Trainer Luckshmi Cannon (SIS website developer & fundraiser), joined by a...
Service from the Heart!
Ulla Rapazote, director of Service in Satchidananda (SIS) Portugal was recently featured in the news! Swedish-born Ulla is a grandmother has lived and worked in Portugal for more than 50 years. She loves the country and for the past 10 years has been determined to...
Seva – Dedication and Devotion in Action
The saints and sages of many faiths are dynamic examples of how spiritual awakening is accompanied by a natural impulse to serve humanity. After experiencing the interconnection of all of life, many of these great beings were moved by a profound compassion to dedicate...
Yoga’s First Interfaith Ministry
The first thoughts of proposing some type of ministry for the Integral Yoga organization occurred in the winter of 1980. My mother had been a member of the Third Order of St. Francis when she was young. This order was established by St. Francis in response to a...
Spiritual Activism in a Violent World
In the wake of yet another gross example of racism and another senseless murder in the USA, many people are searching for some way to actively respond to a world that has given birth to so much violence and injustice. In Integral Yoga, we often speak about how we can...
Helping, Fixing, or Serving
Karma Yoga, the path of selfless service, is a main branch of the classical Integral Yoga system. Integral Yoga founder, Swami Satchidananda, considered the spirit of Karma Yoga as foundational to the practice of Yoga. In this article, Rachel Naomi Remen, MD, captures...
Integral Yoga Teacher Heads Initiative to Support Local San Francisco Charities
A San Francisco Yoga studio is now offering a donation-based class to support local Castro charities. All teachers are donating their time. "Karma Yoga, the path of selfless service, is one of the significant paths in Yoga that brings benefit to all," Marc (Mukunda)...
Service in Satchidananda: Buckingham, Virginia
Christmas 2018: For over 30 years, "Christmas in Buckingham" has brought holiday cheer to Yogaville's neighbors. And, now again this year, "Christmas in Buckingham" has been underway. What a joy those who are participating are! How sweetly they manifest Swami...
Service in Satchidananda: Sri Lanka
December 2018: Jayan Johnson and myself are in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka doing seva on behalf of Service in Satchidananda (SIS). We are buying food, washing machines, and beds and taking them to hospitals and homes that are still affected by the 2004 tsunami. We are so...
Families for Children: Falling in Love with Children in Need
Bhakti Foster-Purvine, an Integral Yoga teacher who lives in Portland, Oregon, was introduced to Families for Children (FFC) by Swami Divyananda 15 years ago. Located in Coimbatore, South India, FFC is a non-profit, non-sectarian organization that exists to fulfill...