In this interview by Dhāraṇī Diana Díaz, Integral Yoga teacher and sound healer Devātman Daniel Givens shares an overview of his Yoga journey and passions. Your journey is an interesting path. When and how did you discover Yoga? What brought you to Integral Yoga? I...
Swami Vivekananda: The Power & the Glory of Vedanta
On January 13th, the Vedanta Society celebrated the birth anniversary of the great sage Swami Vivekananda. In this video, Swami Sarvapriyananda, spiritual director of the New York branch, pays homage to Swami Vivekananda for his contributions to Indian society and the...
The Spiritual Wisdom of George Harrison
For many, George Harrison was just one of the Beatles and a musician, but there was so much more. This short video captures some of the spiritual wisdom that inspired his inner life and his spiritual journey. He explains how being anchored in the Yoga teachings and...
My Journey “In the World, But Not of the World”
From 2008 to 2009 I lived at Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville, in Buckingham County, Virginia. I returned to “the world” in 2009 to take a job in the West Indies, where I spent four clumsy years stumbling all over myself in an effort to integrate the experience and...
Vegetarian Crocodile Offered Last Rites at Hindu Temple
Indian Express: In a rare gesture, a Kerala temple accorded “bhu samadhi” to a crocodile, named Babiya, that died in the shrine’s pond on Sunday night and a post-mortem cited the death due to old age. Since the crocodile has been part of the lore of Sree...
The Origin Story of Integral Yoga Japan (Hiroshima)
I’d like to share with you the story of how I decided to start Integral Yoga Japan in Hiroshima. There was a lady in Japan who was undergoing a lot of physical and mental challenges. She wrote to Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville to ask for help and guidance. Swami...
Remembering Uma Devi Pemmaraju
Uma Devi Pemmaraju passed away in early August 2022 at the age of 64. She was the daughter of the late Dr. P. N. Rao and his wife, Rani, mother of Kirana Petkun. The entire family, including Uma's siblings, Dr. Rama Pemmaraju and Dr. Shankar Pemmaraju, were longtime...
Celebrating the 135th Birth Anniversary of H. H. Sri Swami Sivananda
In honor of the 135th Jayanthi (birth anniversary) of H.H. Sri Swami Sivanandaji (the Guru of Sri Swami Satchidananda), we hope you will enjoy this wonderful video, “You are the Master of Your Destiny.” It features the actual voice of Sri Swami Sivanandaji, as well as...
Integral Yoga Distribution Announces Closing August 2022
Integral Yoga Distribution announced its closing after 37 years in its Yogaville location. It closed on August 2, 2022. It first opened in the original brick house (now Lotus Conference Center) on the property. Then, it moved to the Yogaville Office Building for some...
CNN Presents: Dr. Dean Ornish–”How a Swami Changed My Life”
Dean Ornish, MD was invited to give a talk at the "Life Itself" conference in June 2022. The conference was organized by CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Dr. Deepak Chopra. To introduce his talk, Dr. Ornish said he was going to talk less about his lifestyle medicine...
Tender Recollections of My Guru
Sri Gurudev Swami Satchidananda came to the West in 1966. His presence was magnetic. He attracted people from all walks of life, from diverse backgrounds and faiths, with different temperaments, interests and capacities. The unifying factor amidst all the diversity...
Swami Lalitananda Gives TEDx Talk in India
Swami Lalitananda, senior monastic disciple of Swami Satchidananda, who holds a Master's Degree in Special Education, was invited to give a TEDx talk recently (June 2022). Swami Lalitananda re-established the Integral Yoga Institute of Coimbatore in 1989 and helped...
Pianist Serenades Rescued Elephants
Paul Barton is a pianist from Yorkshire, England who traded the dales and concert halls for the jungles of Thailand, where he performs for elephants rescued from captivity, some blind and handicapped, at a sanctuary in Thailand. This story and short video is so...
A Tribute to Sylta Divyajyoti Kalmbach (1936 – 2022)
It was in 1991 that Yoga teacher Sylta Divyajyoti Kalmbach invited Swami Satchidananda to southern Portugal in 1991 to conduct an Integral Yoga retreat at her center, Quinta de Calma. This was the beginning of what would become a beautiful relationship between...
Sandee N. Harilela Premchand: In Memoriam
Sandee N. Harilela Premchand (1948-2022), the managing editor of BR International magazine and a lifelong beloved devotee of Sri Gurudev Swami Satchidananda, passed away after a valiant battle with cancer. Sri Gurudev is the Guru of the Harilela family and he...
Pine Bows: How a Blizzard Taught Me to Let Go
The path was obscured with pine trees that bowed under heavy snow and ice. We could push forward and risk damaging them, or we could turn back. For the past two days a blizzard had clenched Three Dog Farm in an icy fist. My dog, Ranger, and I had headed out to take...