During the days of the COVID-19, Rev. Dhyani Simonini has been writing remembrances of special interactions, over the years, with Swami Satchidananda. Here is a recent one: I’d like to share a little love tale of Swami Satchidananda—our Gurudev—and a special project...
Dear Yoga Studio, How are you? Are you cold? Are you lonely? Is your fear of abandonment kicking in? I’m writing to see how you, the place that so many of us call our second home, are doing in these strange times. So often, we frequent you as a refuge from our usual...
Soon after 9/11, a large Yoga conference was being held in the USA. The organizers asked Swami Satchidananda to send a message of comfort and inspiration to those attending the conference gathering. This was his message, which seems tremendously timely in current...
On February 21, 2020, the Yoga world lost one of its icons: Tao Porchon-Lynch who was 101 years old. Tao was beloved by young and old, and in addition to being the oldest living Yoga teacher (named as such by the Guinness World Book of Records) she was also an...
In his annual Christmas/New Year's letter, Benedictine monk and interfaith activist Br. David Steindl-Rast offers us a message of hope for 2020. Isn’t Hope the annual theme at this season, when we light candles in the darkness and hope for a happy new year? But this...
Rev. Kumari de Sachy, Ed.D., served as editor of Integral Yoga Magazine for over a decade, beginning in 1991. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the launch of Integral Yoga Magazine (December 1969), we asked her to talk about how she became the editor and for...
Rev. Prakasha Shakti Capen, who had a background in radio and broadcasting prior to her years serving as director of the Washington, DC and Boston Integral Yoga Institutes, served as editor of Integral Yoga Magazine from 1979 to 1991, when she was then transferred to...
The day I became truly rich was the day the millions of dollars I held on to so tightly were gone. Sounds crazy, right? Don’t get me wrong—if someone handed me a check for millions today, I would gladly take it. The difference is, today I would know what to do with...
In the northern hemisphere, autumn is a season known for harvesting all that one has grown and for giving thanks for the abundance of the earth. Celebrating the fruits of our labors with gratitude is a beautiful practice. But as spiritual aspirants, we want to take a...
This is something that I've been wanting to write about for years. But I’ve always been stuck on how to express myself in a way that does not convey superiority. I became a Yoga teacher right before Yoga became mainstream. It was on the cusp of its explosion, at least...
Haris Harini Lender (Integral Yoga teacher, Camp Yogaville former director, Kidding Around Yoga founder) recently embarked on a trek to Mount Everest Base Camp. She’s sharing a travelogue of sorts and here’s an excerpt from it. Tomorrow begins my 9-day trek to Mount...
In the summer of 1969, I lay in a field in Franconia, New Hampshire as I looked up at the soft clouds in the sky, with a deep awareness that I felt a separation between myself and the clouds. The feeling was very real and must have reflected my deep yearning for...
"...and we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden." —Joni Mitchell Talking About My Generation… 50 years. You get up every morning. What happens? A week goes by. A month goes by. A year goes by. You get up every morning for 18,274 days and 50 years have gone by....
Woodstock 50 may be over, but Elliott Landy—the only official Festival photographer permitted on the stage—has a treasure trove of memories from 1969 that he recently shared with the TODAY show. In this delightful stroll down memory lane, Landy shares some stories...
In the summer of 1969, I had just turned 24. My ex-husband, Chris (Yoga name, Mahesh) and I had been married for just over a year and we were living at Ananda Ashram in Monroe, NY. The guru in residence, at the time, was our yoga instructor, Swami Satchidananda. We...
In honor of #Woodstock50, this is the extended version of the short film "The Woodstock Guru," that aired earlier this year. On August 15, 1969, Swami Satchidananda was asked to give an opening address at the famed Woodstock Music Festival to set a tone of peace and...