An Interview with Rev. M. Mala Cunningham, Ph.D., by Laura Sevika Douglass, Ph.D. In this interview, Dr. Cunningham discusses the growing field of Medical Yoga and the new, groundbreaking course she’s developed for the University of Virginia: “Foundations of Medical...

By Karuna Karen Kreps, RYT 500 The curtain had not yet opened in New York City’s Carnegie Hall for the sold-out lecture on Yoga by Swami Satchidananda, when I and three other young Yoga teachers stepped out from behind the velvet drapes onto the lip of the iconic...

By Amy Weintraub, M.F.A., E-RYT 500 My Journey I took my last antidepressant in 1989. Through the 1980s, I wore depression like a suit of armor, but you can’t exercise in a suit of armor, much less practice Yoga. I had meditated since receiving a mantra in 1970 and...

By Sri Swami Satchidananda Very often we see people living in fear: “Will I get it or not? If I get it, how can I hold on to it? That is not a natural way of living. Why? Because you’re attached to the result, to the reward. That brings all the problems. If you get...

By Kali Morse and Rashmi Galliano In The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book II: sutra 46, Patanjali describes asana as having two components: sthira—steady, sukham—comfortable. Swami Satchidananda’s commentary on this sutra tells us that “We need the strength of steel,...

By Shakti Bell I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) over seventeen years ago. I was fortunate to discover Hatha Yoga soon after—when my body demanded attention and was no longer something I could take for granted. I started to learn the virtues of taking...

By Swami Vidyananda   Pain gets a bad rap in our culture. Actually, pain has many positive functions, one of which is to say, “Stop here. Don’t go beyond this point. This is the point where you are going to hurt yourself.” Pain also tells us that we have an...

Question: What was the North American view of Yoga when you first arrived here? Sri Gurudev: I still remember the American hippie youth smoking cigarettes as they sat in chairs with their feet up on the table, sticking their feet in my face. After inhaling on a...