"The enlightened person does whatever is appropriate," explains Dr. Amrita, in the latest Integral Yoga Podcast. Avi Gordon (Integral Yoga Teachers Association director) discusses enlightened action and a number of wellness topics with Dr. Amrita— founder of America's...
Spiritual Introspection
Mother Nature, in the role of a stern mother, has sent us to our rooms! The government may call it “shelter in place,” but from another angle you can see that we are being asked to quit running around and do some serious thinking: How are we treating Mother Earth? How...
Yoga Studios Will Disappear—For Some Time
I’ve drafted this email to my Yoga studio members: “When we return to our space, please leave your shoes at the front door, bring your own mat, wear a mask, wash your hands before and after class, and place your mat six feet away from others.” I’ve read and reread...
Sending Prayers
As some of us were discussing the strange feel of this life with social distancing, we expressed both a sense of gratitude for being safe and healthy, and a deep pang of sorrow for those many souls who are suffering. Those in my immediate circle of friends are...
Clergy-on-Call During Coronavirus
News Release: April 2020 Now is a time when many people, heeding the call to stay at home, may want the solace of being able to reach out to Integral Yoga swamis and ministers to talk on the phone and through email. Clergy-on-Call is a service recently established to...
How to Find Peace and Joy in a Chaotic World
How do we find peace and joy in the middle of a chaotic world? In the midst of the chaos, find the balance, and then you find the peace. When are you peaceful? When there is nothing to disturb your peace? That is not the true test of real inner peace. When there is...
A Love Letter to Yoga Studios
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...
A “Karuna” Virus Teaching and Prayer from Dzogchen Rinpoche
Andrew Holecek (author, Buddhist scholar and teacher), recently shared the following message with students in his online course, "Bardos in Everyday Life." Hi friends, I received this teaching and prayer from Dzogchen Rinpoche to contemplate. A Tibetan dharma friend...
The Power of Yoga in Challenging Times
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...
Finding Our Steadiness
It seems that life has taken us all to a surreal place. Initially, when changes happen in our lives, it takes a little time to adjust. Some become fearful, stressed and panicked, others want to help as much as they can. Time and understanding will help us adjust. In...
Dr. Pranayama to the Rescue!
Over many years, Swami Satchidananda made recommendations for keeping our bodies strong, our minds calm, and our hearts open, which all apply especially in this age of the Coronavirus or what I like to call: the “Karuna”-virus. Karuna is the Sanskrit for “compassion.”...
The Interconnectedness of Life: Yogic Perspective on a Virus Gone Global
Right now, all of us are whirling through space on this tiny ball we call Earth. It is our common home. With each spin, we mark a day. With each revolution around the sun, we all add a year to our lives. On this fragile ball—a mere speck in the inconceivable vastness...
Fear Kills Us More
When your body is sick it needs the help of a strong mind to repair it. Your fear worsens the situation; fear makes the body weaker. Fear is not in the body. Fear is in your mind. When you don’t accept what is happening in the body, and when you identify yourself as...