"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...
Sri Swami Satchidananda often reminded us that the great surfers spend thousands of dollars to travel across the globe to find the big waves, and to experience the thrill of riding them into the shore. Emotionally, socially, economically and spiritually we are...
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...
When I was a young boy, I used to dream a lot about wild animals in the jungle. And very often, in these dreams, they used to chase me. I would run and run and get so tired and when I felt that I couldn’t run anymore and the tiger was very close to me, right in the...
In this Integral Yoga podcast, Avi Gordon (Integral Yoga Teachers Association director) speaks with Margabandhu Martarano, Integral Yoga's longest serving center (Integral Yoga Institute of New Jersey) director. In addition to teaching Yoga, Margabandhu is a Certified...
On April 1st, 2020, on a beautiful Colorado spring day, following a day of ice storm, I ran out onto our deck to chase away a pigeon at our newly planted vegetable garden. I slipped and fell back, my head hitting hard onto the deck. It was pretty clear that I had a...
People often ask me to explain Integral Yoga. I tell them that if you keep certain things in mind, whatever you do becomes a yogic action. Even your eating and sleeping can be a Yoga practice if you do them in a way that creates health and harmony. Chew your food...
In Reach Your Potential (a mini-book, part of the Peter Max Cover Art Series), Swami Satchidananda focuses on how we can reach our health, wellness, and happiness potential, as well as how to cultivate self-mastery. Through the Yoga practices, he shows how we can...
To cultivate equanimity you have to have a strong mind and that means a strong will. In order to develop the will, that one-pointed mind, you practice concentration and meditation. Concentration strengthens the mind because anything that is fully concentrated is more...
In this recent episode, Avi Gordon (Integral Yoga Teachers Association director) and Maziz Jamal Mahgoub (founder of holisticunderground.org) discuss various aspects of social justice and how we all have the potential to be happy and compassionate people, and we also...
We all want to become healthy, both mentally and physically, but somehow there are a lot of toxins in our bodies and minds. The more we clean the mind, the more we bring out the true light within. I can compare what happens in the oil industry to what happens within...
In The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book II: sutra 46, Sri 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, but with steel’s flexibility.”...
This inspiring video is offered on Guru Poornima, a yearly observance that traditionally honors one's Guru, or spiritual preceptor. Many decades ago, Swami Satchidananda (the world-renowned and beloved Yoga master, founder of Integral Yoga Global, and interfaith...
I was born in 1977 and I think it is fair to say that Yoga has been part of my life since I was a baby. But I would never have expected Yoga to become such a prevalent part of my life. For this, I am grateful to my parents and my father’s wonderful Guru, Swami...
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...
In the more than fifty years since Swami Satchidananda brought peace into the chaos of 450,000 young people at a massive rock concert, his Integral Yoga teachings continue to be shared around the world. Heart surgeons, construction workers, people with HIV/AIDS,...