The following reflections are excerpted from the new book Sacred Resistance: Eco-Activism and the Rise of New Spiritual Communities, edited by Mark Clatterbuck. Five different spiritual communities are observed, exploring how, spirituality—individual and communal,...
Karma Yoga transforms karma into Yoga. Karma Yoga never binds you to good or bad results, whereas karma ensures that you must experience the consequences of your actions, whether pleasant or painful. If your actions are good, then you face that in the form of...
We all probably struggle sometimes to make wise choices when deciding between taking care of others and taking care of ourselves. Many of us were raised with a strong work ethic that is reinforced by the “gotta get ahead” mentality of American culture, the value...
Sixteen years ago, I founded Yoga Gives Back (YGB). When anyone asks me, “What inspired you to found Yoga Gives Back,” I usually reply: “Hope for the future.” I founded YGB out of a Yoga classroom in Los Angeles where, as a beginning Yoga student, I was getting so...
The first thing I love about Yoga is that it’s something you can do when everything else out there is falling apart. I know this has brought many people to Yoga. It’s a way to assert your own power and control over your life, even when you seem powerless to change...
As someone who enjoys crafting, the advertisement for the “Original Magic Mat” (a die-cutting crafting aid), suddenly took on an entirely new meaning after experiencing Yoga teacher training. I’ve seen this ad before, but I’ve never thought about anything more than...
As we celebrate Black History Month in the U.S., and reflect on the actual meaning of Valentine’s Day, let us be inspired to answer the call to serve those in need. Saint Valentine’s life is just one enduring example of selfless service. Roses and chocolates aside,...
It is time. It is past time. We are witnessing a myriad of overlapping world crises manifesting in destructive ways. We all, every one of us, need to take some form of action now. Our world is calling us to shift in a way we have never had to in our history. Change...
Long-time Integral Yoga community member and Karma Yogi, Mary Klipp, shares her story of how she first began her Yoga journey. And, part of that journey has included a special Karma Yoga "secret mission" of cleaning up the environment. Mary's son Joshua made this...
With his unique humor and enormous depth of wisdom, Swami Asokananda is a master in presenting the great teachings of Yoga in ways that are deeply relevant to key issues in modern life. In this article, he shares the benefit of his experience from his personal journey...
The saints and sages of many faiths are dynamic examples of how spiritual awakening is accompanied by a natural impulse to serve humanity. After experiencing the interconnection of all of life, many of these great beings were moved by a profound compassion to dedicate...
Whatever is due to you will come and nobody can stop that or cheat you. If ever anybody does seem to cheat you, know that it is an aftereffect of what you have done to someone at some time in the past. You must have cheated somebody earlier, so now another person is...
In October 2020, Swami Karunananda gave the following talk—during the San Francisco Integral Yoga Institute’s 50th anniversary celebration—on the future of the Integral Yoga teachings and organization. A reporter once asked me to describe Swami Satchidananda’s legacy,...
Is it possible to live without war? We can’t really live without fighting. What do you do when you eat? Are you not at war with your food? You chew everything and then when it goes down in your digestive system and gets churned up and digested there is another kind of...
In order to be attuned to the Cosmic Consciousness, you have to be tuned in. If you haven’t tuned yourself in, then nothing will come. And if you tune to a wrong station, horrible things will come. But when you are tuned well, when you are at ease, everything comes to...
Karma Yoga, the path of selfless service, is a main branch of the classical Integral Yoga system. Integral Yoga founder, Swami Satchidananda, considered the spirit of Karma Yoga as foundational to the practice of Yoga. In this article, Rachel Naomi Remen, MD, captures...