In this video, Dr. Deepak Chopra and Dr. Dean Ornish, two longtime friends and medical doctors—who are also spiritual practitioners/teachers—discuss the intersection of medicine, Yoga, meditation, love and spirituality. They also explain how meditation and lifestyle...
One Step at a Time
Hersha Chellaram (E-RYT 200, RPYT & RCYT) is an Integral Yoga teacher teacher/trainer and director of Integral Yoga Hong Kong. In this conversation with Avi Gordon (director of the Integral Yoga Teachers Association), Hersha talks about finding meaning in life,...
If the World is an Illusion, What Am I Doing Here?
We live in challenging times and don't need more confusion in our lives by misunderstanding spiritual precepts and teachings. While it is true that in the time of Sri Patanjali (whose systematization of Yoga provides Yoga with its classical text, The Yoga Sutras of...
What Really Happens in Meditation
In the real world, there are all kinds of things you hear about meditation if you listen to people who have busy, active lives as well a thriving meditation practice. When people grab a few minutes to meditate, the impulse toward action continues. There is an...
Transforming Our Own Hearts is a Tremendous Contribution
In this episode of the Integral Yoga Podcast, Swami Ramananda (director, Integral Yoga Institute of San Francisco) talks with Avi Gordon (director, Integral Yoga Teachers Association) about adapting to challenges, how compassion follows naturally from meditation, and...
Integrating Yoga into Your Life
In the morning and evening, take some time for your personal physical and mental Yoga practice. This should include a little pranayama, meditation and some asana. The entire thing need not take more than an hour, or an hour and a half. You can always find some time in...
Self-Reflection as a Spiritual Practice
As the daylight hours shorten in the northern hemisphere this time of year, it’s natural to spend more time indoors. Plant and animal life alike pause from growing and withdraw from activity. We too benefit from periods of rest and reflection as a preparation for the...
“Two Old Fogey Yogis ” Podcast: Hatha Yoga Masterclass—The Pranic Level of Asana
In addition to being a veteran meditator, Swami Asokananda is also a Hatha Yoga master. In episode 8 of the "Two Old Fogey Yogis" podcast, Rev. Prem coaxes out all his secrets on sustaining a lifelong practice, honing his skills as a hatha yogi and a teacher, and his...
Resting in the Authentic Self
In this interview, renowned Yoga teacher Rod Stryker explores the four motivating forces in life and how a steady spiritual practice can bring those to fruition in a way that helps us live happy, healthy and fulfilling lives. Stryker believes that the aim of practice...
Don’t Make the Same Mistake Your “Woke” Elders Once Made
I was as woke as a young white man could be, back when the terms closest to “woke” were “hip” and “cool” and pretty much anything else that wasn’t “straight,” which referred not to a sexual orientation but to people living an ordinary, conventional way of life. To me,...
Sacred Mantra Series: Newly Remastered
During the 1980s, Swami Satchidananda recorded a series of mantras, and then several more in the 1990s. These recordings became the "Sacred Mantra Series" CDs. Integral Yoga Media has now remastered this series for digital download. These are now available on the...
Voting as an Antidote to Despair
Sharon Salzberg, the popular meditation teacher and co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society, recently wrote an article for Tricycle magazine on voting, meditation, and how to counteract despair through changing the system. During these challenging times, Tricycle...
Yoga for Wellness
There is a beautiful biblical saying: “Seek the kingdom of God first and all the rest will be added unto you.” Whether you want it or not, it will come. Health, wealth, friends, money and fame will just come to you. They are the by-products of the most important...
Why We Need to Do a Silent Retreat (at Home) & Why We Need to Now
I had read about its benefits and thought it’d be a great opportunity to clear my mind and reconnect to myself. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to attend a silent meal; the concept was to meet with random people at someone’s house and have dinner without...
Yoga Understands the Brilliant Function of Pain
Yoga understands the brilliant function of pain. One difference between Yoga and Western medicine is the perspective on pain and suffering. In the hospital, pain is the adversary, and the treatments are there to “kill” it. They often prescribe “pain killers”...
The Monkey Mind
Some of the great Yoga Masters have compared the mind to a drunken monkey that has been bitten by a scorpion! You have such a mind, but when you allow the mind to do whatever it wants, you don’t really notice how mischievous it is. It is only when you try to keep it...