Interpersonal relationships can be challenging to navigate especially when trying to live our Yoga. Yoga’s first foundational limb is yama, which has five practices–the first being ahimsa or non-violence. In Episode 15 of the "Two Old Fogey Yogis" podcast, our two...
Ahimsa as a Way of Life
Ahimsa is one of the most fundamental principles from the original scriptures of Yoga and serves as a foundation for the practice of Yoga, on and off the mat. This practice is especially important now since our world desperately needs a grassroots movement to end...
The Highest Love, The Highest Realization
What is love? Unfortunately, the word “love” is very much misused. When we see our own Self in others and wish that they would experience the very same happiness, the same joy that we have toward ourselves, then you are experiencing true love. This kind of love is not...
The Heart of the Gita
In Episode 14 of the "Two Old Fogey Yogis" podcast, our two yogis discuss the study of foundational texts in the Yoga tradition and how to work with these in a way that engages them as “literary incarnations” filled with living wisdom. They also explore what the...
“Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff”
Continuing their discussion in Episode 12 of the “Two Old Fogey Yogis” podcast, this week, in Ep 13, our two yogis go deeper into the 5 kleshas (obstacles) focusing on raga (desire) and abhinivesha (fear of death). Hear what they conclude about these specific kleshas...
Exploring Inner and Outer Space
During the Apollo 13 space mission to the moon, I was asked what I thought about going to the moon and the significance of such a mission. My immediate response was: I would like to go if they would take me! These explorations signify the restlessness and curiosity of...
Seva – Dedication and Devotion in Action
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...
Is There An Enlightenment Drug?
Timothy Leary was more or less the originator of the psychedelic drug movement. When he met me in the late 1960s, he asked if I’d like to try some LSD. So I asked him, “Since you think that your LSD can create yogis, why don’t you create some other drugs that can...
The Little Altar in an Elevator
It’s been a whirlwind of losses in the past year: from the several million deaths due to the pandemic and to the many luminaries who have left the earth, including most recently sports legends Hank Aaron and Kobe Bryant; actors Chadwick Boseman, Cloris Leachman; and...
Larry King and Swami Satchidananda: An Unlikely Friendship
Our world lost a broadcasting icon and legend on January 23, 2021: Larry King. He was called "the most remarkable talk-show host on TV ever" by TV Guide and "master of the mike" by Time magazine. But, why would this magazine, focused on Yoga and wellness make mention...
Obstacles ARE the Path
In Episode 12 of the "Two Old Fogey Yogis" podcast, our two yogis discuss the 5 kleshas (obstacles presented in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali). In a deep and encouraging way, they share how we can work with these and other challenges more skillfully, that transforming...
How Responsible Are You for Your Actions?
Those who are realized beings, who have become enlightened, always must act responsibly. But, their only responsibility is to allow things to happen to them because they realize they are instruments of the Divine. As such, they are no longer creating any new karma....
Shining a Light in the Darkness
The recent political drama, on top of the continued devastation wreaked by the COVID virus, has many of us holding our breath in a state of hypervigilance or steeling ourselves against the next assault on our values. While it is important to be aware of the events...
Self-Realization: The Expansion or Contraction of the Ego
The ego should either become nothing or everything. When it comes to the ego, I don’t believe in the proverb that says that something is better than nothing. You should either become nothing or become everything, but not something. Nothing is better than something. We...
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...
Ornish Diet Ranked #1
U.S. News & World Report recently ranked 39 diets based on input from a panel of health experts and declared The Ornish Diet #1 in healthy heart diets and #9 for best diet overall! The Ornish Diet was created in 1977 by Dr. Dean Ornish who noted: "Swami...