The real goal of Yoga is to understand oneself by making the mind clean and calm. Yoga is not just a set of physical postures, meditation, and breathing techniques. Yoga helps us to develop mental purity and serenity, which are both necessary to understand oneself....
The Bhagavad Gita in Daily Life: Introduction
In this series of short articles, Swami Asokananda shares his insights from years of study of and contemplation on the great Indian scripture the Bhagavad Gita. I would like to start with a little background. The Bhagavad Gita is 700 verses of the longest poem ever...
Yoga for Mental Health
In recognition of "Mental Health Awareness Month" (observed each May in the USA), Nalanie Chellaram's (director of the Integral Yoga Institute Gibraltar and Sotogrande, Spain) gave a talk on how Yoga can help with mental health issues. In this video, Nalanie also...
Fruit Ripens When Ready
Sometimes one person is ready and the other is not. If you want to give to another, but do not yet feel ready, then don’t worry about it. If you are not ready, don’t give. Even a tree doesn’t want to give all the fruits until they are ripe. When the fruits are ready,...
How Meditation Can Help in Times of Loss and Heartbreak
In grief and loss, the mind is powerfully affected. The way we think is changed. The content of our thoughts is altered. Particularly in early and traumatic grief, we forget things, we lose things, we are distracted and inattentive. Alternatively, we can be utterly...
The Colorful World of Peter Max
In this short video from 2015, CBS This Morning interviewed pop artist icon Peter Max. This past week, Peter Max Studio sent out a promo for his beautiful artwork and they highlighted Max's relationship with Swami Satchidananda (Max's Guru) and the influence on his...
Revelation and Awakening
In this video, Deepak Chopra, MD talks with Yoga scholar/practitioner Christopher Hareesh Wallis about the 1,000 year-old tradition of Nondual Saiva Tantra. Dr. Wallis is asked to explain the essence of mantra and yantra, considered "pre-modern technologies," which...
Three Important Things in Life
It is not what you do that is so important. What is more important, is why you are doing anything. We must ask ourselves, What is there to gain by doing something? Remember, you are God’s image. So, you must have all the qualities of God, such as purity, love, and...
A Yoga Doctor Looks Back
Several years ago, Sandra Amrita McLanahan, MD (founder of Integral Health Services and pioneer of Yoga therapy) was asked the question: “What did you learn from Swami Satchidananda?” Her reply became this article… It’s very difficult to summarize almost 50 years of...
Yoga Teachers are Essential Workers
Yoga teachers and therapists offer vital service to those effected by post-COVID syndrome. Our unique skill set in breath work is an effective and safe complement to western medicine that will improve both physical functioning and well-being
Recognizing Oneness
To maintain our peace of mind we must raise ourselves above the duality to experience the nonduality. But what does that mean? It doesn’t mean we need to leave our homes and go somewhere else. And we don’t need to just sit and be quiet doing nothing. If that were the...
The World Isn’t Good or Bad
We seem to have been running around a lot, doing all kinds of things, just to find a little happiness. When everything failed we looked elsewhere and thought, Maybe I can have a little peace if I move to such and such place. Unfortunately, wherever we go, we carry our...
Yoga for Personal and Social Resilience
Yoga became my way of coping and eventually I realized I could serve the world by sharing tools for peace of mind better than I could by stridently objecting to the military-industrial complex. In the process of becoming a whole, happy person, I gradually became a...
Accessible Yoga Community Celebration: May 20
Join Accessible Yoga on May 20th from 4 – 6pm (Pacific) for this online program that will celebrate the community and also raise money. Accessible Yoga (founded by Rev. Jivana Heyman, an Integral Yoga Minister and Teacher Trainer) is fundraising for three projects:...
The Living Gita Now on Audible
Integral Yoga Publications is pleased to announce the release of The Living Gita by Swami Satchidananda on Audible (read by Sri Piyush Agarwal). Listening to the Gita come alive is a whole new experience! The Bhagavad Gita tells the story of how Arjuna, the great...
Honoring the Divine Feminine
At a recent Earth Day event that was held at the Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco, we honored Mother Earth with prayers, expressions of gratitude, and a puja, as we committed ourselves to restoring the earth. Many countries celebrate Mother’s Day in the month...