Krishna Das tells us he sings kirtan to save his ass, and that if he happens to save anyone else’s in the process, it’s just a happy by-product of his own practice. Dear KD, it’s okay if it works for you to frame what you do that way, but I am pretty sure at this [...]
Guru Jagat officially swung open the barn doors to Ra Ma Institute for Applied Yogic Science and Technology on April 19. Did I say barn door? Yes indeed! The entrance into the yoga room is defined by a sliding antique barn door, hand-crafted and designed by Guru Jagat with repurposed wood. This independent Kundalini studio, [...]
In addition to being grown for medicinal purposes, or as a focus of devotion, Tulsi wood is used for malas, or prayer beads. In the Skanda Purana, Hari Bhakti Vilasa states, “just by touching Her [Tulsi], one becomes pure.” By both chanting the names of God while touching the mala beads, one enters a transcendental [...]
A Deeper Light By Deva Premal and Miten White Swan Records On Deva Premal and Miten's album, A Deeper Light, they are going in a new direction with down-tempo dub reggae bass lines that permeate many of the eight songs. Relaxed grooves result, holding space for the mantras Deva Premal's stunning voice offers. Miten's spacious [...]
Yoga As Your Box of Toys Come on kids! Let’s meditate on the outward appearance of the body (rupa) and give ourselves the power of invisibility. (Yoga Sutras 3.21) We can be like Invisible Woman and sneak around -- no one will see us! Let’s meditate on elephants (hasti) and become strong as the Hulk! [...]
Modeling Good Energy By Felicia Tomasko Masood Ali Khan (affectionately known as Moose) may be one of the hardest working musicians of the three-day weekend of the Tadasana Festival. It’s not only here when he is sharing his talent on the hang—a unique percussive/lyrical instrument from Switzerland; he often offers music and mantra with Yoga [...]
A Meditation with The Flame Mantra from the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra I hate winter. Always have. Let me count the ways: There is less daylight. You have to wear more clothes - more than just surf shorts and a T-shirt. Sunset happens while you are still inside at work. Other people love winter, and have [...]
‘Yoga is skill in action;’ this is one of my favorite definitions of Yoga, from the Bhagavad Gita,” says filmmaker and Yoga teacher Saraswati Clere. “Yoga constantly invites us to become our better selves.” “In this world we are challenged every day, and I find it is yoga that guides me in the skill [...]
Joseph Encinia Yoga On The Road To The Olympics... For some people, it’s puzzling: “Yoga is not a competitive sport,” they say. For others, the road to the Olympics is paved with determination and the desire to see the practice become a fully integrated part of one of the world’s largest [...]
Hanuman’s birthday is honored every April at the Vedanta Temple. For more information visit: vedanta.org. There are 1008 reasons why I love Hanuman… here are the Top 10: He can fly without wings…‘nuf said. He is the God of being devoted to God… it’s redundant and awesome. His delivery is [...]