These words stenciled on the back steps of the Curative Yoga studio in Pasadena: Increase energy, Improve concentration and Inner Peace foretell a likely future for yogis who enter this vortex of involution. Inside, the Vastu (Vedic feng shui) is working overtime in 4,000 square feet of devotion, conspicuously optimized for bliss. There is nothing [...]
Self-Realization Fellowship Mother Center in Mount Washington. Courtesy of Self-Realization Fellowship, Los Angeles. An updated version of ancient Kriya Yoga teachings for the modern era The well-maintained grounds and panoramic view of the iconic downtown Los Angeles cityscape, like the “Mother Center” itself (as the place is known to devotees), photographs like a [...]
Heart of Palm Vegan "Crab Cake" at Crustacean in Beverly Hills The Heart of the Vegan Menu at Crustacean Beverly Hills If you’ve already discovered all the best seafood restaurants in Beverly Hills you’ve definitely eaten at Crustacean. It is the cornerstone of Asian fusion at the intersection of North Bedford Drive and [...]
Paramhansa Yogananda meditates with students in The Answer The Answer Follows Student Swami Kriyananda with Teacher Paramhansa Yogananda. The search for truth. The quest for answers. A journey of spirit. An exploration of the student-teacher relationship. These are some of the themes explored in the biopic feature film The Answer. Based on the [...]
ROOTS, ROCK, RAMA! Love is the strongest medicine -Neem Karoli Baba “I’m here to sing kirtan, to lead kirtan, to share kirtan, sing the names of God, play music,” says Jai Uttal. He’s talking as he loads his gear into the First Unitarian Church in Portland, Oregon, for sound check. His performance will be the [...]
“You cannot attract true friends without removing from your own character the stains of selfishness and other unlovely qualities. The greatest art of making friends is to behave divinely yourself—to be spiritual, to be pure, to be unselfish. The more your human shortcomings drop away and divine qualities come into your life, the more friends [...]
MC YOGI photo by Estevan Oriol A Practice with MC YOGI A sleepy English bulldog naps in a pool of afternoon sunlight on the cool polished concrete floor of Wren & Wild, a sort of holistic hub that houses a highly curated resale shop, a healthy beauty products store and a big yoga [...]
“I became a part of that magic. I have understood what that’s really about,” Bansuri flutist and Bhakti music circuit darling, Manose Singh, confides while sitting in the green room at Portland, Oregon’s iconic Revolution Hall. He’s been touring with Deva Premal and Miten for the better part of their perpetual, two decade, global [...]
If His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada tried to enter the US from India today, chances are the spiritual master would be detained. But in 1964, the septuagenarian Vaishnava Swami was welcomed to the West with open arms and proceeded to detonate a transcendental love bomb on Manhattan’s Lower East Side that transformed [...]
Jon offering sound healing at The Beloved Festival "The gong is the first and last instrument for the human mind. It is the basic creative sound. To the mind, the sound of the gong is like a mother and father that gave it birth. The mind has no power to resist a gong [...]