Twenty Years of Sangha “Don’t underestimate the importance of a group like this,” Dr. Alan Feren pulled me aside and gazed at me pointedly. “It’s the one place you absolutely feel safe.” Dr Feren is one member of a group who gathers every Monday night in the kitchen and conference room of the [...]
Louie Cornejo, Misa Kelly and Kerstin Stuart At Diavolo Theater, April 5, 2008 The seven dance performances showcased by 3 Cities: 3 Choreographers shared an allusive, perplexing beauty. Though diverse in background and training, choreographers Misa Kelly, Kerstin Stuart and Louie Cornejo seem equally interested in poising dance at the intersection of the [...]
Someone’s in the Kitchen With Ahimsa In yoga class I caught myself beating myself up about beating myself up. I took it as a sign to start focusing on ahimsa (nonviolence). In classical yoga, ahimsa is generally given as the first yama (ethical precept), and defined as the non-harming of others by thought, [...]
At the International Yoga Festival, the sun had yet to rise over Rishikesh, as more than 300 yogis from around the world unrolled their mats along the banks of the Ganges River. Ma Ganga whispered an eternal ohm as she rushed over the rocks, reminding us that she flows from the feet of Shiva and [...]
Namaste And Other Traditions With A Future Rishikesh, Northern India. The stories Paramahansa Yogananda tells about running around in these hills in his youth are filled with miracles of higher consciousness: levitating swamis, meditators who could subdue man-eating tigers through the power of the mind, saints who appear and disappear at will and mystics with [...]
Gentle Jewish Yoga Five years ago, Avivah Winocur Erlick was married, held a job as a newspaper editor at the California Real Estate Journal and was attending the same Jewish services and having the same experiences since her childhood, where she grew up practicing Reform Judaism in a secular household. Yet she was simultaneously and [...]
Religion provides the big story that allows people to make sense of their often chaotic lives. And universality has been the goal of nearly all religions since the start of recorded human history. The core message of Christianity, universalist in tone, proclaims love and forgiveness as the means to create heaven on earth. Through God’s [...]
Max Simon and the Self-Centered Tour How do you inspire one million young people to meditate? Make it sexy. Make it cool. Tall order? Maybe. But such is the clear intention of Max Simon, founder of the selfcentered tour and son of Julia Simon, Transcendental Meditation teacher and Vedic astrologer, and Dr. David Simon, co-founder [...]
Yoga Angels Teach Hope On The Mat Getting on a yoga mat represents hope for many, and at the Westwood Salvation Army, the yoga of hope takes on new meaning. The Salvation Army is home for families and people who are transitioning in their lives and coping with challenges including homelessness, living in shelters, rebuilding [...]
Pregnancy and Practice I hated being pregnant. By the end, I could no longer fit into my maternity pants and had to wear an old pair of drawstring sweatpants every day. My arms were swollen and pink. They flapped back and forth, like the belly of a pig, when I washed the dishes. My butt [...]