If you ask a yogi or yogini what keeps him or her coming back to the mat, the answer usually boils down to, “It works.” The question now gaining prominence is not, “Does it work?” but rather, “How does it work?” Dr. Susan Smalley, Founder and Director of UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC), and [...]
Feature Film About Shaman, Yogi And Artist Heyoka Merrified Premieres In Ojai The burning sweet grass smoke wafting from the Earth and Sky Temple (honoring the sacred masculine and feminine spirits) begins Heyoka Merrifield’s day. He lights his peace pipe (based on the tradition brought by White Buffalo Woman) which he hand-carved from pipestone from by [...]
Jnani Chapman is a master at speaking to the body; she’s skilled at the sweet-talking compassion that expresses the type of love that we may be lucky to experience in this lifetime. Yet if we’re really lucky, we cross paths with someone like Jnani who believes that this love happens not just because of luck [...]
From Handstand To Lending A Hand In The Gulf, Brock Cahill Serves With Conviction Once upon a time there was a catastrophic oil spill. The characters include a global conglomerate that displayed blatant disregard for the delicate balance of our oceans, and one Yogi, moved to action. Through this true story, we can learn something [...]
Being A Yogi On The Edge Thanks to Sara Ivanhoe, we announced an essay contest in the October issue of LA YOGA asking readers to write about the difference between doing Yoga and being a yogi. Thanks to everyone for their thoughtful submissions and we hope you enjoy copies of Sara’s gorgeous DVD Yoga on [...]
Yoga On The Road We could say that practice occurs outside of any place, that there is nothing we need; we could practice in a cave, in the dark, by moving aside the living room coffee table. But we all know that the place in which we practice offers an added sense of inspiration. As [...]
Ayurvedic Suggestions to Support Balance Even though the winter in LA is mild compared to other areas of the world, it’s still winter for us. The wind picks up, the days are shorter, and with the holiday season upon us, there are so many things to get done, so many places to go. Our [...]
Books To Gift Your Favorite Yogi On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Ten Kirtans playing, Nine Swamis singing, Eight Yoginis posing, Seven Tantrics teasing, Six Gurus gabbing, Five Pundits preaching, Four scholars scolding, Three tickets to the Kumbh Mela, Two asana mats, and a statue of Ganesh in a [...]
The Grace Of Oil Massage On Straw Mats Awakens The Circulation Of Prana Nearly naked, sitting a straw mat in a sparsely furnished room in Kannur, Kerala, simultaneously vulnerable, curious and expectant, I waited for my first treatment session to begin. I had traveled half-way around the world to Kerala to receive Kalari treatment, the [...]
A Personal Reflection on Kalari All is quiet inside the Kalari practice space. I enter the space slowly, first touching the red clay earth and then my heart as sign of respect. My teacher’s voice echoes in my mind, “When you enter the Kalari, leave everything behind.” I head to the Puttara, the main altar, [...]