The other day Greg and I were stuck in some mood-ruining slow-and-go traffic. Instead of picking a fight we picked a mantra (sacred syllable) and started chanting. Somewhere between the opening om and the closing swaha, the air cleared and we were in it together again. And that’s when I remembered the billboard. [...]
One day, mid-flow, I noticed the rest of the class was already down-dogging it while I was still pulling my heart through my arms in bhujangasana (cobra). Which surprised me. I’ve always avoided bhujangasana. Teachers bust me for rushing through it. And when I have managed to stay in the pose for the requisite number [...]
Kirtan Master Jai Uttal Speaks About Music, Love and Addiction From the banjo picking of Appalachian influences to Brazilian rhythm and classical Indian cadences, Jai Uttal’s release Thunder Love is a foot-stomping, hand-clapping ode to love and longing in all its forms. Amidst a busy touring schedule, Jai Uttal paused to talk to LA YOGA [...]
Hot Nude Yoga Inspires Sweaty Self-Acceptance “Nudity is Mandatory.” It’s not the usual tagline for a Yoga class. But for Hot Nude Yoga, as popularized by Aaron Star, skin is part of the practice. I had seen ads for his Hot Nude Yoga, and never quite knew what to make of it. Looking [...]
Yoga instructor Dennis Daniels theatricality is part of everything he does so it comes as no surprise that show business is in his blood. “I saw my older sister twirling when I was two and I said, ‘I can do that’,” he says now. And he did, learning baton twirling and dance from [...]
As a writer, I feel that Tibet is my home. I miss Tibet all the time.” These words come from an unlikely source, a Chinese journalist who has gone from being an ardent critic of Tibetan society to one of its most passionate defenders. As a young girl growing up in Northeast China, [...]
A Calmer Venice Amidst all of the crazy, grimy, funky street life of Venice Beach, studio owner Yonnus Becker has created a peaceful sanctuary for all types to practice centering themselves so that they may radiate from within. One step into STUDIO SURYA YOGA and you are transformed by its serene simplicity [...]
Pico Iyer's father was a longtime friend and colleague of the Dalai Lama and Iyer, himself, has been close to the Dalai Lama since childhood. They have traveled together extensively and his latest book, The Open Road, about the Dalai Lama, has just been released in paperback. Over the past year, with the Summer Olympics [...]
What we call our environment is made up in part of other beings – both people and animals. Tantric meditations from ancient texts such as the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra invite us to pay deep attention to all of these relationships and inter-relationships, and dare us to become capable of greater intimacy. We are called [...]
Practice Pages: Yoga Therapy What is Yoga Therapy? by Felicia M. Tomasko, RN The International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) sponsored their third annual Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research (SYTAR) in Los Angeles, March 5 - 8. The weekend featured a historic three-day meeting of the organization’s Council of Schools, where more than [...]