Ayurveda has been practiced in the U.S. for only about 30 years, yet it is a 5,000–year–old Indian system of medicine and yoga’s sister science. Readers are invited to submit questions for “Ayurveda Q & A” to ayurveda@layogamagazine.com Q: Are there any Ayurvedic remedies for piles/hemorrhoids? A: From an Ayurvedic perspective arsha roga (piles/hemorrhoids) is a [...]
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 [...]
The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) reports that the first sentencing of Tibetans who participated in the March protests have been announced. These range from three years to life in prison. Additionally, Radio Free Asia reports that 14 nuns in Sichuan province were detained for protesting “despite a massive security presence,” demonstrating the people’s resolve [...]
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, [...]
Ayurveda has been practiced in the U.S. for only about 30 years, yet it is a 5,000 year old Indian system of medicine and yoga’s sister science. Readers are invited to submit questions for “Ayurveda Q & A” to ayurveda@layogamagazine.com Q: I am a 39-year-old overweight man with allergy symptoms (itchy eyes, dry throat, sinus congestion with [...]
Remembering Love My first encounter with Sufism was in Pune on the banks of the Mula River, where I used to meditate at the tomb of Saidullbaba, a Sufi mystic. Sitting beside the white marble tomb, draped in green brocade and scattered with rose petals, I felt a wonderful energy of peace. At the time, [...]
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 [...]
According to Ayurveda, seasonal changes are times of both vulnerability and opportunity, when we can release the past season’s accumulated buildup. Cleansing can jump-start our health: body, mind and spirit. I’ve wanted to do a cleanse for years, and considered joining some friends for the mutual camaraderie of a group master cleanse (lemon juice, cayenne [...]
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 [...]
For five decades, the Tibetan people have suffered greatly under China's brutal rule. The Chinese government has done everything in its power to destroy Tibetan culture, religion and institutions. In March, 2008, thousands of monks, nuns, and lay Tibetans put their lives on the line by protesting against Chinese rule in Tibet. Hundreds [...]