Living Yoga with Darren Main

Ian Rhett is a musician whose music has inspired thousands around the world.  The lyrics to his songs are deeply emotional, very political and profoundly spiritual.  Inspired by the events of September 11 and the wars that have followed, his song 'Un-American' landed him national recognition.  He has performed at the Democratic National Convention and at events for John Kerry's presidential campai...

Sean Johnson is the founder and director of Wild Lotus Yoga Center in New Orleans where, according to the New Orleans Gambit Weekly, you can take the best yoga classes in the city.  In addition to teaching yoga, he also leads Kirtan (devotional Indian chanting) and has three CDs available.  He travels extensively with his music and yoga. Living in New Orleans through Katrina and seeing his childho...

I recently did an interview with Laura Cestone, the host of the talk show and podcast Yoga Peeps.     You can download the interview  or sync it directly with your iPod.

If you turn on the evening news or think back to the attacks of 9/11, your impressions of Islam and the Muslims who practice it are probably a bit slanted.  It is often-times difficult for us to understand the true nature of Islam when our only exposure to it is the radical Islamic fundamentalism espoused by Osama bin Laden.     In this podcast, I am speaking with Sameena Usman about Islam in an e...

Jen Zias had struggled with her weight since she was a child.  After trying just about every diet she could find without lasting success, she found yoga and through this practice has been able to manage her weight in a safe and effective way.  Now a yoga teacher herself, she has developed a class for larger folks called, Yoga At Large.  In this podcast, Jen and I discuss the benefits of yoga for p...

In this talk Darren explains the Bhagavad Gita, a book at the very heart of yoga philosophy to students in training to become yoga teachers.  The talk is then followed with a lively discussion based on questions asked by the students. Read The Message of the Gita by Mohandas K. Gandhi Translations of the Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita   translated by Stephen Mitchell The Bhagavad Gita   translate...

In this talk Darren explains the basic tenets of yoga philosophy to students in training to become yoga teachers. Topics such as Atman, Maya, The Yoga Sutras and much more are covered. The talk is then followed with a lively discussion based on questions asked by the students.

In early 1990, I stumbled into my first yoga class with a woman named Ellie Brown. That fateful day changed the course of my life. In this podcast I sit down with my first yoga teacher and talk with her about the early days of yoga in the United States as well as her own journey of healing and self discovery which led from yoga to various forms of bodywork. Ellie is one of several people in my lif...

Meditation has been promoted by every spiritual tradition throughout history, and now modern science is talking it up as an important and effective tool for mental and physical health.  In this interview, I ask Jonathan Reynolds , author of the just published book, Learning to Listen , about the practice of meditation and how it can be used as a powerful tool for transformation and healing. SHOW N...

Yoga and Pilates are two forms of movement therapy that are taking western culture by storm.  In this interview, I ask well-known yoga and Pilates teacher Michael Watson about the ways in which these two disciplines differ as well as how they can complement each other for greater overall health.    To learn more about Michaelâs work you can visit his website .  Michael and I are also part of The Y...

In this interview with actress Jeri Lynn Cohen, we explore her use of yoga to complement conventional cancer treatments with great success.  Jerri Lynn welcomes your emails . You can also visit her website .

In life it is easy to lose faith when things get dark, but all the great spiritual stories from East to West remind us that the dark times are necessary for us to be reborn in a new and more evolved way. By looking at three great stories from the Yogic, Jewish and Christian traditions, Darren explores the concept of spiritual rebirth in a new way that is applicable for our modern times.

Understanding one's purpose in life is the key to finding health and happiness. It is also how a spiritual seeker can fulfill his or her role in the healing of the world. In this talk, Darren explores the process of listening to that inner voice in order to find one's own personal path.

Spiritual practice is difficult even on a yoga mat or a meditation cushion; keeping the mind quiet and the heart open within the context of human relationships can seem impossible. There is no area of life where our spiritual practice is more important than in that of our interactions with each other. In this talk, Darren explores human relationships from a yogic point of view and looks at ways th...

God is a very touchy subject for many in the yoga world. Many of us have found our way to the yoga mat because the religion of our childhood left a bad aftertaste. Although yoga is not a religion, it does encourage a relationship with a higher power. In this talk, Darren explores the nature of God through the lens of Hindu mythology. By looking at the concept of God in a new way, old patterns and...

In this talk Darren explores the idea that everyday people living in the modern world can live a mystical and deeply spiritual life by using ancient techniques such as yoga in a more modern way. The talk is based loosely on his second book, Yoga and the Path of the Urban Mystic.