The Yoga Hour

How can the wisdom of the Vedas help us bring greater consciousness, creativity, and happiness to our lives today? Yoga, Ayurveda, and Jyotish (Vedic astrology) are all sciences that arise from the Vedas. Vedic counseling brings together these approaches to help us live a life of health, happiness, and spiritual growth. Dr. Suhas Kshirsagar, Ayurvedic physician, author of The Hot Belly Diet, and c...

How much impact does our environment have on our spiritual practice? Do you find it difficult to let go of the things that clutter your space, impede your efficiency, and bog down your joy? Find out how easy it can be to clear a space in your life for more peace, more love, and joy. Start by joining Yogacharya O’Brian and Andrew Mellen, organizational expert, public speaker, and No. 1 best-selling...

How can we enliven the transformational power within us to energize our life and help us progress on our spiritual path? Shakti, the energy of the Mother Goddess, is the force that manifests the universe and drives our spiritual awakening. Yogini Shambhavi, codirector of the American Institute of Vedic Sudies and author of two books on the Mother Goddess, joins Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian for a...

How do we find our way through life's challenges to discover our inner strength and deep resilience? What allows us to touch the heart of what really matters? Mark Nepo, New York Times best-selling author and poet, brings his healing story, insight, and presence to the Yoga Hour in a profound conversation with Yogacharya O'Brian about the way under the way—how to enter our experience in a way that...

How is humankind’s consciousness evolving toward global integration and interconnectedness? What evidence is there at the mystic heart of the world’s spiritual traditions that beneath the illusion of separateness humanity is one family? How can the practice of yoga in it’s broadest sense help us move toward the unifying power of love? Join regular guest host Dr. Laurel Trujillo and Robert Atkinson...

How can we experience optimal health? How can we be proactive about our health in a way that is in harmony with the rhythms of nature? Why are the teachings of yoga and Ayurveda called “sister sciences”? Join Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian and Acharya Shunya as they discuss how the lifestyle practices of Ayurveda—the knowledge of life—and the practices of Kriya Yoga work together to manifest a sta...

The times we live in require us to develop a literacy of the heart—a deeper quality of listening, discerning, and connecting heart to heart and soul to soul. Literature itself, both poetry and prose, plays a timeless role in awakening our hearts to deeper truths we may otherwise miss. Khaled Hosseini, physician and author of the best-selling novels The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and Th...

How does interspiritual study and connection help us bring forth the harmony that is needed so badly today in our lives and in our world? What contribution might the practice of yoga make to this emerging interspiritual paradigm? Rami Shapiro, editor of the new World Wisdom Bible, joins regular guest host Dr. Laurel Trujillo in a discussion about how the wisdom at the core of all faith traditions...

Can writing support us in discovering the deep connection to our authentic self? Since self-realization is the revelation of our authentic self—that which we already are—how can we unburden ourselves of pointless baggage on this journey of spiritual awakening? Mark Matousek is an award-winning author, teacher, mentor, and speaker whose work is devoted to self-inquiry and the transformational power...

Poetry speaks truth, and speaking truth heals. Whether we write poetry for ourselves or to share with others, the process of creating poetry allows us to examine and express our own unique life. We can see who we are more clearly and bring meaning to all of our experiences: our joy, our sorrow, our fears, and our hopes. John Fox, author of Poetic Medicine: The Healing Art of Poem-Making, joins Yog...

Is it possible to quicken our spiritual awakening? What practices can help us to progress along our spiritual path? Ever since human beings began to use mental abilities thousands of years ago, their innate urge to be spiritually awake impelled them to want to know their relationship with the Infinite. Join Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian and her guru Roy Eugene Davis, a direct disciple of Paramaha...

One of the ways to stay spiritually centered is to contemplate inspirational writing that connects us to what is true, what is most important, and uplifting. Throughout the ages, poetry and other forms of literature have offered insight, solace, and a challenge to live a spiritually conscious life. Join writers and poets Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian and Parthenia Hicks as they discuss how the st...

In this time of upheaval and change in the world, how do the lives and writings of the mystics offer us a way for healing and unity? Join Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian and author and spiritual teacher Mirabai Starr as they share poetry, insights, and experiences that connect the contemplative life with a life of compassionate engagement. Learn what the mystics can teach us about being the light o...

How can we move from the everyday world to the timeless experience of divine union? Mystical poetry can build a bridge from ordinary life to the eternal presence of love at the heart of the universe, from our inner life to the realization of a life beyond our own. Regular guest host Dr. Laurel Trujillo is joined by Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian, founder and host of the Yoga Hour, and author of a...

We all have a deep, soul calling to live a life that has meaning and purpose. How do we discern that call and respond to it? How can we overcome fears and obstacles to realizing our purpose in life? Join Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian in a conversation with her special guest Rod Stryker, a longtime teacher of yoga philosophy and the author of The Four Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness...

What does it mean to live in the highest way? How can the practices of yoga help us to live in harmony with our own self as well as others? Join Yogacharya O’Brian and her special guest Edwin Bryant, author of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: A New Edition, Translation and Commentary as they discuss how insights and practices from the Yoga Sutras can help us live our higher purpose. It is not difficu...

As we begin a new year, how can we bring our lives into harmony with our higher true self? What does yoga have to teach about living a balanced life and reaching our full potential? Authors and Vedic educators Dr. David Frawley (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri) and Yogini Shambhavi join regular guest host Dr. Laurel Trujillo to discuss how Vedic wisdom can guide us in regaining optimal health, pursuing sp...

As women’s and men’s roles are changing in our society and in our world, what can the Hindu goddesses teach us? How do they model divine qualities and support us in understanding our own dharma? The Hindu goddesses are representations of feminine psychology and spirituality, and can show us how to understand spiritual law and live with divine purpose. Join Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian and her sp...

How do we find our true purpose—our path in the world that allows us to bring forth all our strengths? How do we discover and pursue the calling of our innermost self? Stephen Cope, author of The Great Work of Your Life, joins regular guest host Dr. Laurel Trujillo to discuss how we find our svadharma, that true calling of our soul longing for expression. By drawing encouragement from the stories...

The goal of purposeful living is not new—every religious, spiritual, or even secular tradition has their version of it. With the influx of yoga philosophy and practice and Vedic wisdom in the West, along came “dharma,” a new way to look at how we live. Discover how dharma holds the key to right action and harmonious relationship with others in this timely conversation with Philip Goldberg, author...

What forms the common core at the center of all faith traditions? Why is discovering this common core so important today in our divided world? In yogic philosophy, divine love, joy, and bliss are our birthright. William Keepin, Ph. D., author of Belonging to God: Spirituality, Science, and a Universal Path of Divine Love, joins regular guest host Dr. Laurel Trujillo to explore this divine love tha...

How can we change politics so that it contributes to healing and to positive transformation in our society—in our world? How can we move beyond “left” and “right” thinking to a more “transpartisan” approach of social reform and national reconciliation? Join Stephen Dinan, author of “Sacred America-Sacred World: Fulfilling Our Mission in Service to All” and regular guest host Dr. Laurel Trujillo as...

How can I find happiness? Is it possible to quiet the mind? Whether we are just starting along the path of spiritual awakening or have been on the path for some time, we often have questions about our spiritual journey and about how spiritual teachings relate to issues in our lives. Imagine sitting down to listen to a conversation between two spiritual leaders who are longtime disciples in the spi...

Practicing yoga in all of its forms—hatha yoga, meditation, contemplation, or selfless service—turns up the inner light of awareness. We start to see a new way to live. Rolf Gates, author of Meditations From the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga, joins Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian to discuss how the yamas and niyamas can help us to bring our spiritual practice off the mat and into every...

Yoga and Vedanta offer us the keys to the kingdom—the way to realize our essential self and live in the highest way. Join Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian and Swamini Svatmavidyananda, an accomplished scholar of Vedanta, as they discuss: Why does the yearning to spiritually awaken arise? Where does it come from and how do we find our way? Why is spiritual discipline necessary if we already are what...