The Yoga Hour

How do we cultivate a calm, peaceful, and spiritually awake life? How do we access the wisdom that is within us? Dr. Edward Viljoen, senior minister of the Center for Spiritual Living in Santa Rosa, California, and author of The Power of Meditation, joins Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian to discuss how meditation can joyfully transform our lives and contribute to harmony in the world. Tune in and di...

Would you like to access the same sense of well-being, clarity, inner freedom, and loving connection realized by the world's meditation masters? Join Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian as she talks with Loch Kelly, founder of the Open-Hearted Awareness Institute and author of Shift Into Freedom: The Science and Practice of Open-Hearted Awareness, as they discuss how we can tap in to this inner freedom...

How does the change of seasons affect our health and well-being? How can we incorporate simple, home-cooked meals into our lives so that we can start living a healthier, more nourishing lifestyle right away? Join Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian and special guest Kate O’Donnell, author of The Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook: A Seasonal Guide to Eating and Living Well, as they discuss: How to make easy, s...

What factors are essential for optimizing our health? What connections are there between our digestive health and other symptoms such as headache and fatigue? Dr. Trupti Gokani, an award-winning neurologist and author of the book The Mysterious Mind: How to Use Ancient Wisdom and Modern Science to Heal Your Headaches and Reclaim Your Health, joins regular guest host Dr. Laurel Trujillo to explore...

How can the practices of yoga help us to have radiant health? Arising from the inherently therapeutic practices of the ancient system of yoga, Yoga Therapy is now a field for active research and treatment. The blossoming field of Yoga Therapy uses yoga’s tools to help clients maintain wellness, prevent chronic disease, and improve the course of numerous illnesses. Larry Payne, author of Yoga Thera...

How can we remain vital and healthy as we grow older? The ancient system of Ayurveda, the sister science of yoga, has a deep understanding of our body’s natural aging process. We can utilize the medical science of Ayurveda to age naturally, remaining robust and vigorous throughout our entire life. Cynthia Copple, author of Know Your Blueprint: The Ayurvedic Secret to Restoring Your Vitality and Pa...

After we face physical or emotional trauma, how can we reconnect with the wholeness that is present at the soul level? How does yoga help us to heal? Yogic practices have been proven to alleviate both pain and suffering, and to allow us to find increased joy and serenity in our lives. Mary NurrieStearns, author of Yoga for Emotional Trauma, joins regular guest host Dr. Laurel Trujillo for a conver...

How can yoga help us to heal our hearts and our bodies? What scientific evidence is there that yoga is an effective tool for the treatment of chronic disease? Stress contributes to the development of many of today’s chronic diseases, and yoga is a masterful system for healing the effects of chronic stress. Yoga expert Nischala Joy Devi, who helped develop the stress management portion of the Dr. D...

What does it mean to be a conscious companion? Being with someone who is suffering a loss, is ill, or dying can be an intense, intimate experience. How does our relationship with our own body, mind, and spirit affect our ability to be present for others? How do we take care of ourselves so we can be that compassionate presence? Frank Ostaseski, founder of the Metta Institute and cofounder of Zen H...

There is a power for good within each one of us. It is the same power that runs the universe. When we nurture awareness of that power and learn to cooperate with it, we can accomplish our worthy goals. Join regular guest host Dr. Laurel Trujillo and Dr. James Doty, author of Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart. A clinical...

Paramahansa Yogananda’s faith, devotion, and persistence to know God propelled him to be one of the leading spiritual teachers of all time. His travels throughout India and meetings with saints and sages continue to inspire seekers today. Join Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian and Ron Lindahn, both devoted students of Roy Eugene Davis, a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda, and hear stories of R...

What does it mean to live a life of yoga? Simply put: yoga offers us the opportunity to live fully—joyfully, consciously, and purposefully. Swami Sitaramananda, head of the Sivananda Centers on the West Coast of the United States and in Asia, and Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian will explore the joys and challenges of living a yoga life—offering gems of inspiration and practical wisdom from their de...

How does the practice of self-compassion transform our lives and positively affect our world? Can we learn to give ourselves the same caring support we would give to a friend? When we are critical of ourselves we may seek to blame others for our shortcomings or try to hide those aspects of our personalities that we don’t like. With self-compassion, we can open our hearts and look kindly on all asp...

In our modern fast-paced, fast-food culture, it’s easy to forget how to enjoy food in a healthy way that nourishes all aspects of our being. What can we learn from the yoga tradition about cooking and eating that will help us shift into a more satisfying relationship with food? Regular guest host Dr. Laurel Trujillo is joined by Diksha McCord, author of The Healing Kitchen: Vegetarian Cooking With...

What happens when we move spirituality from the periphery to the center of our life? When our practice is not an isolated time of meditation, but part of everything that we do? Pravrajika Vrajaprana, author of Vedanta: A Simple Introduction, joins Yogacharya O’Brian for a conversation about how we can move from compartmentalized spiritual practice to living in divine awareness all the time, regard...

How can we live joyously, even in challenging times? Can we trust in the transformative potential of all of our experiences? Mark Nepo, teacher, poet, and author of the book Inside the Miracle: Enduring Suffering, Approaching Wholeness, joins Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian for a conversation about finding the light that is always present, even when we can’t see it. Listen in as they share poetry a...

Would you like more happiness in your life? What tools does yoga offer that could help in this pursuit? Yogic practices illuminate the stillness within us that cannot be threatened by outer circumstance. When we nurture our connection with this inner stillness, we rediscover our innate joyfulness. Sam Chase, author of Yoga and the Pursuit of Happiness: A Guide to Finding Joy in Unexpected Places,...

What is the role of pilgrimages in understanding ourselves and our lives more fully? These journeys can call us to travel far from our homes, or occur within, as we travel deeper into our own hearts. We return with a renewed appreciation of our true Self. Rev. Charles P. Gibbs, Episcopal priest and author of the book Light Reading: Poems From a Pilgrim Journey, joins Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian...

What does yoga offer those seeking freedom from debilitating habits and addictions? Is yoga philosophy and practice compatible with the 12-step program of recovery? Durga Leela, founder of Yoga of Recovery, joins Yogacharya O’Brian for a discussion about liberation—including both its practical and ultimate dimensions. We can all reach beyond our habits and limitations for a life brimming with heal...

What is truly beautiful? How can we each enhance our beauty by being more true to who we really are? The beauty of all creation is a manifestation of the Divine. Ayurveda and yoga offer many practices that help us get in touch with our own inner beauty and enhance it on all levels. Tune in for a conversation between our regular guest host Dr. Laurel Trujillo and Dr. Manisha Kshirsagar, an Ayurvedi...

Yoga and Ayurveda, sister sciences arising from the Vedas, each offer an entire way of life. Their practices enhance health in a holistic fashion, affecting body, mind, and spirit. Tune in as Acharya Shunya Pratichi Mathur joins Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian for a discussion of the potential for radiant health and spiritual awakening offered by these ancient systems. Simple, profound, practical—t...

What was it like to study with the great yoga master Paramahansa Yogananda? Roy Eugene Davis, one of Paramahansa Yogananda’s last living direct disciples, joins Yogacharya O’Brian for an inspiring conversation about his years with his guru. Learn what Yogananda emphasized as essential for spiritual awakening, how he advised his disciples, and some of the ways he inspired others to live in the high...

Decades ago, Paramahansa Yogananda taught that the practice of meditation made positive changes in the brain as well as the mind. Now science can show what this meditation master knew from his own experience before there were instruments to measure such changes. Neuroscience research today has shown many differences in the brains of long-term meditators. How does meditation change our brain struct...

Jyotish, or Vedic astrology, helps us comprehend how the macrocosm of the universe impacts the microcosm of our individual lives. Jyotish gives us a map of our lives and allows us to understand the tools we have been given. How can we use this knowledge for personal growth and greater spiritual awareness? Tune in for a conversation between Vedic Astrologer Komilla Sutton and Yogacharya Ellen Grace...

What do yoga and Vedanta have to teach us about honoring all spiritual traditions and the roles diverse religions can play in building peace in our world? Swami Vivekananda and Paramahansa Yogananda both modeled an interspiritual approach. How have the seeds they planted helped to build the Interspiritual movement that is growing today? What practices do yoga and Vedanta offer that allow us to fin...