The Yoga Hour

Would you like to stay healthy during the busy winter holiday season? Are there tips to keep our inner light shining while we shop and travel? Both Ayurveda and yoga include practices that help us maintain our health and balance, despite seasonal changes and regardless of the activities we need to perform. Tune in for a conversation with Dr. Vivek Shanbhag, naturopathic physician and Ayurvedic pra...

What is it that makes us truly happy? How do we find happiness that lasts? The traditions of Taoism and yoga each describe life as a spiritual journey, full of meaning and undertaken with specific purpose. Along the way we discover peace, joy, well-being, and lasting happiness. Derek Lin, author of The Tao of Happiness: Stories From Chuang Tzu for Your Spiritual Journey, joins regular guest host D...

Where did Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras come from? How are they being used today? What is their potential in the future? Students of yoga now encounter Patanjali's Yoga Sutras in a variety of contexts, including yoga teacher training programs, university classes, yoga studios, meditation centers, and bookshops. There are many translations of these sutras, as well as commentaries; some from long ago, and...

Have you ever wondered if some of the practices recommended for a yogic and Ayurvedic way of life make practical sense or agree with science? Should you have ice in your water or not? Does it really matter? What does science actually say about eating food that is frozen, microwaved, or processed with chemical additives? Diana Lurie, Ph. D., professor of neuropharmacology at the University of Monta...

How can we get along better with other people? How should we treat ourselves? What practices will improve our relationship with all of creation? How can we cultivate attitudes that will ultimately lead to a more satisfying life? Join Yogacharya O’Brian and Tim Olmsted, president of the Pema Chodron Foundation, as they explore four sublime attitudes found in the wisdom traditions of Buddhism and yo...

Superconscious meditation is meditation that frees us from suffering and allows us to experience the natural bliss of our own soul. The secret to success in superconscious meditation is found in the last three limbs of yoga’s eight-limbed path. Those interior limbs, concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana), and oneness (samadhi), help us to experience and realize the superconsciousness that is...

Sanskrit, the original language of yoga, is frequently encountered today by students of yoga philosophy, meditation, asana, and pranayama. Indira and Shanta Bulkin, founders of the East West Sanskrit Institute, join Yogacharya O’Brian in a conversation about the many benefits of studying Sanskrit. ·      Learn about Sanskrit as the “science of vibration” ·      Find out how chanting Sanskrit can c...

What does yoga offer us through all of our life stages? Yoga’s highest goal is ageless: self-realization, realizing our essential spiritual nature. Regardless of our age, physical ability, or level of flexibility, yoga has so much to offer us! Tune in as Lilias Folan, pioneering yoga teacher and author of Lilias! Yoga: Your Guide to Enhancing Body, Mind, and Spirit in Midlife and Beyond, joins reg...

Is there a simple tool that can help us improve our health, strengthen our energy, and deepen our spiritual practice? The ancient science of mudra, including hand gestures, offers us a rich opportunity to bring our body, mind, and spirit into harmony. Based on the theory of five elements, the hands contain a map of the body and mind. Because the hands are a microcosm that reflect the macrocosm of...

Meditating can be as natural as water flowing downhill or a leaf gently floating to the ground. Are you being held back from a regular meditation practice because you think meditation is too difficult or requires too much discipline? Tune in for a conversation between regular guest host Dr. Laurel Trujillo and Dean Sluyter, author of Natural Meditation: A Guide to Effortless Meditative Practice, a...

What makes a room or a building feel uplifting? Is there anything we can do to make our environment more supportive? The ancient science of Vastu Shastra shows us how to align our buildings with the forces of nature to reduce stress in our bodies, and increase our contentment and abundance. It’s yoga for your home and office! Tune in as Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian speaks with Robin and Michael...

What is the greatest gift we can give ourselves and our children? What if there were a very simple process that would help kids have enhanced well-being, higher test scores, and reduced impulsivity? What are we waiting for? Let’s dive right in and explore the wonderful new field of mindful education with Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian and special guest Daniel Rechtschaffen, author of The Way of Mi...

Yoga means "union, coming together, connecting with the sacred nature of life." Each heartfelt conversation opens the door to experiencing and expressing our authentic self as we allow others the same opportunity to reveal their own truth. When we join together in sacred conversation, transformation becomes possible for individual lives, for our community, and for the world. Regular guest host Dr....

Swami Sri Yukteswar cautioned students that self-realization is not selfish realization. The awakened life naturally unfolds as selfless service. Through her own trauma-informed yoga workshops for service providers and the nonprofit organization Off the Mat, Into the World, Hala Khouri inspires and encourages others to be conscious leaders of change. If you have wondered how your yoga practice can...

Within each of us lies a vast inheritance: our connection to unlimited joy, unshakable peace, lasting happiness, and abundant creativity. The Eternal Way refers to a set of principles that can show us who we are and how to live a life in harmony with our essential spiritual nature in a sacred world. Through the tools of yoga we can go beyond studying our inner potential to experiencing it directly...

What life skills does yoga help us develop that allow us to not only survive life’s challenging times, but to grow stronger and wiser? Mark Matousek’s book When You’re Falling, Dive: Lessons in the Art of Living presents many examples of how people use viriditas, the power of drawing passion, beauty, and wisdom from the unlikeliest places, to face difficult times. Mark will join Yogacharya Ellen G...

Although yoga philosophy teaches that there is only one Supreme Consciousness as the source and substance of all that is, there are many different ways to realize this oneness. Classical yoga includes four major paths to suit the varied temperaments of students: Bhakti Yoga, the path of the heart, or devotion; Karma Yoga, the way of selflessly using our hands in service to the Divine in others; Jn...

In deep meditation we perceive peace and joy through allowing our attention and awareness to rest in the expanded consciousness of our essential nature. We feel connected to all of life. This change in our consciousness opens a space where wisdom develops. From this perspective we can create a new story that honors our essential wholeness. When we share this new story with others, we can reach a t...

Compassionate living requires wisdom and courage. Kindness toward oneself, other people, and all of life is a natural way of having both at the same time. They must be cultivated as we heal old wounds and become more skillful at offering our help to bring about healing in the world. Yogacharya O’Brian is joined by Ven. Thubten Chodron, an American-born Buddhist nun, the founder and abbess of Srava...

The guru-disciple relationship as a vehicle to pass on both the knowledge and spiritual consciousness of a lineage of awakened masters is revered in both the traditions of yoga and Vedanta. Join Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian and Pravrajika Brahmaprana, a nun of the Vedanta Society of Southern California and currently the resident minister of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society of North Texas, in a co...

Yoga offers exceptional tools for building resilience and healing from trauma. Scientific study has proven the effectiveness of yoga in engaging the relaxation response, sharpening the mind, improving recovery time, and promoting psychological well-being. Beryl Bender Birch has used the yogic tools of postures, breathing techniques, and meditation to help first responders and survivors of 9/11, as...

Self-discovery lies at the heart of yoga practice. The Sanskrit word yoga means "oneness, union, or unity"—the bringing together of our attention and awareness with our essential spiritual nature, or returning to our original wholeness. Yoga’s central practices of self-study, self-discipline, and self-surrender all rest on continuous self-discovery. Yoga is a process of finding out more and more d...

The word yoga means union, oneness, or unity. The purpose of the many practices of yoga is to help us realize our true spiritual nature, to unite our attention and awareness with our own essence of being. Yoga therapy uses yogic techniques to improve health holistically, in body, mind, and spirit. How can yoga therapy remain true to the original purpose of yoga while meeting individuals where they...

Heart health has many facets: physical, emotional, and spiritual. The practice of yoga is ideally suited to improve cardiac health on all levels: body, mind, and spirit. Many studies have documented improvements in heart disease and prevention through yoga. Retired vascular surgeon, Ayurvedic practitioner, and yoga therapy teacher, Dr. Dilip Sarkar’s journey in integrative medicine began with his...

As a complete path of self-realization, yoga offers a wide variety of practices that can be adapted to individual circumstances, including one’s body type and stage of life. Join Yogacharya O’Brian and Matra Raj, certified yoga therapist, and discover how practices from the yoga tradition can contribute to your vitality and enhance your ability to experience excellence in all aspects of your life....