Integral Yoga Podcast

This conversation between Kelley and Avi addresses a multitude of social issues and how they relate to the world of yoga. Is there a place for shame and guilt within the human experience? Why does it seem so challenging sometimes for people to take the right action? Should every human have their basic needs met, and what are those basic needs? What part does our education system play in all of this? These questions answered and much more.

Kelley Nicole Palmer is a Black, Queer creative and community advocate based in Jersey City, NJ. Kelley uses the practices and philosophy of yoga to guide her work in creating equitable and sustainable access to wellness for Black people. Along with teaching movement, meditation and contemplative practices, Kelley leads retreats, hosts workshops and contributes to multiple teacher training programs. Kelley is a writer and collage artist focusing that work on Black liberation, wholeness and healing. Kelley serves as a founding member of The Sanctuary In The City, a Charlotte based non-profit that focuses on equitable healing spaces for Black people all over the world.

Links:

Website - www.kelleynicolepalmer.com

Patreon - www.patreon.com/kelleynicolepalmer

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Witness to World War II in Austria, Benedictine monk for the last 66 years, friend to Swami Satchidananda, and internationally-recognized practitioner of gratitude Brother David Steindl-Rast sits down to talk with Avi Gordon of the Integral Yoga Teachers Association. The discussion covers prayer and meditation, Swami Satchidananda, gratitude, fear and trust, the remembrance of death, joy, and other topics.

Network for Grateful Living: https://gratefulness.org/

Brother David's Bio (from A Network for Grateful Living):

David Steindl-Rast was born Franz Kuno Steindl-Rast on July 12, 1926, in Vienna, Austria, and spent his early years there and in a small village in the Alps. He spent all of his teen years under the Nazi occupation, was drafted into the army, but never went to the front lines. He eventually escaped and was hidden by his mother until the occupation ended.

After the war, Franz studied art, anthropology, and psychology, receiving an MA from the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts and a PhD from the University of Vienna. In 1952 he followed his family who had emigrated to the United States. In 1953 he joined a newly founded Benedictine community in Elmira, NY, Mount Saviour Monastery, where he became “Brother David.” In 1958/59 Brother David was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Cornell University, where he also became the first Roman Catholic to hold the Thorpe Lectureship, following Bishop J.D.R. Robinson and Paul Tillich.

After twelve years of monastic training and studies in philosophy and theology, Brother David was sent by his abbot to participate in Buddhist-Christian dialogue, for which he received Vatican approval in 1967. His Zen teachers were Hakuun Yasutani Roshi, Soen Nakagawa Roshi, Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, and Eido Shimano Roshi. He co-founded the Center for Spiritual Studies in 1968 and received the 1975 Martin Buber Award for his achievements in building bridges between religious traditions.

Together with Thomas Merton, Brother David helped launch a renewal of religious life. From 1970 on, he became a leading figure in the House of Prayer movement, which affected some 200,000 members of religious orders in the United States and Canada. Since the 1970s Brother David has been a member of cultural historian William Irwin Thompson‘s Lindisfarne Association.”

He has contributed to a wide range of books and periodicals from the Encyclopedia Americana and The New Catholic Encyclopedia, to the New Age Journal and Parabola Magazine. His books have been translated into many languages. Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer and A Listening Heart have been reprinted and anthologized for more than two decades. Brother David co-authored Belonging to the Universe (winner of the 1992 American Book Award), a dialogue on new paradigm thinking in science and theology with physicist, Fritjof Capra. His dialogue with Buddhists produced The Ground We Share: Buddhist and Christian Practice, co-authored with Robert Aitken Roshi. His most recent books are Words of Common Sense for MInd, Body and Soul; Deeper than Words: Living the Apostles’ Creed; 99 Blessings: An Invitation to Life; The Way of Silence: Engaging the Sacred in Daily Life; Faith beyond Belief: Spirituality for our Times; and his autobiography, i am through you so i.

Brother David has contributed chapters or interviews to well over 30 books. An article by Brother David was included in The Best Spiritual Writing, 1998. His many audio and videotapes are widely distributed.

At present, Brother David serves a worldwide Network for Grateful Living, through Gratefulness.org, an interactive website with several thousand participants daily from more than 240 countries and territories.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What would you say if you could whisper into the ear of every person on the planet? Uma and Avi explore the answer to this question as well as many others. Is it beneficial to zoom out and recognize that we have less control over our lives than we really think? What is the cultural impression of yoga for Italians? Can I spend more time in the space of emotions and less time in the space of thoughts?

Short Bio:

Born in Teramo, Central Italy. Lived in Milan and a little bit in New York, working for American fashion companies. Her interest in Yoga accompanied her since the childhood, and she took some time to quit her professional job and travels to devote herself totally to yoga as a full time teacher. She has been teaching since 2003, founded YAP Integral Yoga Centre in 2004 in Teramo, Italy. She serves as an Integral Yoga trainer, Accessible Yoga trainer and certified Yogatherapist. She may seem to be very at ease, but is actually shy!

Links:

www.centroyap.it

www.yogaspecialistico.com

www.accessibleyogaeurope.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mukunda and Avi unfold the importance of acceptance on the path to better health, and the obstacles that often get in the way. Mukunda shares about his story of transformation, the importance of connecting to your passions, and his love for the city of San Francisco. A rich and heart opening conversation.

Mukunda is certified in Integral Yoga's Hatha, Raja, Stress management and soon to complete the Meditation Teacher Training Program on April 7th. He has over 5000 teaching hours which includes leading and co-leading Yoga teacher trainings since 2013, IYI retreats, group classes and private instruction. He opened Mukunda Studio in 2020 which has inspired new ways to build community and offer the teachings. His diverse career history, which has varied from a life in the arts to working in a high-paced event world, unifies in one voice today as a health and wellness entrepreneur.

Mukunda's interests include Meditation, Yoga and spiritual philosophy, Blogging/Writing, Plant-based eating/lifestyle, Empowering BIPOC communities, Working with corporate leaders to inspire wellness from the top down, Dreaming/Praying/Engaging for a more peaceful world, singing/playing piano in rare moments, painting/art-making in even more rare moments but hoping for more.

Links:

https://mukundastudio.com/

https://www.instagram.com/mukundastudio/

https://www.facebook.com/mukundastudio

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael begins by telling his story of a near death experience changing the trajectory of his life. Is an intense crisis necessary for an awakening, or is it possible to redirect your life by listening to your intuition and learning from the experiences of others? Avi and Michael discuss this as many other topics including letting go of what we don’t control, cultivating a love for silence, how to be more gentle with ourselves, and our relationship with unwanted experiences.

Before helping humans build resilience to prevent bad moments from turning into a bad day, as the Chief Shift Officer at Peloton Executive Coaching, Michael O’Brien was a healthcare executive.

At a corporate offsite meeting in New Mexico, Michael experienced his last bad day when a speeding SUV hit him head-on during a morning bike ride. While in the hospital, he began his Pause Breathe Reflect mindfulness practice which is now a global movement that promotes awareness, focus, equanimity, and belonging.

Links:

Pause Breathe Reflect Movement: www.pausebreathereflect.com

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michael begins by telling his story of a near death experience changing the trajectory of his life. Is an intense crisis necessary for an awakening, or is it possible to redirect your life by listening to your intuition and learning from the experiences of others? Avi and Michael discuss this as many other topics including letting go of what we don’t control, cultivating a love for silence, how to be more gentle with ourselves, and our relationship with unwanted experiences.

Before helping humans build resilience to prevent bad moments from turning into a bad day, as the Chief Shift Officer at Peloton Executive Coaching, Michael O’Brien was a healthcare executive.

At a corporate offsite meeting in New Mexico, Michael experienced his last bad day when a speeding SUV hit him head-on during a morning bike ride. While in the hospital, he began his Pause Breathe Reflect mindfulness practice which is now a global movement that promotes awareness, focus, equanimity, and belonging.

Links:

Pause Breathe Reflect Movement: www.pausebreathereflect.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Haris Lender is the creator of Kidding Around Yoga. A 500 hour Integral Yoga®. teacher certified in: Raja Yoga, Children’s Yoga, Stress Management and Prenatal Yoga.

For 11 years at Yogaville and 8 years with KAY, Haris was the director of Yoga sleepover camps. Haris loves to lead Kirtans all over the world, Haris has created her own DVD, “Yoga with Haris” and all the KAY music which continue to bring the joy of yoga to children all over the world.

Haris lives with her husband Evan, mostly at the Yurt in Yogaville but also in their homes in Costa Rica and Florida.

Links:

Kidding Around Yoga: https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/

Podcast: Mindful Coversations with KAY

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mandee and Avi discuss the difference between "natural" and "normal." The conversation flows naturally from discussion about honesty, freedom, and relaxation, to the importance of not taking ourselves to seriously. What's the difference between knowing something in the mind and feeling it in my being? What is the relationship I want to have with my mind? These questions answered and so much more.

Bio:

Mandee Labelle has been sharing her love of yoga and meditation through teaching, writing, and radio since 2001.

The search for truth, happiness, and well-being lit like a fire in Mandee during a 6-month motorcycle tour of India in her early 20s. Upon returning to Canada, she dove into the study of Psychology at McGill University. She enjoyed her studies, but upon graduation, was left with only more questions than any real answers. Continuing the search, she became intrigued by meditation and explored Zen through the teachings of Albert Low, and it was when she discovered Yoga that this quest began to burn even brighter. Yoga captured her interest with an enthusiasm which has not yet, to this day, subsided.

She then met yoga master teacher, David Goulet, founder of the Chakra Yoga Center, and through his teacher training program her world opened up to the richness of the yogic tradition that went well beyond the physical practice. David’s teacher was Dr. Swami Gitananda, who taught with a powerful blend of modern science and medicine, and ancient wisdom of the chakras drawn from the Sat-Chakra-Nirupana (circa 1500AD). David’s Chakra Yoga Teacher Training program was life changing and consisted of a comprehensive study of energy, the body, the mind, and the universe through nine different forms* of Yoga. She graduated from the program in 2001 and has been teaching yoga and meditation ever since.

Teaching came naturally and there was no shortage of opportunities in schools, community centers, privately, to government agencies, the military, school teachers, nurses, even Ninjas! Through her work, she was able to witness right before her eyes exactly what she had been looking for--something that was having a real impact on the lives and well-being of people. And furthermore, through this profession came the opportunity to keep studying, learning, and practicing as a complete lifestyle.

After 10 years, the urge to search arose again, and she found herself flipping through a catalogue of workshops being offered at Omega in Rhinebeck NY. Not knowing what she was looking for, she turned the page and there was an image of a man in the catalogue that she had never seen before, but the moment she saw him, something happened. It was like her body became filled with light and a sense of trust that she had never known. As if in a dream, she signed up to attend his retreat called Eternity Now.

Driven by the unknown, she packed and made the long journey by car from Nova Scotia to NY and from the moment she met Francis Lucille, her life changed. It was as if she had found answers to questions she didn’t know she had and there was a lightness of being that was revealed. It was as if all the spiritual traditions started to glow with understanding. Yoga itself was illuminated in it’s deeper potential, and what followed for the next 10 years has been a process of clarification and embodiment of understanding that ever-continues.

Links:

Yogaheart website: https://yogaheart.ca/

Would you like to be notified when we release new content? Subscribe to our channel and turn on notifications.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eat well. Move more. Stress less. Love more.

I grew up hearing about Dean Ornish, and heard more about him when I came to Satchidananda Ashram because he was a successful healthcare leader who’d been a student of Swami Satchidananda. He's said that “all of [his] work is based on what [he] learned from [Swami Satchidananda]” - work that seeks to show it's possible to reverse illnesses like heart disease with simple tools like healthy diet, exercise, meditation, and healthy personal relationships. With US healthcare projected to reach about 20% of GDP by 2028 - $1 out of every $5 of goods and services produced - in a complex system that places a heavy emphasis on drugs and surgery, I find it exciting that Dean Ornish offers treatments that aim to put patients in charge of their own healthcare through natural means and with comparatively less cost.

Biography:

Dean Ornish, M.D., directed clinical research proving, for the first time, the heart disease and early-stage prostate cancer may be stopped or even reversed by comprehensive lifestyle changes, without drugs or surgery. He is founder and president of the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. His newest research was the first to show that changing your lifestyle changes your genes - "turning on" disease-preventing genes, and "turning off" genes that promote breast cancer, heart disease, and other illness, and increasing telomeres - the ends of your chromosomes that control how long you live. Our genes are not our fate.

He is Medical Editor of The Huffington Post, chairs the Google Health Advisory Council, and authored six best-selling books including his most recent, "Undo It!" He was recognized as one of the "Time 100" in integrative medicine, and chosen by LIFE magazine as "one of the fifty most influential members of his generation".

Links:

Ornish Lifestyle Medicine Website: https://www.ornish.com/undo-it/

Dean Ornish, MD Website: http://deanornish.com/

Undo It! and Other Books: http://deanornish.com/books/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ramakrishna and Avi dive into a conversation about the nature of God, of answering difficult questions at a young age. Ramakrishna shares about his experience meeting Swami Satchidananda and being an early pioneer of Integral Yoga. A builder, inventor, yoga teacher, mountaineer, dancer, poet and grandfather. There is a wealth of life experience and value to unpack.

Ramakrishna began to study yoga in 1968, was a founding member of the San Fransisco IYI in 1970, and the first Intregral Yoga country ashram, Yogaville West in 1972. In 1979 he and his young family were sent to Virginia to help in founding Satchidananda Ashram Yogaville, and he has made a career of construction since that time.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.