The Yoga Hour

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 are? When and how might yoga therapy be used? Join Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian and special guest John Kepner, executive director of the International Association of Yoga Therapists, in a conversation that draws from the roots of yoga and yoga therapy.

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 own heart attack and bypass surgery in 2001. Join Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian in a conversation with Dr. Sarkar about the ways yoga can contribute to heart health and vitality.

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. 

• Learn how regular people with busy schedules can experience enhanced health and well-being through asana, the physical postures of yoga

• Explore the benefits of non-asana practices, including mudra—powerful gestures rejuvenating the nervous system and restoring hormonal balance

• Gain insight into the many benefits—physical, emotional, and spiritual—that come from a well-balanced yoga program 

• Let go of limiting beliefs about what yoga is—and about what is possible for you!

Breathing is essential to life, and unique in that breathing can either happen unconsciously or be controlled deliberately. Pranayama, or conscious breath regulation, is one of the eight limbs of yoga described in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, the primary text of classical yoga. Amy Wheeler, Ph.D., professor of kinesiology at California State University at San Bernardino, yoga therapist, and yoga teacher-trainer, joins The Yoga Hour’s cohost, Dr. Laurel Trujillo, for a conversation about pranayama.

• Find out about the proven health benefits of pranayama

• Learn how pranayama can help you adjust your moods

• Explore the effects of pranayama to calm and steady the mind

• Tune in and begin to breathe easier!

The practice of yoga frees us. Physical poses help release patterns of tension, while meditation and present-moment awareness help free us from the prison of our minds. These benefits apply to everyone, even those in the most trying circumstances. James Fox, author of Prison Yoga Project: A Path for Healing and Recovery, has been teaching yoga twice a week at San Quentin Prison for the past 13 years. James has also trained more than 800 yoga teachers, with many of these currently teaching in more than 75 jails, prisons, and/or recovery centers. James Fox joins the Yoga Hour’s cohost, Laurel Trujillo, M.D., in a conversation about the many ways yoga contributes to our freedom.

The ancient system of yoga is ideally designed to counteract the effects of stress in our fast-paced lives. While medical research has linked chronic stress to negative health consequences and even many diseases, research has also documented the improvements available through the use of yoga and meditation. These ancient approaches not only reduce tension, they can also help us adjust our emotions and attitudes so we experience more relaxation. Carrie Demers, M.D., director of the Himalayan Institute Total Health Center, joins Yoga Hour cohost, Dr. Laurel Trujillo, for a discussion of the many tools within yoga and meditation helping us reduce stress and live with more peace and joy.

Poetry has long had a spiritual aspect. It helps us to be more deeply aware right where we are, contemplate our experiences, and return to what matters most. It has the ability to touch our hearts and speak directly to our souls. Through words, poetry can move us beyond words and thoughts to the indescribable essence of being. In the vast reaches of yoga philosophy and practice, poetry is most often seen as a part of Bhakti Yoga—a devotional path, which uses our love for God as a means to realize our own divinity. However, it can also instigate the sudden awareness signifying Jnana Yoga, the way of wisdom. Poet, storyteller, and teacher Mark Nepo joins Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian for a poetry reading and conversation focusing on how poetry can move us from our heads to our hearts and allow us to access deeper truths about ourselves and life.

Change is a constant element in life. Learn about essential tools that allow us to live in peace, harmony, and joy despite the ever-changing world. In yoga, balance extends beyond the physical skill we build doing postures to our mind, emotions, and spiritual life. Through Ayurveda, diet and lifestyle practices help us to harmonize our innate constitution so we experience optimum well-being. Felicia Tomasko, editor in chief of LA Yoga Magazine, joins Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian for a conversation about the unique tools and perspectives yoga and Ayurveda provide to help balance our lives.

Each person longs to satisfy an inherent desire for happiness, both in the outer world and on the inner journey of self-knowledge and transformation. The ancient tradition of yoga provides a practical and comprehensive science for realizing life’s ultimate aims. Join Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian in a conversation with master yoga teacher Rod Stryker, author of The Four Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity, and Freedom. Discover ways to live a fulfilled life with lasting happiness and inner healing, your best life imaginable.

Among the many benefits of Ayurveda and yoga is increased enjoyment of life. Expanding from our awareness that all of life is connected, we develop an increased appreciation of the bounty of life from moment to moment. Join Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian and Gwen Nagano, president of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association, for a conversation about what Ayurveda and yoga teach us about the importance of enjoying life. Discover the practical steps you can take right away to experience greater well-being and abundant joy every day.