Just before dusk on a drive through Los Angeles a fierce amber sun hung in the skies that had become overcast with soot and ash. All around us was a dry and thick aroma of settled embers that lay across the cities north and south of us. We drove towards it as it moved into the sea and each of us let out a gasp of reverence. (more…)

While at the Global Mala Project in Los Angeles, our team had the great fortune to view the inspiring work of Jasper Johal.
Mr. Johal is a photographer of some of the most intimate, artful and beautifully nude views of yoga poses. In his series entitled The Body as Temple we are offered a spiritual and sensuous insight of the body as a sacred being. (more…)

Every time we go to the movies we are inundated with one blockbuster film trailer after another. And we nod our heads with approval “Oh that looks good” or with disbelieve at how a particular film could have any relevance to our lives.

Quietly in the mountain ranges of Idaho a film festival aspires to offer us stories whose intent is to express “a celebration of human spirituality through film.” (more…)

Let the beauty of what you love be what you do. – Rumi

Another month comes upon us and perhaps you are once again, creating a list of what you need to or want to accomplish in this mere 31 days. How long is that list? Is it practical? Is it fanciful? Does it include your health and exercise goals?

How often do we assume that our exercise regime will just take care of itself? For myself, that may just be one too many days. (more…)

In the future we will be bringing you profiles on individuals or organizations that bring the arts and yoga together in the form of poetry, dance, theatre or painting.

While doing this research we came across the work of Leza Lowitz.  In a lovely collection of poems entitled Yoga Poems: Lines to Unfold By, Leza is combining her passion for poetry with her devotion to yoga. (more…)

From sunrise to sunset we are beseeched with everyday images, sounds and the voice of our own intuition, each clamoring for our attention. The influence of these sometimes causes us to be endlessly caught drifting from one thought to another without a point in sight.

Sometimes our spirits need this wandering to recoup from our hectic lives. But how do we manage this when we are seeking to focus our awareness? (more…)

Summer insists languidness (as in “lacking quickness of movement”), which may be cause for concern for many of us multi-fast-track accelerating to the finish line types. Especially being an independent with a laptop! Not getting official time-off, I have to remind myself to take a whole day off every once in a while. Having out of town guests helps, as it gives me more incentive to explore some off the freeway place with an intriguing name - like Bodega Bay. (more…)

Another friend just said it in conversation. That there’s a “yoga boom.” And I suppose if Vanity Fair does a 20-page glam yoga spread on it (Planet Yoga, June 2007) it’s for real! (more…)

Since I’ve spent a considerable amount of blog space commenting on the use of language in yoga instructions, I thought it only fair to say that although inspiring, clear instructions are crucial in the beginning stages of a yoga practice, it may not matter much at all if you realize what is really happening in yoga. (more…)

Since I had to return home before completing a full 10 days of Anusara thought I’d just complete my comments with some follow-up notes — about one of my favorite puzzles in yoga practice- the male authority body (as renown teacher “expert”) instructing female student bodies. (more…)