The Yoga Hour is a free podcast sponsored by The Center for Spiritual Enlightenment, a meditation center in the Kriya Yoga tradition.
The Yoga Hour offers inspiration, insights, and time-tested practices from the ancient system of yoga—a philosophy and practice for spiritually conscious, fulfilled living in today’s world. This hour of dialogue offers keen insight into universal principles for enlightened living while touching the most practical aspects of our lives such as work, relationships, health, and diet. Even while emphasizing the practical, it speaks to our deepest yearnings to fully awaken to Self- and God-realization in this lifetime. As a student of Kriya Yoga since 2002, host Dr. Laurel Trujillo often discusses the principles that she has learned from her teacher Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian, who was a student of Roy Eugene Davis, a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda.
Our Team
Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian
Founder and Spiritual Director of The Yoga Hour
An acclaimed teacher, award-winning author, and minister who has served seekers of spiritual enlightenment from all walks of life for over thirty years. Yogacharya has published several books on the teachings of Kriya Yoga including The Jewel of Abundance, poetry books including the award winning book The Moon Reminded Me. She also many video programs about meditation, mindfulness and spiritual living, offering a refreshing and authentic voice that makes timeless wisdom accessible to the modern mind.
A teacher in the tradition of Kriya Yoga, Yogacharya O’Brian serves people from all faith backgrounds who are seeking what is known as Self- or God-realization, or awakening. She is the spiritual director of the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment, a meditation center in San Jose, CA.
Through her teaching and publications, Yogacharya O’Brian helps people learn to live from the inside out with practices and insights for developing life-transforming skills to cultivate a spiritually awakened, fulfilled life.
To find out more about her publications and teaching programs go to EllenGraceO’Brian.com
Laurel Trujillo, MD
Producer and host of The Yoga Hour podcast
Laurel began as co-host in 2014, became producer in 2016, and became host in 2020. Dr. Trujillo began studying Kriya Yoga philosophy and meditation at the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment in 2002. She was ordained to teach in the Kriya Yoga tradition by her guru, Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian, in 2014.
Laurel is a physician, an ordained Kriya Yoga teacher, certified Hatha yoga instructor and student of Yoga Therapy and Ayurveda.
She served on CSE’s Board of Directors for 9 years, was President of the Board from 2013-2014 and she also serves on the faculty of Meru Institute.
Dr. Trujillo obtained her MD from UCSF and completed residency training in Primary Care Internal Medicine at UCLA Medical Center. She worked at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation from 1995-2014, serving as Medical Director of Quality from 2010-2014.
Ann Hayes
Assistant Producer
Ann is an ordained minister, meditation teacher and spiritual counselor. She was ordained in the Kriya Yoga tradition in 2006 by her guru, Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian and has been an assistant producer of The Yoga Hour since 2016. Ann served on the Board of Directors of the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment for 7 years. She is a retired nurse and former director of AIDS Services and also the Meals on Wheels program for the Health Trust and former COO for School Health Clinics of Santa Clara County, in San Jose, California. Ann is the former executive director for Carry the Vision, a nonprofit organization founded by Yogacharya O’Brian, providing education, resources and inspiration for the practice of nonviolence. With her husband Rev. Jeff Collins, she is the co-founder of Santa Rosa Mediation Group, established in 2014. www.SantaRosaMeditation.org
Micki Coronado
Assistant Producer
Micki Coronado is a meditation teacher at the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment and an assistant producer for their Yoga Hour podcast. She is also a dedicated volunteer with local and international animal rescue groups. Micki is a retired special education administrator and rehabilitation specialist. As a former Regional Vice President at Spectrum Center Schools for children with autism and behavioral disabilities, she was recognized as a mentor and bench-builder. Prior to moving to California, she was Director of Vocational Services with Easter Seal Society of the Gulf Coast Area. Micki is currently a student at Meru Institute where she is studying Yoga, Ayurveda and Seva: Community Ministry. She embraces Kriya Yoga as a powerful way to walk the spiritual path with its emphasis placed on healthy, purposeful, conscious living and superconscious meditation practice.