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Harness the Timeless Power of Ayurveda
Combining the timeless principles of Ayurveda with modern scientific insight, we can achieve true mind-body wellness. Join Ayurvedic healer Ulli Allmendinger as we discuss her book, The Power of Ayurveda: Science-Backed Wisdom for Wellness, Vitality, and Longevity, and discover how she integrates traditional wisdom into daily life with practical guidance for greater health.
Ulli Allmendinger is an Ayurvedic practitioner, educator, and retreat leader who has been studying and practicing Ayurveda since 2003 in both India and the United States. She has trained with many renowned teachers and holds a Master of Science in Ayurvedic Sciences from the International Vedic Hindu University in Florida. Through her platform Ulli Ayurveda, she offers consultations, trainings, detox programs, and international retreats that bring the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda into modern life.
Her work can be found under www.ulli-ayurveda.com
Dr. Trujillo’s Comments
This conversation with Ulli Allmendinger about her new book The Power of Ayurveda was full enthusiasm from both of us for the many lifestyle practices of Ayurveda. We included lots of ideas for how listeners can begin to incorporate Ayurvedic lifestyle practices into their lives. We stressed that it’s important not to become overwhelmed with trying to change too many things all at once, and the opportunities that Ayurveda provides for self-study (one of the three key practices of Kriya Yoga as set forth in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra 2.1). Tune in for an enthusiastic introduction to Ayurveda!
The Yoga Hour Team Comments
This is a fun, interesting, and informative conversation with Ulli Allmendinger and Dr. Trujillo. Both exceptionally skilled in articulating the practice of Ayurveda, they discuss Ulli’s book The Power of Ayurveda: Science-Backed Wisdom for Wellness, Vitality, and Longevity. Ulli's approach is to bring these ancient teachings into our modern lifestyle. Ulli is so enthusiastic and inspirational, you'll definitely come away with ways to improve your health by paying attention to the signs your body gives you and ways to bring balance from imbalance. Listeners will appreciate the suggestions like drinking warm water first thing in the morning and throughout the day, eating on schedule and with the seasons, and if possible, schedule activity according to the times of day best suited. Listen to the body, which is Self-study for daily health and wellness. Tune in to receive the full benefits of Ayurveda by Ulli.
Ulli Allmendinger
Awaken to the Groundless Ground of Being
Awaken to the One of all existence—the sacred, luminous reality that is essentially what we are. Join Stephan Bodian, teacher, psychotherapist, and author of Infinite Awakening: A Guide to Nondual Wisdom and the Pathless Path, as he offers a roadmap to discovering our true identity.
Stephan Bodian is a pioneer in the integration of Eastern wisdom and Western psychology. His books include Meditation for Dummies, Wake Up Now, and the new book Infinite Awakening: A Guide to Nondual Wisdom and the Pathless Path. Stephan graduated from Columbia University and did graduate work at Stanford, then spent 10 years as a Buddhist monk and another decade studying with a European master of Indian nondualism.
He leads workshops and retreats on the "direct approach" to spiritual realization and hosts the podcast "Nondual Wisdom and the Pathless Path" at stephanbodian.substack.com
You can also learn more about Stephan at his website and the site for the book discussed in this episode
Dr. Trujillo’s Comments
Stephan Bodian has an interesting and unusual background in Zen, Advaita Vedanta, and Tibetan Buddhism, through which he is able to see and articulate the underlying universal principle of Oneness that each of those paths contain. We discussed spiritual awakening as that experiential process that expands our awareness of who we really are. Our initial experiences of this underlying Oneness can be pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. This conversation will interest anyone on a spiritual path, and those who want to explore the underlying Oneness hiding behind all of our experiences.
The Yoga Hour Team Comments
In this interesting episode, Laurel Trujillo and Stephan Bodian discuss his new book, Infinite Awakening: A Guide to Nondual Wisdom and the Pathless Path. Stephan has spent decades as a serious practitioner across Zen, Dzogchen Tibetan Buddhism, and Advaita Vedanta, and you can feel that depth in how he talks about the common thread running through these traditions. Laurel adds her own angle from Kriya yoga. What stood out most to me was the discussion of the paradox of emptiness — from Zen and Buddhism — set against the fullness described in Vedanta and Kriya Yoga. Empty fullness, a pathless path: there’s nowhere to go, because you’re already there. I encourage you to listen in, it’s worth your time.
Stephan Bodian
Invite the Light: Healing, Wholeness, and Awakened Living
Health and healing begin with a spiritual foundation. Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian explores how prayer, spiritual awareness, and divine intelligence guide the healing process, helping us move through challenges and discover the deeper wholeness already present within life.
Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian is an acclaimed Kriya Yoga teacher, award-winning author, poet and minister who has served seekers of spiritual enlightenment from all walks of life and religions for over forty years. She has published several books and programs about meditation, mindfulness, and spiritual living. Her published works include the award-winning the Jewel of Abundance, Living the Eternal Way, and Living for the Sake of the Soul, as well as a volume of spiritual poetry The Moon Reminded Me. She is the founder of The Yoga Hour podcast and also hosts Kriya Yoga Today podcast. She is the founder and spiritual director of The Center for Spiritual Enlightenment, a Kriya Yoga meditation center with world headquarters in San Jose, California.
Learn more about Yogacharya O’Brian: ellengraceobrian.com
Listen to Yogacharya O’Brian’s Satsang series: “Health, Healing, and Awakened Living” (remaining dates are April 12th, May 3rd, and June 7th)
DR. TRUJILLO’S COMMENTS: My conversation with Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian about the spiritual basis of healing is wonderfully timely as there is so much need in this moment for healing ourselves, our communities, and our world. I appreciated Yogacharya’s framing that healing is returning ourselves to an awareness of our original wholeness which extends beyond the physical body to encompass mind, heart, and soul. We discussed three steps of healing: intending to heal, believing that it is possible to heal, and having a practice that quiets the mind and allows our inner light to shine. Also included is a 5 step prayer for healing that listeners will find useful for healing at all levels. I highly recommend this episode.
THE YOGA HOUR TEAM COMMENTS: I really enjoyed the discussion Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian had with Dr. Laurel Trujillo on how health and healing begin with a spiritual foundation. The key concept that resonated with me is that having a practice that quiets the mind allows connection to intuition/discernment. Look at how nature does it. The actual guidance comes from within. It was particularly powerful to view healing not as a cure, but as bringing us into our innate wholeness. This episode is powerful, giving actual steps to take toward the healing process of self, relationships, the world. A great thanks to Yogacharya O’Brian for sharing her insights to actualize the healing process through steady spiritual practice and the belief that healing is possible.
Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian
Cultivate Radiant Living and Nourish Your Soul
How can we empower food to work in favor of radiant living and soul nourishment? Nutritionist Sue Van Raes shares practices that can help us understand what satisfies our true hungers. We can learn to trust the wisdom of the body’s signals for self-care and building resiliency.
Sue Van Raes is a functional nutritionist, food psychology specialist, and wellness expert who is dedicated to helping women who are stressed out about food finally make peace with their plates. She is the founder of Boulder Nutrition where she offers many programs to support nutrition for the body/mind/spirit. Sue draws on her personal and professional experience providing a body, heart, mind, and soul approach to stop stressing and start living. Sue’s insight on nutrition, food psychology, and yoga has been featured in numerous publications, including People Magazine, The Chopra Center, The Sacred Science, and the Elephant Journal. She is the author of the book we are discussing today, Food and Freedom: Discover Your Personal Recipe to Eat, Think and Live Well
THE YOGA HOUR TEAM COMMENTS: I really enjoyed this conversation between Sue Van Raes and Dr. Trujillo. They spoke about hunger in its different forms, physical, mental, heart hunger and soul hunger. Sue’s extensive knowledge of how hunger works in our bodies and her spiritual understanding supports us in being able to nourish ourselves in a healthy balanced way. Most of the program was spent on mental, heart and soul hunger. Physical hunger was described in Sue Van Rae’s previous appearance on The Yoga Hour.
I appreciate how she said that we often get these other hungers confused with physical hunger and try to satisfy these hungers with food which doesn’t address our core desires. An important piece of advice she left the listeners with is to simplify. Trying to do everything and perfectly just increases our stress levels and throws us off balance. When we feel more balanced in all ways we can make conscious choices about all areas of our lives, including food, and everyone benefits.
DR TRUJILLO’S COMMENTS: This conversation with Sue Van Raes about her book Food and Freedom asks wonderful questions about how we nourish ourselves at the level of the body, the mind, the heart, and the soul. In addition to reviewing the hormones leptin and ghrelin, which control hunger and satiety in the body, I appreciated the information that Sue shared about how stress impacts our eating, along with some breathing practices that can help relieve that stress. I enjoyed our discussion of “glimmers" which are the opposite of triggers, and are something that we can look for whenever we claim a mindful moment in our day. We discussed how emotional eating can be a teacher for us, and the importance of self-compassion as we work to try to improve our diets. I highly recommend this conversation for anyone who is curious about how to better nourish themselves fully.