Healing the Earth with Ancient Wisdom

Explore how the spiritual principles of yoga offer hope for our ecological crisis. Dr. Christopher Chapple reveals ancient wisdom for healing ourselves and our planet—inner and outer—through Earth-awareness, mindful living, and inspiring eco-activism.
#kriyayoga #ecology #yamas #niyamas #bhagavadgita

Christopher Key Chapple

Christopher Key Chapple is Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology and founding director of the Master of Arts in Yoga Studies at Loyola Marymount University. He has written more than twenty books, including the book we are discussing today Embodied Ecology: Yoga and the Environment. He serves on the advisory boards for the Forum on Religion and Ecology (Yale), the Jaina Studies Centre (London), the Dharma Academy of North America (Berkeley), and the International School for Jain Studies (Delhi)

WEBSITE: bellarmine.lmu.edu/yoga

THE YOGA HOUR TEAM COMMENTS: This was a delightful conversation helping the listener understand how the teachings of yoga can help us live a life that better cares for the self, the earth and all of its inhabitants.  Christopher Chapple has a conversational storytelling style that you could listen to all day. 

DR. TRUJILLO’S COMMENTS: This discussion with Christopher Chapple about his new book Embodied Ecology encourages us all to pair our contemplative practices of yoga and meditation with action on behalf of the environment.  We discussed how the yogic ethical principles of nonviolence, non-possession, and purity all lead us to concrete action in the outer world: to minimize harm to animals, to consume only necessities, and to be mindful of pollution and avoid it.  This episode also includes Chris reading some passages from the Bhagavad Gita that describe the qualities of a yogi that are inspirational.