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Laurel Trujillo Laurel Trujillo

The Yoga of Consciousness: Moving Beyond Body and Mind

How does our consciousness, identity, and prana differ in different states of consciousness? Dr. David Frawley discusses how observing and contemplating our daily movement from waking, dreaming, and deep sleep can lead to boundless wisdom and enduring bliss.

Dr. David Frawley (or Pandit Vamadeva Shastri) is a Vedic teacher and educator who is the author of over forty books in several Vedic and Yogic fields published worldwide over the past thirty years. He is the founder and director of the American Institute of Vedic Studies, which offers on-line courses and publications on Ayurveda, Yoga, Vedanta, mantra and meditation, and Vedic astrology. He is involved in important research into ancient Vedic texts and is a well known modern exponent of Hinduism and Sanatana Dharma. He has a rare D.Litt in Yoga and is a recipient of the prestigious Padma Bhushan award, one of India's highest civilian awards for "distinguished service of a higher order." His work is highly respected in traditional circles in India, as well as influential in the West, where he is involved in many Vedic and Yogic schools, ashrams and associations.

SHOW NOTES:
To find out more about Dr. David Frawley’s programs and books his website is www.vedanet.com. The book discussed in this episode is The Yoga of Consciousness: From Waking, Dream and Deep Sleep of Self-Realization

YOGA HOUR TEAM COMMENTS:
The show with Pandit Vamadeva Shastri was very thought provoking and motivating. He shares the idea that Yoga is the very movement of our lives, our journey moment to moment through the four states of consciousness; that everyday we have been to the divine and back again and we missed it. Through Yoga practices including manta, meditation, visualization of our inner Self we can move beyond the ego to become aware and focused to have an understanding of the inner powers that create the Universe.
FROM OUR HOST, DR. TRUJILLO: It was lovely to discuss the possibilities for transformation that open as we develop the yoga of consciousness, and pay more attention to the four states of consciousness in our daily cycle. This will be a valuable gift for our listeners.

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Laurel Trujillo Laurel Trujillo

Transforming Ourselves and the World Through Selfless Service

How does a heart of service respond to the difficulties of our times? How do we overcome fear and awaken the compassion that is innate within us? Nipun Mehta, founder of ServiceSpace.org, discusses how small acts of service can transform us and transform the world.

Nipun Mehta.jpg

Nipun Mehta is the founder of ServiceSpace, an incubator of projects that works at the intersection of volunteerism, technology and gift-economy. What started as an experiment with four friends in the Silicon Valley has now grown to a global ecosystem of over 500,000 members that has delivered millions of dollars in service for free.  In this past year, KarunaVirus.org, a play on the words Corona virus, is one of the many programs that have grown out of ServiceSpace. KarunaVirus.org offers good news, uplifting stories and inspiring ideas sent to subscribers daily. This is a volunteer project offered freely without ads or solicitations. 

Nipun has received many awards, including the Jefferson Award for Public Service, Dalai Lama's Unsung Hero of Compassion, Goi Peace Award in 2019.

SHOW NOTES: Nipun Mehta websites: ServiceSpace.org, KarunaVirus.org. Note that the quote “The winds of grace are always blowing, but you have to raise the sail.” is actually from Ramakrishna. Dr. Trujillo apologizes that she couldn’t remember the correct attribution during the show.

YOGA HOUR TEAM COMMENTS: What an inspiring discussion today with Nipun Mehta on Karma Yoga, the path of selfless service. I love the insight that in Karma Yoga, it is not the action that is as important as the mindset. We grow compassion as we decouple from the focus on outcomes and serve from the space of love. "The reward for service is service." Powerful! I also enjoyed his teaching about 3 types of service, beggarly, neighborly and kingly and that if we realize we are offering beggarly service (expecting something in return) we can evolve to giving without motive.

   

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Laurel Trujillo Laurel Trujillo

Curbing Chronic Inflammation with Yoga and Meditation

Medical science has increasingly illustrated the role chronic inflammation plays in the development of disease. Yoga therapist Baxter Bell, M.D., discusses how yogic practices, breath techniques, and meditation can curb inflammation and support us in living a healthier life.

Baxter Bell, MD, has been actively deepening his understanding of the power of yoga since making the stress-reducing move from a career as a busy family doctor to that of a yoga teacher and medical acupuncturist. He is on faculty for several Yoga Teacher Training and Yoga Therapy Training programs around the country. Baxter is a Certified Yoga Therapist. He is also co-author with Nina Zolotow of the book Yoga for Healthy Aging. Baxter teaches public and specialty back care yoga classes and yoga for healthy aging online, as well as workshops and retreats around the United States and internationally.

SHOW NOTES
Website: BaxterBell.com

YOGA HOUR TEAM COMMENTS: I highly recommend this podcast. Amazing information. I didn't realize how much chronic inflammation affects almost all aging diseases. What really piques my interest are the hard scientific studies Dr. Bell cites that show the remarkable beneficial effects of yoga and meditation. Best of all, specific yoga poses, breathing methods and meditation practices are included.

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Laurel Trujillo Laurel Trujillo

Calm Your Mind and Restore Your Energy

How do the tools of yoga help us to move beyond trauma? Joanne Spence, certified yoga therapist and author of Trauma-Informed Yoga, discusses using the ancient wisdom of yoga along with modern neuroscience to reduce stress and calm the nervous system.

Joanne Spence is a certified yoga therapist and has Social Work and a Master of Arts degrees. She is the founder and executive director of Yoga in Schools. Joanne trains and teaches yoga specializing in working with adults and children who are experiencing chronic pain, trauma, depression, anxiety, ADHD, and insomnia. Joanne is the author of the book Trauma Informed Yoga: A Toolbox for Therapists.

SHOW NOTES:
Joanne’s website is JoanneSpence.com. Her book we discussed in this episode is Trauma Informed Yoga: A Toolbox for therapists

THE YOGA HOUR TEAM COMMENT:
I really appreciated this program. The discussion centering on how trauma affects all of us and focusing on how to use yoga to bring the internal and external safety that we seek is timely post pandemic. Although the book was written for therapists, it speaks to all of us as we work with ourselves and those around us experiencing stress. Having Joanne demonstrate a few of the 48 tools she shares in the book was extremely helpful to experience. She simplified breath and movements like sitting cat-cow, making them easy to use in the moment.

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Laurel Trujillo Laurel Trujillo

Kriya Yoga Living

Discover how the practices of Kriya yoga awaken the heart and reveal innate divine qualities such as self-restraint, generosity, humility, and perseverance on the spiritual path. Join Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian as she discusses the key to living a joy-filled life.

Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian is the founder of the Yoga Hour. She is a spiritual teacher, writer, poet, and the spiritual director of Center for Spiritual Enlightenment—a Kriya Yoga Meditation Center with headquarters in San Jose, California. She teaches nationally and internationally and has received several community service awards, including the Mahatma Gandhi Award for the Promotion of Religious Pluralism. Her latest award-winning bestseller The Jewel of Abundance: Finding Prosperity through the Ancient Wisdom of Yoga was published by New World Library.

SHOW NOTES:
Yogacharya O’Brian’s website is EllenGraceO’Brian.com. The Center for Spiritual Enlightenment’s website is CSEcenter.org. See her video teaching on Kriya Yoga Living as well as other video programs she has shared at her YouTube channel: Ellen Grace O’Brian

THE YOGA HOUR TEAM LISTENER NOTES:
Today’s program was such a rich teaching. I was really moved by Yogacharya’s teaching on humility. Her teachings on steadiness on the path and on generosity I found very profound and so very useful. I definitely want to listen again.

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Laurel Trujillo Laurel Trujillo

Yoga, Belonging, and Resilience

How can the inherent wholeness and belonging of yoga help us to bounce back when we meet the challenges of life? Yoga therapist Amy Wheeler, Ph.D., discusses how through yoga, we can develop resiliency while having compassion for ourselves and for others.

Amy Wheeler’s life purpose has been to change the way people view mental and physical health by educating them about the inter-relationship between Yoga, Psychology and Public Health.  She has a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and her B.A. and M.A. in Health Promotion. She has studied Yoga and Yoga Therapy in India, Europe and the United States.  During the past 25 years, Amy studied extensively in the T. Krishnamacharya Tradition.  Amy served as the President of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT).   Additionally, she helped to develop and define standards for Ayurvedic Yoga Therapists in the National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA). Amy has also conducted many yoga research studies at California State University, San Bernardino, where she has been an active Professor of Kinesiology for 25 years. Amy teaches many courses pertaining to Yoga, Psychology, Sociology and Philosophy of Sport and Exercise. 

Show Notes:

Amy’s website is https://amywheeler.com.

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Laurel Trujillo Laurel Trujillo

Questions That Spark Transformation

How can the right questions redefine the trajectory of your life? Spiritual teacher and author of Spark Change: 108 Provocative Questions for Spiritual Evolution, Jennie Lee discusses how we can deepen awareness of our innermost needs, allowing us to initiate powerful shifts in our lives.

Jennie Lee is a recognized expert in the fields of yoga therapy and spiritual living. She has taught classical yoga and meditation for more than 20 years. She coaches private clients in practices that help them reconnect to soul wisdom and live purposeful lives. She is the author of several award-winning books including Spark Change: 108 Questions For Spiritual Evolution.

Show Notes:

Jennie’s website is JennieLeeYogaTherapy.com Her book that we were speaking about in this episode is Spark Change: 108 Provocative Questions for Spiritual Evolution.


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meditation Li Wang meditation Li Wang

Embody Your Meditation Practice

What role does our sitting posture play in the depth of our meditation? Will Johnson, teacher and author of The Posture of Meditation: A Practical Manual for Meditators of All Traditions, shares the importance of our body’s role in our path of spiritual transformation.

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