The heart of wellbeing is in holistic integration

The importance of an integrated or holistic approach to wellbeing is now widely accepted in modern medicine, psychology, physical therapy, fitness, nutrition and more. 30+ years ago, my parent’s first book, Yoga for Body, Breath, and Mind was published. As one of the early works in comprehensively bringing the… ...

Wishing everyone a wonderful new year!Our family’s connection with Sri Krishnamacharya began in 1971, when he was over 80 years old. At this advanced age, one could imagine that he would be lost in the past, believing that the future had little left to offer him. Instead, he would… ...

All the ancient insights of yoga are waiting to be reinvigorated and applied in our lives.

Yoga students often stay away from practicing devotion, commonly termed bhakti and known as īśvara-praṇidhāna in the Yoga Sutra, because of their doubts about that path. For instance, they suspect that it may interfere with their religious beliefs, or that it is a religious belief, and they don’t want… ...

The pandemic of the last year shifted most education online. Yoga courses too have shifted online. I have reflected for a long time now, even before this shift, on the role of in-person and online learning in yoga trainings. Strengths of in-person learning: 1. The physical presence of people influences us,… ...

How many students start practicing yoga, then quit and never do it again? If they started with a reasonably good teacher, and they felt good with the practice, most will keep returning to yoga. Students usually begin with an asana class. They do movement with good breathing and attention. Then… ...

Approximately 25 years ago, when I was assisting my father with clients, I once asked him, “How would you work with a person who comes to you with back pain?” He gave me this simple algorithm/protocol: Yoga is about decreasing duhkha (suffering), so don’t worsen the pain. Also, that is not… ...

Links (click to view) System Description and Organization System Syllabus and Topics System syllabus and topics as PDF Detailed syllabus with learning outcomes (PDF) Svastha Yoga Online Over the years, I have been asked this question repeatedly, and have researched it deeply: “What makes a good yoga therapist?” The qualities of the individual therapist… ...

Yoga offers both wellbeing and therapy in a unified framework for the whole person.

What does it take to change ourselves? Shifting our patterns takes some effort and meets some resistance. There is always some discomfort as we move outside of our existing zone of ease. For example, it is a challenge to transition from a sedentary lifestyle to regular exercise, or from restlessness… ...