The Yoga Hour

Spiritual Practice in the Kriya Yoga Tradition: Insights From Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra (Part 2)

Intentional living supports our complete well-being and spiritual fulfillment. Find out why self-discipline, study of higher realities, and surrender of the illusional sense of self are essential for spiritual progress and realization. Roy Eugene Davis, a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda and author of The Science of Self-Realization, a commentary on the Yoga Sutra, joins Yogacharya O’Brian for this second conversation in a two-part series on spiritual practice for enlightened living.

Spiritual Practice in the Kriya Yoga Tradition: Insights From Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra (Part 1)

Learn about superconscious states—what they are, why they are important, the various ways they can be realized, and how to overcome obstacles that may impede your progress in meditation. Roy Eugene Davis, a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda and author of The Science of Self-Realization, a commentary on the Yoga Sutra, joins Yogacharya O’Brian for a two-part series on spiritual practice for enlightened living.
 

Regain Balance in Your Life by Overcoming Stress

Our stress response helps our bodies to respond to perceived threats. However, when stress becomes chronic, it can result in an imbalance in our bodies and affect our well-being. Join guest host Dr. Laurel Trujillo in a conversation with Dr. Claudia Welch to discuss ways to regain balance in your life. Dr. Welch has training in both Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine, and wrote the book Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life: Achieving Optimal Health and Wellness Through Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine, and Western Science.
·      Explore the importance of balance in getting and staying healthy
·      Learn practices that you can put into place now to rebuild your energy and health
·      Discover what foods you should and shouldn't eat when under stress
·      Find out the importance of meditation and spiritual practice for regaining balance

Yoga Therapy: Yoga as Powerful Medicine for the Body, Mind, and Spirit

Yoga philosophy teaches that our essential nature is whole, and within us all is the healing potential needed to bring our body, mind, and spirit into balance, which reflects as total well-being. This holistic approach of yoga has scientifically proven beneficial effects, which are detailed in the book Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing by Dr. Timothy McCall, a general internist and longtime yoga practitioner. Join guest host Dr. Laurel Trujillo and Dr. McCall as they discuss yoga therapy:
            •          Find out how science says yoga can help you get and stay healthy.
            •          Learn about yoga’s holistic approach to healing and living well.
            •          Explore the relationship of stress on health and healing, and yoga’s proven benefits as a stress reliever.
            •          Discover how yoga is being used therapeutically for common illnesses such as anxiety and hypertension.
Join us as we explore yoga’s many proven benefits and therapeutic uses.

Wisdom of the Yoga Sutra: Radiant Living Is Your Birthright!

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra is the primary text of classical yoga. Written more than 2,000 years ago, it offers timeless teachings of Truth—the truth of our inner divinity and innate luminosity. Yogacharya O’Brian is joined by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait for an enlightening conversation about the wisdom of the Yoga Sutra: how to be free here and now, and experience our everlasting self-luminous joy. This episode will focus on “Samadhi Pada,” the first chapter of the Sutra, which explains the goal of yoga and the essentials of spiritual practice.
*What is the nature of the mind, and how can we use it wisely?
*How can we eliminate acquired and self-defeating tendencies?
*How can we live life to our fullest potential?
Listen and learn how you can benefit from the time-honored answers contained in the Yoga Sutra. 
 

Health, Harmony, and Awakening Through Ayurveda

Ayurveda and yoga are sister sciences with Vedic roots in ancient India. Yoga recognizes that our body/mind is our vehicle for awakening, and Ayurveda instructs us in the proper maintenance of that vehicle. When we live in harmony with nature, we thrive on all levels. Ayurvedic practitioner Vishnu Dass joins guest host Dr. Laurel Trujillo for an exploration of how Ayurveda can support our complete well-being, paving the way for natural, radiant health and removing unnecessary obstacles from our own awakening process.
       
                *What is the spiritual and holistic foundation of Ayurveda?
                *What is the Ayurvedic approach to health?        
                *How does an Ayurvedic lifestyle help to heal the world? 
Join us as we explore these questions and dive deeply into Ayurveda as an art of daily living and a science of self-understanding.

Refresh Your Mind With Pratyahara

Are you suffering from sensory overload? Do you yearn for more inner peace? Tune in and learn how pratyahara can help. Pratyahara, often translated as "withdrawal of the senses," is that and much more. Pandit Vamadeva Shastri and Yogini Shambhavi of the American Institute of Vedic Studies join Yogacharya O’Brian to share insights and practices from pratyahara, the fifth limb of Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga.
·      Discover how you can use pratyahara to take better control of your life and open up to your own inner being.
·      Find out why some great yogis consider this neglected limb of yoga to be the most important limb of all. 
·      Learn techniques for nourishing and protecting the mind, including mantra. 

Less stress and more joy are ours as we make conscious choices to direct our mind and our senses in ways that support our peace, clarity, and complete well-being. 
 

Bringing Home the Practice: Yoga for Total Well-Being

“Yoga is a wonderful tool for everybody: young or old; healthy or sick; man, woman, or child. Whether you begin with the aim of becoming spiritually enlightened or just stretching your legs is not important. The point is to begin and see where the journey takes you.” Tara Fraser, author of Total Yoga: A Step-by-Step Guide to Yoga at Home for Everybody, joins guest host Dr. Laurel Trujillo for an exploration of how you can establish, expand, and deepen a consistent home-based yoga practice. If you are new to yoga, learn how to get started. If you are an experienced practitioner, discover how a home practice can deepen and extend your yoga sadhana. Encourage, inspire, and challenge yourself to enjoy your yoga practice. Your complete well-being awaits you!

Redefine Yourself!

There is an abiding sense of peace that only comes to us when are being who we know we came here to be. When we live in the moment from that deep inner knowing, we experience healing and wholeness in all aspects of our life. Join Yogacharya O’Brian and Dennis Merritt Jones for a discussion about the joy and freedom that come from using each moment as a portal to remember the truth of our own being. Discover ...
•    challenges you face in becoming who you were born to be
•    practices that will support you in expressing who you truly are
•    benefits that come with a lifelong practice of Self-awareness
Learn to recognize your redefining moments—and use them as a springboard to live your authentic and satisfying life.

Cultivate Contentment and Change Your Brain

Join Yogacharya O’Brian and special guest neuropsychologist Rick Hanson for a conversation about practical ways to cultivate contentment that result in hardwiring happiness in our brains.
•    Learn about developments in neuroscience that show how repetitive thoughts and emotions create new brain structure.
•    Build a new practice to cultivate contentment in a way that can change your brain.
•    Discover a practical technique that will help you “take in the good.”
When we develop a practice of “taking in the good,” the negativity bias of our brains can be overcome as we increase our contentment, calm, and self-confidence.