CommonGround 8 26 Brierley

THE BAY AREAS MAGAZINE FOR CONSCIOUS COMMUNITY SINCE 1974
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September Is
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SEPTEMBER 2014 | FREE
IYENGAR
LEGACY
19182014
CALL OF
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Path of Awakening
YOGA STRETCHES
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October 31 - November 2, 2014
featuring classes & workshops by
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Three-day passes are $395

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contents
FEATURES
SEPTEMBER 2014
54
The Yoga Issue
26
The Call of the Camino: Path of Awakening
36
How Do You Pray?
54
The (105) Truth According

to Bikram Choudhury
By John Brierley
Insights from the Illumined, an Illustrated Excerpt
The Common Ground Interview by Rob Sidon
62
Yoga Stretches Across the World
A pictorial by Robert Sturman
PHOTO: GERARD BURKHART
DEPARTMENTS
on our radar
20
Robin Williams Drew Me Out of the Closet
22
Yoga & Psyche
24
The Iyengar Legacy
30
Silencing the Story Line
42
For Love, Not Money
44
Sitting Still Like a Frog
48
Why I Teach Stand Up Paddle Yoga
24
Yoga: Antidote to Addiction and Suicide

By Lisa Maria
The Birth of a Field
By Mariana Caplan
By Kaitlin Quistgaard
By Lama Marut
healthy living
44
ON THE COVER
Yoga teacher Dice Iida-Klein (BryceYoga.com)
photographed by Jasper Johal
for The Body as Temple series
2014 Jasper Johal (JasperPhoto.com)
IN EVERY ISSUE
Insights from a New Yoga Teacher

By Francesca Gobeille
Mindfulness Exercises for Kids
By Eline Snel
By Arjay Parker
art & soul

507 Reviews
From the Publisher
18
Green Scene
32
Happenings =70
Professional Services Directory 55 72

Last Words
82
Advanced Spiritual Intimacy

The Yoga of Deep Tantric Sensuality
By Stuart Sovatsky
Caught-in-the-Act Short Takes

San Jose Jazz Summer Fest
Roy Strassman
Deva Premal & Miten with Manose

Mantras for Life
Jai Uttal
Return to Shiva Station
Jaya Lakshmi & Ananda

Saraswati Dreams
Yoga Maya
Arvind Chittumalla
The Bay Areas Magazine for Conscious Community since 1974

775 East Blithesdale Ave. #222, Mill Valley, CA 94941
Phone: 415-459-4900 or 415-505-1410
www.commongroundmag.com
Common Ground is published by Common Ground Publishing Inc.
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
Rob Sidon
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Lama Marut, Arjay Parker, Kaitlin Quistgaard,
Merikah Robertson, Eline Snel, Roy Strassman
Contributing Artists
Jasper Johal, Robert Sturman
Discover YOGA @ EarthRise!

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SEPTEMBER 2014
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September
Is National
Yoga Month
s a teenager, reading Swami Vivekananda and the accounts of Sri

Ramakrishnaboth 19th-century saints from Calcuttachanged
my life forever. I came to learn about Yogananda through his famous book, Autobiography of a Yogi. My interest in yoga postures didnt
start until much later, after a motorsports accident in 1996.
In 2002, I sampled my first Bikram class in San Francisco. I remember
dreading that sweltering roombut I was hooked. Twelve years later, I
keep going back. My body feels purged at the conclusion of the sweatfilled, 26-posture sequence. Over the years Ive wondered about the man
behind the name, Bikram Choudhury, also from Calcutta.
I had heard how controversial and flamboyant he wasthat he lived
in Beverly Hills, wore Rolexes, and collected Rolls Royces. Suffice to say,
he didnt emulate the mendicant spiritual luminaries of yore. Bikram is
the Hollywood version. I asked that our interview be done by phone to
avoid having to fly to Los Angeles, but he insisted we meet at his home.
After my grumbles over the high cost of last-minute flights, my excitement piqued, as I was finally going to meet the man. I presumed we
would meet for an hour or two. Our conversation lasted all day. His wife,
Rajashree, graciously served us dinner.
From a business standpoint, Bikram is on top of the yoga food chain.
Whether people stick with his style of practice or not, to his credit, he
has introduced millions to yoga and its benefits. That Bikram is unafraid
to express himself stirs envy in me. I found myself wondering Why cant
I be that ballsy? It was a memorable interview, captured in his home, in
his words, in his syntax.
Sadly, B. K. S. Iyengar died recently. Kaitlin Quistgaard, former editor
in chief of Yoga Journal, has penned a quick tribute. Local hero Robin
Williams also died this month. Lisa Maria, a popular yoga instructor, has
written a different kind of tribute, using Robins suicide as a prompt for
her own coming out. Lisa explains how yoga helped save her from a
similar fatedepression, addiction, and suicidal tendencies. Bravo for
your courage, Lisa.
Francesca Gobeille shares what its like to be a new yoga teacher, while
Arjay Parker reveals why she teaches Stand Up Paddle yoga. Weve an extensive essay by John Brierley about the vaunted camino in Spain, while
Eline Snel describes the trend of teaching mindfulness meditation to kids.
Thank you, Robert Sturman, for your pictorial Yoga Stretches Across
the World. It beautifully exposes the transcendent nature of yoga and
the extent to which it has become a global phenomenon. Many thanks
to another ace photographer, Jasper Johal, for the friendship weve cultivated and the awesome covers he has provided since 2009 for our September editions.
With a number of excellent yoga events coming up in September, we
anticipate seeing you. For those willing to travel to another desert after
Burning Man, we encourage Bhakti Fest in Joshua Tree. Or if you prefer
elevation, consider Yoga Journal Live in Estes Park, CO. Closer to home,
the legendary A. G. Mohan and his wife, Indra, visit the Bay Area.
Appreciation for this free community magazine is best expressed by
supporting our advertisersthe best.

18 SEPTEMBER 2014
Strike a pose,
ROB SIDON, Publisher and Editor in Chief
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on our radar
SEPTEMBER 2014
Robin
Williams
Drew Me
Out of the
Closet
Yoga: Antidote to
Addiction and Suicide
BY LISA MARIA
Given the increasing pace and conflict present

in modern life, with all its resulting stress, one
could say that yoga has become an essential
tool for survival, as well as for expanding the
creativity and joy of our lives. Bhole Prabhu
m a mother, a yoga teacher, and a writer. I

have a rewarding job and a circle of loving
family and friends.
Im also a drug addict and alcoholic.
It has taken me a long time to come out of
the closet. There is a part of me that wants to
ignore, repress, and deny the threads of addiction and depression that are woven through
my being. I want to look like an exemplary
yoga professional that has it all togetherthat
Im normal. I cant anymore.
Robin Williamss death by suicide has undone my longstanding need for privacy. This
brilliant, beloved man was my brother in sobriety. Although I did not know him personally, I know that we shared similar struggles.
The journey from active addiction to active
recovery is the same for every addictthe denial, the crash, the surrender, the awakening.
Learning to walk through emotionally charged
situations without drinking, drugging, or drama. Learning to tell the truth about who we
are, what we feel, and what we need.
Swami Sivananda said, Speaking truth is
the most important qualification of a yogin.
Satya, the second yama (ethical precept) in
yoga philosophy, is a necessary practice, as it
aligns humanity with God consciousnessthe
True Reality. Aligning with this reality shifts
20
SEPTEMBER 2014
our consciousness to a state of unionyoga

with all that is.
The physical practices of yoga are meant to
cleanse the debris of mental, emotional, and
physical toxicity from the sensitive, vibrational
system of the body. Ancient masters were adept at developing various yogic technologies to
fine-tune and harmonize the multidimensional aspects of our beingintellect, emotions,
body, and soul. Yoga postures, breath work,
meditation, concentration practices, mantras,
mudras, etc., are necessary tools for finding
peace and serenity on this plane of existence.
When we dont discharge depressed, tense,
and anxious energies from our system, we become restless, irritable, and discontent. Many
of us turn to drugs and alcohol as a way to
medicate the suffering, becoming addicts and
alcoholics. What seemed like a solution in the
beginning inevitably creates more pain and
suffering, leading to hospitals, institutions,
and death.
According to the American Foundation for
Suicide Prevention, at least 90 percent of all
people who died by suicide were suffering
from a mental illness at the time, most often
depression. Among people who are depressed,
intense emotional states such as desperation,
hopelessness, anxiety, or rage increase the risk
of suicide. People who are impulsive, or who
use alcohol and drugs, are also at higher risk.
Suicide is a significant problem in the United
States. On average, there are 105 suicide deaths
every day13.3 per minutemore deaths than
by homicide or car accidents. Depression is an
illness that runs in families. I knowI lost both
my aunt and my sister to suicide.
I began drinking and drugging as a young
teen in order to cope with the crushing depression and suicidal ideation that had plagued
me for as long as I can remember. As a child,
I was weighed down with heavy, unbearably

dark moods that muffled me like dense woolen blankets. Books, music, sports, and nature
served as refuge until the discovery of alcohol
and drugs. It was fun at first, then fun and a
little messy, then just messy.
Nearly 17 years ago, I crashed and gave up. I
surrendered to the fact that I had no idea how
to live a healthy life without alcohol, drugs, and
drama. I got sober in Alcoholics Anonymous.
My life got better. I began practicing yoga in
earnest. With each practice, sometimes each
breath, I would feel the layers of depression,
tension, and anxiety dissolving.
The Higher Power that I had heard so much
about in meetings came vividly alive for me
through yoga. In the main AA text, the Big
Book, God is referred to as the Great Reality. This made sense to me, as I was having the
direct experience of that Great Reality through
my yoga and meditation practices. The philosophies of 12-Step Recovery and yoga seamlessly wove together for me, complementing each
other in a perfect safety net.
Most readers will know someone suffering
from life-threatening depression at some point
in our lives. It is important to remember that
about one third of the folks who die by suicide
never tell anyone of their intentions. We need
to learn how to identify and respond to those
that are caught in this web. We need to face
the truth and share it.
Robin, I pray that your death serves a higher
purpose and brings awareness to the complexity of depression. I pray that more people come
forward from the shame and the shadows, to
share their truthand bring their many hues
to the practice of yoga.
Lisa Maria is a teacher and the NorCal Workshop Manager for YogaWorks.
I am focused.
on our radar pyschology
Yoga &
Psyche
The Birth of a Field
BY MARIANA CAPLAN
ut beyond ideas of wrongdoing and

rightdoing, there is a field. Ill meet
you there, wrote Rumi. In April
2014, a group of 200 yoga teachers, practitioners, psychologists, neuroscientists, and
trauma researchers representing over a dozen
countries gathered in San Francisco for The
Yoga & Psyche Conferencethe first academic
conference in the Western world on the integration of yoga and Western psychology. From
this gathering were sown the seeds of a field of
integration that has already begun to emerge
but is gaining momentum, and invites all those
who love, teach, and practice these two great
traditions to participate in bringing forth.
In this field, the vast and ancient philosophy,
science, and practice of yoga lies intermingled
with the relatively new field of Western psychology and the important innovations of
somatics and neuroscience. When these two
bedmates bring together each of their gifts, a
new creation is born that is greater than either
22
SEPTEMBER 2014
alone and brings new evolutionary possibilities with it. Yoga needs psychology as much as
psychology needs yoga.
Psychology is a field in the making. Whereas
yoga has been developing philosophies and
methods to address the great questions facing humanity for between 2,000 and 5,000
years, Western psychology is only about 135
years old. Globalization, the increasing interest in Eastern traditions such as yoga, massive
amounts of evidence-based research being
published, and significant developments in
neuroscience, trauma research, and somatic
psychology have opened the doors for a synthesis of Eastern and Western approaches to
well-being. Research
indicates yoga as an
important complementary treatment
for many psychological disorders, including anxiety, depression, schizophrenia,
stress, dissociation,
attention deficit disorder, eating disorders, and trauma,
among others, as
well as promoting
psychological
and
overall health and
thriving.
For many people,
even years of study
and practice of yoga
and other spiritual
traditions does not
fully penetrate the crevices of their own deep
psyche without the support of Western psychology, and somatic psychology in particular.
There are images, feelings, and contractions
within the psyche that neither yoga nor psychology alone can release. The support of yoga,
including its vast variety of meditative practices, combined with the emerging research and
innovations in psychology, creates a seamless
weave of support and knowledge that can be
drawn upon to aid human beings through almost any challenge or process of development.
As a psychologist who specializes in working with spiritual teachers and long-term
practitioners, and consulting and mediating in
spiritual scandals, I have come to believe that
it is almost necessary for every teacher of yoga
or any other spiritual tradition to undergo a
course of deep psychological inquiry under the
guidance of an experienced psychotherapist or
therapeutic school. Among the hundreds of
yoga teachers and thousands of yoga students I
have spoken with, I have not encountered anybody who does not struggle psychologically.
Nobody escapes being human. The importance for psychological inquiry increases for
spiritual leaders, and the stronger the position
of spiritual leadership, the greater the importance for psychological work, as the psychological blind spots of teachers always impact
students.
The extraordinary thing is that when we do
bring together the brilliance of the two streams
of knowledge and practices of yoga and psychology, the potentials are endless. Because the
knowledge is awakened within ones own body,
deep psyche, and spirit, there is no end to the
possibilities for ones growth and deepening.
Together, these two disciplines form a seamless
weave of knowledge and practices that are applicable on a minute-to-minute basis, whether
in the yoga studio, therapy room, or practiced
during the rush of the activities of life.
As we move toward developing this integration between traditions, I have a vision
of deeply knowledgeable and educated yoga
teachers who are psychologically educated and
savvy, psychotherapists who appreciate the
importance of including the body in therapy
and can integrate the insights and practices
of yoga into their work, highly informed and
prepared consumers of spiritual and psychological traditions, and fewer spiritual scandals.
It is exciting to live in a globalized society,
even as it is demanding. We have at our fingertips access to much of the knowledge that
has ever been available on these subjects, both
in the distant past and the immediate present.
Yoga and psychology are tremendous complements to each other. If we consider how far
psychology has come in the century and a
quarter since Freuds pioneering work came
into the world, we can only dream about how
far it can go in the next century and into the
future. We can stay true to deep science and
evidence-based research while partaking of
the worlds great wisdom traditions, and discover new possibilities not only to heal but
also to thrive.
Mariana Caplan, PhD, MFT, is a psychotherapist, lifelong yogi, and author of six books, including the forthcoming Yoga & Psyche. She
specializes in somatic approaches to therapy to
support spiritual practitioners and teachers of
all traditions, as well as working with complex
spiritual traumas within spiritual communities. As a yogi, she founded The Yoga & Psyche
Conference and The Yoga & Psyche Method,
which will be taught at Esalen Institute October
35. RealSpirituality.com
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on our radar tribute
The Iyengar
Legacy
BY KAITLIN QUISTGAARD
Do not consider me a Super Teacher. I, also,

am a student of yoga. . . . I am here to guide you,
to give you clues to study yourself. B. K. S.
Iyengar (Dec. 14, 1918Aug. 20, 2014)
rayers, gratitude, and pranams (bows)

poured forth from the yoga community
on August 20 as word spread that B. K.
S. Iyengar had died, at 95. Regardless of the
style of yoga we study, we all have likely felt the
influence of Mr. Iyengar, founder of Iyengar
yoga, whose passion for teaching asana (yogic postures) helped lay the foundation for a
global yoga movement.
Known for his dedication to practicehe
held Headstand for 30 minutes to an hour each
day even in his 90sas well as for his precision
and intensity as a teacher, Mr. Iyengar was beloved by his students, even as his fiery temper
and belittling criticisms perplexed others.
He was a rebel, says yoga teacher Judith Lasater, a founding member of the original (San
Franciscobased) Iyengar Yoga Association in
1976, and of Yoga Journal in 1975. He was an
innovator who taught yoga in group classes,
rather than one on one, guru to disciple. He
introduced props like straps and blocks and
devised modifications so that students unable
24 SEPTEMBER 2014
to take the traditional shape of a pose could

still enjoy its benefits. He suggested that yoga
could be used therapeutically to resolve medical conditions.
With his seminal Light on Yoga (first published in 1966 and eventually translated into
17 languages), he gave interested students the
world over a roadmap to his practice, with
hundreds of pages of pose instruction and
photographs. He also separated himself from
a yogic tradition that
taught renunciation
of the physical, instead celebrating the
body as a vehicle for
knowing the Self.
He was a remarkable human being,
Lasater adds. He had
a very difficult childhood, and he made
something of himself
and affected the lives
of millions of people.
That you could rise
from an obscure Indian village to become one of Times
100 Most Influential
People . . . (which he
was in 2004).
Locally, Mr. Iyengar was commended by
San Franciscos Board of Supervisors during
his last US visit for his contribution to the
health and well-being of millions of people.
The board declared October 3, 2005, B. K. S.
Iyengar Day in the city.
Born into a poor family in 1918, the 11th
of 13 children, Mr. Iyengar suffered many illnesses in his early years, including malaria,
typhoid, and tuberculosis. His father died
when he was 9, and at 15 he went to live with
a sister who was married to T. Krishnamacharya, widely considered the father of modern
yoga.(Krishnamacharya fused ancient yogic
teachings and modern physical conditioning to offer a physical form of yoga practice
grounded in vinyasalinking breath to movement.)
Soon after Krishnamacharya began teaching his young brother-in-law, he asked him to
perform in public demonstrations promoting
yoga. Though Mr. Iyengar recalled being terribly thin, weak, and stiff at the time, he was
compelled to quickly learn advanced poses.
At 18, he moved to Pune (in the Indian state
of Maharashtra) and began teaching yoga. It
was there that, aiming to heal his own infirmities, he began a lifelong exploration of asana
as a healing art and an act of meditation. And

there, decades later in 1975, he opened the Ramani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute to welcome students from around the world.
It was the celebrated violinist Yehudi
Menuhin who introduced the yoga master to
the West. Crediting yoga with making him
a better musician, he invited Mr. Iyengar to
Europe to share his teachings. He instructed
politicians, celebrities, royalty, and curious
students, all while learning how best to teach
his yoga in the West.
It took time for his teachings to catch on,
though. Lasater recalls attending a workshop
in the early 1970s, during Mr. Iyengars second
visit to the United States, with only 56 studentsa few less than the 60 available spaces.
By 2005, when Mr. Iyengar made his final
visit to the US to promote his new book Light
on Life and to teach at Yoga Journals annual
Colorado conference, some 900 people pressed
into a sold-out auditorium for a three-day
workshop. As he had with thousands of students before us, he emphasized precise alignment and insisted that we bring awareness and
intelligence to every cell in our bodies.
The body is the temple, he said. The asana
is the instrument that takes you to the sanctum
sanctorum, that is your Self. Therefore, do the
asanas with that attitude, not with the attitude
that Im physically fit and mentally poised
those are the peripheral effects of yoga. . . . I
am not doing asana for some purpose [like fitness]. I am doing the asana to see my Self.
When not delivering wisdom earned
through decades of earnest practice, he often
beamed at the reverential crowd and occasionally made self-deprecating jokes. But he also
berated and disparaged his most senior teacherspeople who devoted their lives to studying and sharing his teachings. Watching him
shift from loving compassion to mean-spirited
fury when a student did not immediately grasp
his instruction was confusing and difficult to
witness.
Then, saying his good-byes at the end of the
three days, he looked out on us with tears in
his eyes and apologized: If Ive been fierce, its
because Im impatientI want you to understand right now what took me years to discover.
Ive paraphrased, but I will never forget the
message that the roar of this so-called Lion of
Pune was motivated by urgency, by a profound
desire for us all to receive his gift.
Kaitlin Quistgaard, a former editor-in-chief of
Yoga Journal (20062013), is a brand strategy
and media advisor to several yoga community
organizations. vivaKQ@gmail.com
26
SEPTEMBER 2014
{ BY JOHN BRIERLEY }
hen I first responded to the Call

of the Camino (the way) in the
1980s, the number registering for
a certificate of completion compostela was
around 2,500 annually. Ten years later it had
risen to 25,000, and today it has reached over
200,000. I am often asked whether this has
diminished the camino experience. It is useful
to see the increase in a historical context; the
number of pilgrims today is the same number
that walked the route in the medieval period.
What caused its total collapse at the beginning
of the last century and its staggering revival in
the present?
One simple reason for the decline is the
rise of materialism. We became absorbed in
the pursuit of material welfare to the virtual
loss of our spiritual well-being. The industrial
and technological revolutions left the bulk of
humanity connected through GPS but with a
concomitant loss of our wisdom and spiritual
connectedness.
A possible explanation of the phenomenal
revival of the camino is that we have become
so spiritually dehydrated that we are becoming
increasingly desperate to quench our existential thirst and reconnect to our Essence. Know
thyself is a philosophical question, and the
camino offers the spaciousness for the question to arise and, crucially, time for answers to
percolate into our awareness. The camino acts
as a crucible to burn away the dross we have
collected in our lives, leaving indestructible
pure awareness behind. The camino draws pilgrims from 140 nations each yearfrom every
religion and those with none. It is available
to everyone regardless of age, culture, class,
creed, or ability. You can collect a compostela
by walking, riding on horseback, going by bike
and, increasingly, by wheelchair.
Further evidence of the efficacy and global
reach of the camino is the growing body of
books, blogs, poetry, and films about it. The
movie The Way with Martin Sheen was followed by the documentary Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago, which is still playing
to packed houses. The Camino Guides is in its
11th edition and is now reprinted twice a year.
But these are all products of the success of the
camino as a path of awakening, not the other
way around. The camino has been changing
lives for millennia, and it looks set to continue
well into the future.
Aymeric Picaud recorded his experiences
in the Book of St. James, or Liber Sancti Jacobi, in the 12th century. An early entry records
[the camino] has received all pilgrims . . . sick
and well. Catholics, Jews, pagans, heretics, and
vagabonds. This open hospitality continues
today, with one judicial agency offering the
opportunity to walk the camino as a way of
purging offenders of their misdeeds in lieu of
a custodial sentencefinding self-respect and
engendering a reformed life in the process.
Anyone who has walked the camino is not surprised to learn that this program has had total
success, with no reoffending after the journey
is completed. The path of transformation, once
truly entered, becomes a path of initiation to a
higher calling.
Pilgrimage is also an antidote to busyness
and burnout; its about slowing down and taking time to contemplate the deeper questions
that lie behind our superficial existence. Pilgrimage provides spaciousness and calm amid
the mayhem of modern life, a time to get back
in touch with our true purpose for being here.
We have a sacred contracta reason we chose
to incarnate at this timeand pilgrimage provides an opportunity to find out what that purpose is.
Some years ago I found myself talking with
a pilgrim who noticed that I had dedicated the
CAMINO RESOURCES
The Camino Guides by John Brierley: CaminoGuides.com
For those doing the pilgrimage in stages: CSJ.org.uk
Tour operator organizing self-guided pilgrimages: CaminoWays.com
For American pilgrims: AmericanPilgrims.com/camino
guides to the awakening of human consciousness, and he wanted to know what I meant. I
mentioned how interesting it was that the Bible references Adam falling into a deep sleep,
but nowhere is there any mention of him waking up. He replied he didnt find that so revealing, as Adam was long dead. I was surprised
to realize that my fellow pilgrim didnt see the
symbolic significance of this story.
Throughout history Gnostics and mystics
have been treated as heretics and dispatched
in a variety of ways, such as Socrates (poison),
John the Baptist (beheading), Jesus (crucifixion), Knight Templar Jacques de Molay (burning at the stake), Galileo (excommunication).
Now we are being urged as never before to find
our own innate wisdom. Our no longer being
dependent on an external authority remains a
deeply threatening idea to the establishment.
But the moral compass offered by our leaders
in virtually every sphere of public life has been
found hopelessly flawed. We have to find and
use our own golden compass.
We are not just passengers on board Shakespeares ship of foolswe are the crew, navigators, and helmsmen. We set the sails and the
course, and the camino offers unparalleled opportunities to test our navigational skills. Lao
Tzu remarked, If you want knowledge, add
something every day; if you want wisdom, remove something every day. And that is what
is so uniquely compelling about the camino.
There is no pressure to follow any particular
waywe have to make our own and find our
own inner waymarks. We will know when we
are headed in the right direction because it will
28 SEPTEMBER 2014
resonate with us. We have to be open to that

resonance, which is subtle by definition. There
are many false guides and signposts along the
way, and we have to learn to distinguish between the false and true if we want to get to the
ultimate destination (to see the inner camino).
There are many pilgrimage routes we can
experience today. But Fatima is exclusively
Roman Catholic, the Hajj exclusively Muslim,
the Kumbha Mela sacred to Hindus, Mount
Kailash sacred to Buddhism. Only the Camino de Santiago transcends our differences to
unite us in an eclectic bond of openness and
shared values. It is about finding what we
have in common rather than what separates
us. That is why it has been designated Europes First Cultural Itinerary and recognised
by UNESCO and given World Heritage status
on account of the testimony to the power of
faith and the 1,800 buildings of great historic
interest that lie along its path. That power is as
potent today as it was thousands of years ago
when the first pilgrims set out toward the end
of the worldFinis Terre, the most sacred and
important place of spiritual initiation in the
known worldthat was the point where the
physical world met the world of spirit.
Many of us want a direct experience of the
sacred; we want to feel the presence of God in
our lives. We are no longer satisfied with an
intellectual discussion; we want to slake our
thirst directly from the spiritual well itself. The
camino provides a wonderful opportunity to
do just that because it creates space in our lives
for spiritual experience to emerge.
The task is to then bring that experience
back into our everyday lives. Whats the point
in walking the camino if we leave the insights

in Santiago? After the camino comes the laundry, the realization that life itself is pilgrimage.
We are on pilgrimage right now as I write this
article and as you read it. And how exciting life
becomes when we see it as a journey of spiritual unfolding. Now everything that occurs
along the path is filled with meaning and significance. Behind every mundane superficial
question lies a deeper esoteric meaningwe
just need to look for it.
Take the example of a backpack, which is
full of symbolism. What size and style and
what we will put into it becomes how will we
frame and fill our inner spiritual lives. We have
had the experience of taking a pack that is too
big and putting stuff into it that we dont really
need, and the resultant shin splints or blisters.
So the backpack can become a symbol of our
fearfear of not having enough, not trusting
that we will find whatever we need along the
way. There is an old African saying: from contentment with little comes great happiness.
The Way is infectious and can be fatal to our
familiar self. The dis-ease manifests in several
consecutive phases. Phase one is an urge to
walk into Santiago and collect a compostela as
a form of external recognition of the journey
undertaken. At some point this need for external recognition has to be left behind. This mutates into the final phase, the call to walk into
God. At this point our individual separated self
dissolves. We say God is, and then we seek to
speak.
John Brierleys first camino walk, at 39 and at
the peak of his career in Dublin, led him to reevaluate his life choices; he left the corporate
world for a life of dedication to the spiritual
path. He has now walked the camino dozens
of times and has written three separate guides.
CaminoGuides.com FindhornPress.com
Puente la Reina bridge

in Navarre, Spain
Pilgrim sign
Pilgrims on the
road to Santiago
de Compostela
on our radar our stories
Silencing the
Story Line
BY LAMA MARUT
oet Muriel Rukeyser once observed, The

universe is made of stories, not atoms. And
so it is. We create the world that manifests
around us through naming and narrating, and we
bring ourselves into being in the same way.
The world and everything in it appears to us as it does based on our
words and concepts. Buddhist philosophers agree with the poet: the universe is made of stories, and for most of us, most of the time, there is
nothing other than these narratives.
We are taken in by our own stories, forgetting they are just stories. We
are caught in our own conceptual and linguistic web and cannot escape
it through different concepts or better words. The problem concisely articulated in the Ashtavakra Gita: Trying to conceptualize what cannot
be conceptualized, one is just stuck in conceptualization.
Similarly, we exist as individuals only as the sum of the stories we tell
ourselves about ourselves. We fashion our identity by means of our personal historical narratives, the play-by-play storyline we have constantly
running through our present and the scenarios we conjure up about our
future. The character we call me always takes center stage in these dramas. We are always the hero or heroine in our own life story, regardless
of what kind of story is told: epic, tragedy, farce, fantasy, romance, or
tear-jerker.
A human being, we can conclude with comedian Fred Allen, is nothing but a story with a skin around it.
And, again, the real problem is that we mistake these narratives about
the selfstories that imaginatively fabricate a character and bring it into
existence as the star of its very own showfor a real self living a real life
in a real world. Mesmerized by our own hypnotic narrative powers, we
live in the dream we are dreaming.
In all cases, we are forced to tell the stories we tell. It is our karma
speaking through us. When we hear our own narrativesstories either
about ourselves or about the events and people in our worldwe are listening to the fruits of our own past deeds. Our karma compels the tales
we tell about ourselves and also the ones we hear about; even other peoples stories, as we hear them, are really just our own.
And like enraptured children, we become fully engrossed inand absorbed intothe story.
It is in the silence of retreat that the inner voice narrating our lives
speaks loudest and clearest. In retreat, we become our own captive audience, forced to listen to ourselves drone on and on and on. If we think of
this interior soundtrack as aural karma, it is in retreat that we truly get
in touch with what kind of karma we have (usually to our chagrin). The
monotony, the repetitive obsessiveness, the omnipresence of the narrating voice can drive you batty!
In retreat or outside, it is meditation that saves us from ourselves. Proper meditation is designed to do one of two things: it either replaces the
usual story lines rumbling around in our heads with much more pleasant
and beneficial narratives (this is the function of review and analytic meditations, and the purpose of rehearsing a sadhana) or it shuts the voice up
30
SEPTEMBER 2014
altogether (which is what one-pointed meditation

does).
These two types of meditation, with their two
different functions, sum up the two main stages
of ones entire spiritual journey. Like in review or
analytic meditation, in our practice as a whole we
begin by disciplining and retraining ourselves to
think, speak, and act differently such that we are
creating better karma. We work hard to restrain
ourselves from harming others, to help in the
ways we can, and to maintain an understanding,
always, that what goes around comes back around.
What we have put out there karmically comes
back to usnot in our experiences per se, but
rather in the stories we tell about our experiences.
We know our practice is paying off when the tales
we tell ourselves about ourselves and about our world start to improve.
The narratives become more upbeat and less tragic. The story of our lives
becomes an untroubled and happy one instead of the dreary drama of a
soap opera.
But creating and listening to good stories rather than bad is only the
penultimate goal. The final destination of our spiritual quest is to stop
narrating lifeto stop talking about livingand instead fully live. Just
like in one-pointed meditation, the incessant voiceover is at last suspended. For one who has reached the state of all-day mindful attentiveness to
reality as it is, the inner chatter has also ceased.
All stories about life, no matter what the plot line and tone, are fictional. The goal is not to narrate and hear a better novel about life. The
goal is ultimately to experience life in a full and unmediated way. The
final aim is to drop the conceptualizations and our investment in them
in order to get in touch directly with life as it is, in its unvarnished and
nonfictional form:
Independent, peaceful, not projected by projections,
Beyond conceptual thought, undifferentiated
These are the characteristics of reality.
Arya Nagarjuna, Root Verses on the Middle Way
I am just pure awareness, says an Enlightened One, but because of
ignorance I have imagined myself to be limited. Remaining always conscious of this I will stay in place of no conceptual thought (Ashtavakra
Gita).
It is only when we throw away all the maps, all our conceptualizations
about life, that we can truly experience the territory. Becoming wholly
aware of and engaging fully in reality is what awakening, or bodhi,
means.
And it is our addiction to storytelling that keeps us from it.
So if you dont like the story you are telling and hearing, change it. Improve your karma, and you will hear a better soundtrack.
But remember that the final end of the spiritual quest will require
dropping all storylines, all narratives, all tales. It is only when the stories
we are telling are finally silenced that we will be able to really listen, and
truly hear.
Lama Marut (a.k.a. Brian K. Smith) is trained in the spiritual traditions of
India and Tibetan Buddhism and is spiritual director of eight Middle Way
Centers in North America, Australia, and Singapore. In addition to scholarly studies and translations based on Sanskrit materials, he is author of
the popular and award-winning book A Spiritual Renegades Guide to the
Good Life and the recently published Be Nobody. LamaMarut.org
WanderlustYoga Tree
tribute to Chris
Cuevas, with
Schuyler Grant,
Jeff Krasno,
Sean Hoess
Dalai Lama, Kalachakra 2014
PHOTO: LYNDA NAJARIAN
green scene
Kim Small,
Wanderlust
Press Check-In,
Squaw Valley
Lynda Najarian
(representing
Common
Ground),
Kalachakra 2014
Monks at
Kalachakra
2014, Ladokh
Michael Lucey and

Cynthia Bates at Iyengar
memorial in SF
Gurmukh
Kaur
Khalsa at
Wanderlust
Festival
PHOTO: LYNDA NAJARIAN
Altar, Iyengar
tribute in SF
Happy
birthday,
Tony
DJ HyFi,
Squaw Valley
Mandala at
Kalachakra 2014
Jonathan Green
CD party, Fairfax,
with Tom Finch and
Andius Jent ()
Julian the
kayaker
Trainee at Nutiva
Basketball Camp,
Richmond
Maura Huffman
with Astara
Members of the Klein family at Cavallo Point,
after service for Jeff Klein (1957-2014)
Restaurateur Fabrizio
with Zoe Fry
32 SEPTEMBER 2014
Jim Kallet,
Beverly Hills
PHOTO BY ROB PERICA
Jeff Klein
tribute,
Cavallo
Point
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Wanderlust
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Yoga stars at Wanderlust

Parashakti and friends,
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Eric Shaw and

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Wanderlust
Aspen
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Tyler Barbee,
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PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER SHAW
Xanet and Marshall

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SEPTEMBER 2014
PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER SHAW
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34
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Sobonfu Some

36 SEPTEMBER 2014
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Go on praying for all the darkness to be illuminated.

The purpose of prayer is to increase your personal
coefficient of light. It doesnt matter where you are, or
what your situation may be. Just call for God, and God
will come. God is your best friend.

Sri Prem Baba
My personal prayer is the prayer of the hearta

prayer born of need and longing, an opening to
the mystery of love that is always present within.
It is a deep prayer of silence and love in which
the heart looks toward its Beloved.

Llewelyn Vaughan-Lee
38 SEPTEMBER 2014
Here is the vital heart of the

matter: in the Tibetan language,
the word for prayer is monlam,
literally meaning aspiration-path.
Prayer power has much to do with
intention, resolve and motivation,
focus and clarity, as well as who
we may be praying to and what
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has the gift of tongues in which
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I often say that if I had a prayer, it would be this: God, spare me

from the desire for love, approval, or appreciation. Amen.

Byron Katie
How do I pray? I pray by

paying attentionwith
my full consciousness. I
think thats all we can do.
Pay attentionopen our
heart and pay attention.

Sharif Abdullah
I so appreciate having heard, once,

Terry Gross interviewing the gay
bishop of New Hampshire. And
she asked him, Whats your prayer
life like these days? And he said
to her, The best thing that I can
do is just sit there and let God love
me. I was so moved by what he
shared, I sent him a fan letter right
away. Because thats truewe all
say, God so loved the world, God
loves me, Jesus loves me, and so
on, but we hardly ever sit down
and let ourselves be loved. Thats
become part of my practice too.
Rabbi Zalman
Schachter-Shalomi
Excerpted from How Do You Pray? Inspiring Responses from Religious
Leaders, Spiritual Guides, Healers, Activists, & Other Lovers of
Humanity, edited by Celeste Yacoboni (Monkfish Publishing, 2014).
40 SEPTEMBER 2014
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healthy living love of yoga
For Love,
Not Money
Insights from a New
Yoga Teacher
BY FRANCESCA GOBEILLE
group of five yoga teachers sat together in Berkeley, sipping ginger tea
and pondering the question, hows
teaching going? Four of us, young and hopeful, were meeting with a senior teacher for our
first mentoring session together. One of my
peers, a thoughtful, soon-to-be ex-lawyer in
her 30s, spoke for the rest of us. Sometimes,
only one person comes to my evening classes.
I make $6, maybe $10 from those classes. It
doesnt even cover my gas money. The rest of
us laughed and nodded sympathetically. After
a long pause, she added, Clearly, we do this for
the love of it.
Teaching was certainly never part of my career plan. My father was a yoga and meditation
teacher in the 80s, and both my parents are
longtime meditators and yoga practitioners.
Growing up, Eastern spirituality was about as
exotic as microwave popcorn. Yet many years
later, as my brief corporate career was coming to an inevitable end, I was drawn to a yoga
teacher training. After receiving my 200-hour
certificate, I started substitute teaching three
times a week at an ashram in New York City. It
was going to be a temporary gigI knew you
couldnt make money doing this. I never found
another 95, though, and three years later,
here I am, teaching yoga in San Francisco.
Its a familiar story within the yoga teaching
community: self-aware Type-A corporate gogetter burns out, drops out, takes a yoga teacher training, and email-blasts studios, meager
rsum attached. Dreams of making big bucks
leading retreats in Bali are quickly thwarted
as one realizes that everyone and their grandmother are yoga instructors. It becomes apparent that unless youre prepared to lead armbalancing, core-blasting, sweaty yoga raves,
you will join the ranks with the rest of us. You
will dart from one struggling studio to another
and then to a part-time job that pays rent.
42
SEPTEMBER 2014
Sure, sometimes I wonder why I continue.

Teaching doesnt provide health insurance or
reliable income. Parents, even of the nontraditional yogi variety, rarely applaud when their
child announces this career decision. Yet however nonsensical this job may be financially,
my colleagues often come to the very same
conclusion: we cant not do it. We teach for the
love of it. Nothing seems quite as important
or inspiring as sharing these practices with all
who will listen. Indeed, some of us have been
saved by these practices.
Moreover, from the very beginning, Ive
found teaching to be a very potent spiritual
practice. One stands in front of 10 strangers,
each with a unique body and mind. The young
consultant expects an aerobic workout and
yoga-booty upkeep. The middle-aged man
who hides in the back seeks refuge from an
oppressive job, maybe a small taste of peace.
As I begin class, I gaze at the motley group,
and the pressure to please makes my heartbeat
quicken.
Each class, I watch my mind create stories;
emotions are sticky. Irritation, as the young
woman ignores my instructions for Savasana
and starts doing sit-ups. Embarrassment, as
the new student rolls up her mat and tiptoes
out 10 minutes into class (she wanted exercise,
not restorative yoga). Panic, as the older man
grits his teeth and strains to keep up with his
hyper-flexible female classmates. Insecurity, as
no one compliments me after class.

Class after class, I am uncomfortable. I have
met my edge. It is often all I can do to remember to breathe and, on a good day, to meet arising fear with mindfulness, compassion, and a
tiny dose of humor. This is intensive practice.
I am not teaching, I sometimes reflect. I am
learning.
The rewards, of course, are so sweet. One
cannot help but be moved by student transformations occurring in the span of 90 minutes.
Weary bodies and anxious minds enter the
room, but after the closing Namaste, faces
are soft and appear lit from inside. The process
is beautiful to watch and gives me faith enough
to continue. As class concludes, the feeling of
sharing teachings that are the centerpiece of
my life is both deeply nourishing and exhilarating.
And so yesterday, after my fourth 40-minute
bus ride and 40th dollar earned, I am exhausted, yes, but thankful. Thankful to be uncovering a teaching voice that feels authentic to my
deepest intentions for my life. I am thankful to
be playing a role, however miniscule, in awakening the planet to more understanding, more
kindness, more peace. Thankful to be awakening together and thankful for the miraculous
practice.
Francesca Gobeille is a yoga teacher based in
San Francisco. YogaWithFrancesca.com
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healthy living mindfulness
Sitting Still
Like a Frog
BY ELINE SNEL
t the age of five, my daughter had

trouble falling asleep. She often asked
me, When your body wants to sleep
but your head says no, how do you get to
sleep? Sometimes she would still be awake at
10:00. She kept getting out of bed, kept awake
by all the crazy thoughts churning around in
her head: about Tim, who did not want to play
with her anymore; about the goldfish floating
belly-up in its bowl; about somebody under
the bed who was sure to murder her.
Relaxation exercises, bedtime stories, a hot
bath, an irritated admonition to go to sleep
like everyone elsenothing worked. But then
I realized that if she paid less heed to the troublesome thoughts that kept popping into her
head and slowly shifted her attention from her
head down to her belly, she might finally calm
down. There were no thoughts in her belly,
only her breath, which moved her belly with
its gentle rise and fall. A gentle movement. A
44
SEPTEMBER 2014
calming movement. A movement slowly rocking her to sleep.

Mindfulness is beneficial not only for children. Parents also like to have a way to free
themselves from their relentless stream of
consciousness. Thoughts never stop. All you
can do is stop interacting with them, stop listening to them.
Mindfulness is nothing other than presentmoment awareness, an open and friendly willingness to understand what is going on in and
around you. It means living in the present moment (which is not the same as thinking about
the present moment) without judging or ignoring anything or getting carried away by the
pressures of everyday life.
Kids are keen to learn things, tend to live in
the moment, and can be extremely attentive.
But like adults, kids are often too busy. They
are tired, easily distracted, and restless. Many
children do too much and have too little time
to just be. Sometimes they have to juggle a
dozen balls at once: socially and emotionally, at
home and in school. Add to this all the things
they have to learn and memorize, and it soon
becomes too much. They seem to be switched
on all the time, but where is the pause button?
By practicing mindful presence and awareness, kids learn to pause for a moment, to
catch their breath, and to get a sense of what
they need at this moment. This allows them to
move out of automatic pilot mode, recognize
impulses for what they are, and learn to accept
that not all things in life are nice or cool. They
learn to bring attentionfriendly attention
to everything they do. They learn not to hide
anything but instead to foster understanding

of their own inner world as well as that of others. By experiencing qualities such as attention, patience, trust, and acceptance at a young
age, children will be firmly rooted in the here
and now, like saplings, with ample space to
grow and be themselves.
If you are contemplating separation or

divorce and are thinking
there must be a better way, there is.
Mindful Eating Eating with mindful attention

may seem simple, but it can be quite a challenge. Try to get the whole family to eat one
attentive mouthful without comments such as
Ugh, Yummy, We eat this all the time, or
I dont like this. Discuss what you smell, notice, taste, and feel in your mouth when you
take a mindful bite, hold it in your mouth for
a moment, and swallow. Take a bite and note
the following:
What do you really taste once you stop
thinking about the food being either tasty or
nasty? (Remember, these are just thoughts.)
Do you have a salty, sweet, or bitter taste in
your mouth? Or all three?
Does it feel hard or soft in your mouth?
Rough or smooth?
What is happening in your mouth while
you are eating? What do you experience?
Can you feel your mouth watering? What
is your tongue doing? What happens when
you swallow? And when do you lose track of
your mouthful?
Mindful eating is important. When you do it,
you can really taste the peanut in the peanut
butter, the juiciness of the apple, the sweet
softness of the banana. And another important
thing: you will notice sooner when you are full.
Your Personal Weather Report The personal
weather report can help your child understand
their interior world. This in turn allows you to
acknowledge your childs mood and help them
(and yourself ) to accept it. By communicating
with your child and not resisting the storm,
you can teach your child not to resist it either
and to become aware of their feelings. By acknowledging awful feelings, your child will
learn that it is okay to have such feelings. The
two of you can then look at what is needed: a
hug, a phone call to a friend, a joint effort to
find a solution, or something completely different.
Sit down comfortably somewhere, close or
half close your eyes, and take some time to determine how you are feeling right now. What is
the weather like inside you? Do you feel relaxed
and sunny inside? Or does it feel rainy or overcast? Is there a storm raging, perhaps? What do
you notice?
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You cannot change the weather outside either, can you? Stay close to this feeling for a
while. Direct your friendly and curious attention to the clouds, the clear sky, or the storm
that is brewing . . . this is how it is right now
. . . like the weather, you simply cannot change
a mood. Later today the weather will be completely different again . . . but right now this
is how things are. And that is absolutely fine.
Moods change. They blow over. There is no need
to take any action. What a relief.
Most children enjoy this weather exercise. It
makes them aware of the rain, the sun, and the
storm inside them and teaches them to identify less with their moods: I am not the downpour, but I notice that it is raining; I am not
a scaredy-cat, but I realize that sometimes I
have this big scared feeling somewhere near my
throat. What is most important is that they allow themselves to feel the way they feel. Without really thinking about it too much, summon
the weather report that best describes your
feelings at the moment. Once you know how
you are doing right now, just let it be . . . just as
it is. . . . There is no need to feel or do anything
differently.
Accepting the Weather Draw an image that illustrates your current weather report. At the
end of the day, check to see if the weather is
the same or if it has changed. It helps to know
that nothing ever stays exactly the same.
On your way home from school, note the
different weather conditions. Feel the rain,
the cold on your cheeks, the wind that nearly
blows you off your feet, the sun that warms
you up. Maybe you also notice that thunderstorms either scare you or excite you.
What mood are your parents in today? How
about your brother, sister, or friends? See if you
can observe them like you would the weather
outsidein a nonjudgmental way. Sometimes
it rains and sometimes it is sunny. This holds
true for all of us.
The Conveyor Belt of Worries Worrying begins as soon as you want things to be other
than they are right now.
We worry a lot, yet we are often unaware
of our worries and their connection to our
thoughts, ideas, opinions, or doubts about
things. We may think we can solve things by
worrying, but that is a misconception. By introducing your children to the wondrous
world of thoughts, you can teach them to have
some influence over these thoughts. You can
make the following suggestions:
Dont believe all thoughts (the thought Ill

never get a good grade is not true).
Realize that you are not your thoughts (Im
sure Im not nice, pretty, or funny enough).
Jot down your top three most common worries.
Notice these worries whenever they occur in
the next couple of days, without getting caught
up in them. If you observe them and dont always take them seriously, your worries can
automatically extinguish, like a flame deprived
of oxygen. That said, some thoughts keep coming back. These deserve special attention. They
may have an underlying cause that must be
examined, acknowledged, and understood before they stop nagging you.
First Aid for Worries This exercise teaches
children to shift their attention out of their
head and to distance themselves from their
thoughts. They can lower their attention like
a small spider on a thread. Lower it farther
and farther, all the way down into the abdomen. There are no thoughts inside the abdomen, only the breaththe calm movement of
the breath. There are no worries. There are no
fights. There is peace and intense quiet.
Whenever your child is worrying, he or she
need do only two things:
Notice the worrying.
Move out of the head and down toward the
breath in the abdomen.
The Little Box of Worries For children who
have difficulties doing the first aid for worries
exercise and would rather do something with
their hands, a nicely decorated and perhaps
homemade box of worries can do the trick. Before your child turns in for the night, you can
ask the child if he or she is upset about anything. Are there any worries? Things the child
is getting worked up about? Thinking about
these worries (instead of not thinking about
them) will reveal what they are all about. These
thoughts can then be put into the box. The lid
comes off, the worries go in, and the lid goes
back on. Your child can then look at the little
box of worries on a shelffrom a distance, so
the child can see they are no longer in his or
her head.
From Sitting Still Like a Frog by Eline Snel,
2013 Eline Snel. Reprinted by arrangement with
Shambhala Publications. Shambhala.com
Eline Snel has been working as an independent
therapist since 1980 and is founder and owner
of the Academy for Mindful Teaching (AMT)
in Leusden, Netherlands. ElineSnel.nl
AcademyForMindfulTeaching.com
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healthy living yogapedia
BY ARJAY PARKER
oga with weights, yoga with doughnuts, yoga and chainsawsit seems
everyones putting their own twist on
this ancient discipline. Over the years, Ive successfully ignored these gimmicky amalgams in
favor of good old-fashioned sweaty hatha. That
is, until I discovered a practice that combines
my two great passions: yoga and water.
Stand Up Paddle Yoga, or SUP Yoga (you
can pronounce the letters individually, essewe-pee or rattle it off like a bros greeting:
Sup?) is a vinyasa flow practice performed
on a 10- to 12-foot stand-up paddle surfboard.
Most often done in calm water, like a bay, lake,
lagoon, canal, slow-moving river, or even a
swimming pool, classes can be free-floating or
tethered with anchors or mooring lines.
Practicing on water is a game-changer, as
poses I would routinely find ho-hum take on
whole new challenges. Suddenly, I cant take
terra firma stability for granted and am forced
to slo-o-ow the F do-o-own. Immediately,
the board becomes the teacher, giving dramatic feedback, showing accurately where I cheat
and take shortcuts that go undetected in normal floor practice.
What a revelation to discover how un-warrior-like it feels when your legs are trembling
and shaking in a standard-issue Warrior pose.
Even the ultimate I-wave-the-white-flag-inretreat-pose Savasana exposes hitherto unforeseen complicationsits not simple to
imitate a corpse! But under the blue expanse
above and the call of the gulls all around, I am
in heaven. Hooked, plain and simple. No wonder that this is one of the fastest growing yoga
hybrids.
As a teacher, my best instruction comes di-
48
SEPTEMBER 2014
PHOTO: ROBERT STURMAN, MODEL: DANIELLE BROWN
Why I
Teach
Stand Up
Paddle
Yoga
rectly from my own practice, as I love to share
the benefits Ive gleaned from taking my poses
to the waters surface. Heres what adventuresome yogis willing to join me can expect to
improve:
Stabilization and core strength The
waters mutable nature forces the recruitment
of small, subtle stability muscles in your back,
belly, hips, pelvis, legs, and feet that are otherwise neglected on flat ground. A strong core
and enhanced balance will help protect from
injury due to falls or faulty movement patterns, as well as promote improvements in coordination, athletic skill, and posture. I teach
my students the importance of balance and
stabilitythat this will keep your kids from
having to put you in the old folks home.
Improves in-studio practice Regardless of whether youre a long-time yogi or a
newbie, taking your practice onto a board will
highlight where youve been cheating. SUP
yoga quickly demonstrates where one collapses instead of being strong and supported.
It shows how easy it is to coast in poses where
you should be working harder. It exposes how
one might unconsciously muscle through a
pose, instead of moving with steady finesse
and grace. Such lapses are often accompanied
by a distinct sound: splash!
But the education received on the board is
easily ported back to the mat. One might find
that some poses, such as hand balances and
headstands, are easier to learn on a paddle
board, given the unique adjustments required
for distributing weight.
Surrender In a studio, we take the floors
stability for granted in the same way we trust
that the climate is controlled and that yogis
will be protected from the elements. There are
constants such as peace and quiet and mellifluous music. On the water, these things go out
the window, as the wind may swing your board

around your anchor or the waves may bounce.
Little children make noises on the beach, as do
passing boats. You might get hit by rain or by
a bird pooping. Learning to adapt and maintain a level of peace and a sense of humor is
as essential on the board as the exercise itself.
The unpredictable nature of practicing yoga in
nature removes the crutch of a serene context
and helps draw tranquility from within.
Immersion in your environment Samadhi is the ultimate goal on the eight-limbed
path of yogathe state of merging with the
universe. On a board on a vast expanse, one
can readily get a taste of that, of forgetting
where you end and the rest of the world begins. In my classes, I often say, With no ceiling, youre that much closer to God.
Fun! Activities like paddle yoga are what
take your meditation and exercise from being dull, lifeless obligatory slogs to becoming
an integrated and enjoyable part of daily life.
The time you spend on your board with only
your bathing suit and your sunscreen separating you from the cosmic well of interconnected energy is just plain fun. Stone cold fact:
when we enjoy healthy behaviors, we continue
to practice them.
During class, the main objective is to have
fun with my students. I strive to demonstrate
my love for paddling, for water, and for yoga.
The smiles and high-fives and hugs that go
around when were done is proof of why I
teach Stand Up Paddle Yoga.
Arjay and her husband, Jefferson, run Bikram
& Power Yoga San Rafael, which offers SUP
classes. When not teaching, practicing, or paddling, shes chasing her goldendoodles through
the hills, and singing (badly) to subpar pop
music.
art+soul reviews
BOOKS
Advanced Spiritual Intimacy
The Yoga of Deep Tantric Sensuality
By Stuart Sovatsky
Most of us have heard
of Tantra, but Stuart
Sovatskys Advanced
Spiritual Intimacy reveals vast realms of
erotic spirituality beyond delayed orgasm
techniques. The book
begins with Sovatsky
differentiating
between the scientia
sexualis of conventional Western sexuality and ars erotica, the
rich erotic arts traditions of the East. The author dives into his own story in chapter 1, and
I found his explanations of the advanced stages
of sexual development embraced in ars erotica
quite interesting.
I was initially skeptical when I realized that
the author was advocating periods of celibacy,
known as brahmacharya, to awaken deeper
levels of Tantric spirituality and sensuality, but
the stories of his experiences and those of the
couples and singles hes worked with provided
enticement to try it. He provides other reasons
to choose brahmacharya, such as you are going
to be involved in a lengthy project and want to
focus your time and creative energy, you are
coping with a long illness and want to retain
marital intimacy, or even that you find artificial methods of contraception undesirable and
want to discover other ways to make love.
The mantras, chakras meditations, and
flow-yoga asanas and breathing practices for
singles and couples are accompanied by tasteful illustrations. Although my husband is not
ready to try brahmacharya (yet?), the couples
yoga asanas have been great fun to practice togetherand isnt laughter one of the cornerstones of a successful marriage?
I highly recommend this book to any spiri50 SEPTEMBER 2014
tually minded person or couple looking to

awaken their creative potential, deepen their
life partnership, heal the emotional scars of
past relationships, or mature their emotionalsexual being beyond the impulses of adolescence. This book would also be a valuable asset
for any couples therapist or marriage counselor who wants to offer a yogic spiritual component in their practice.
MERIKAH ROBERTSON

MUSIC
Jai Uttal
Return to Shiva Station
Jai Uttals courageous act of re-envisioning his
groundbreaking Shiva Station album brings
us closer to the music itself. These unadorned,
intimate arrangements illuminate the heart of
each composition. As I listened to tracks I was
familiar with from its original issue 15+ years
ago, I was taken by its tenderness and sweet
vulnerability. The essence of his revisiting is
the communion of an intimate connection
with the Divine, no longer searching or yearning but tasting the nectar of this joy.
Shiva Station, reflects Jai, is about the
power and mystery of Shiva, the dancing Lord
of Transformation and Protector of Devotees,
and His primordial home, Tibets legendary
Mount Kailash. With Return to Shiva Station,
Jai reveals new dimensions of its essencethe
seed of bhakti that
gave birth to them all.
In this strippeddown, soul-baring recording, Jai is joined
by his inner circle of
musicians: Ben Leinbach, singer Prajna
Vieira, and guitarist
Jos Neto, with contributions from Yoed Nir
(cello) and Timothy White (sitar). As usual, this
recording shines with production by Jai and
Ben, longtime music-making partners.
Jai is a Grammy nominee and a pioneer in
the world music and yoga culture. His potent

live kirtan events and eclectic East-meetsWest sound places his music at the forefront of
the world fusion movement. The three songs
primarily in English show another side of Jai
originally in a Peter Gabriel/Steve Winwood
veinwhich shine as translucent reflections of
a new perspective. Return to Shiva Station offers an overview of Jais illustrious career over
three decades, carving his own path toward a
life lived in gratitude, grace, and joy. Jai will be
at Yoshis SF for the album release show on October 30.
L.B.
JaiUttal.com
Jaya Lakshmi & Ananda
Saraswati Dreams
Prepare to journey
on this dreamy, bhakti-glistening album
from Jaya Lakshmi
and Ananda, a musical couple who know
no bounds when it
comes to expressing
love and intimacy.
Produced in collaboration with noted cellist/
multi-instrumentalist Hans Christian of Rasa
and the Guru Ganesha Band, these melodic,
acoustic pieces join meditation music and kirtan, and express the artists personal experiences with the deities of Hinduism.
Jaya Lakshmi has been sharing her beautiful kirtans for over 20 years. In 2011 she partnered with her beloved Ananda Yogiji. They
sing and play music that initiates deep healing
and opens the heart to divine joy. The blending of male and female voices with musical
inspiration and energies takes this recording
to ecstatic peaks and emotional depths that
connect to those places where we are all One.
Some tracks build to blissful highs, while others dive deep into trancelike spaces that build
like a slow-burning fire, leaving only embers in
the mind.
Offering a combination of kirtan (call-andresponse singing), mantra repetition, bhajan,
AB_RD_Ad_4x4.75.pdf
The Bay areas Magazine
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Carin
From
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Values in
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For moms
Honoring
our cycle
Healing tHe
Feminine
From WitHin
Women
ancestry
CONSC
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1974
The Womens Issue

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OUNDMAG.C
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A Journey Toward Fullness
The Wom
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Behind ProP. 37
OCTOBER
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Standing Up for
GMO Labeling
food, Body
iMage, &
LiBido
Disconnecting
Calories, Shame,
and Self-Loathing
DAKINI
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art+soul reviews
and original songs, they provide a bridge for those whove been mysteriously called to yoga and teachings of the Vedas. Alternating guitar,
harmonium, bansuri flutes, and vocal weaving, they create a magic that
reflects their love for each other and the Divine. Each track addresses
the essence of one of the deities, Radha and Krsna, Saraswati, Ganesh,
Govinda, Lakshmi, Kali, Shiva, and Parvati. With guests such as Hans
playing cello, Deepak Ramapriyan on violin, Masood Ali Khan on hang
drum, and guest vocals from Karnamrita Dasi, Prema Mayi, and Krsna
Dev, there is a community collective at work as well. Saraswati Dreams
is truly one of the best recordings of the year, reaching a pinnacle of
exquisite beauty, soulful merging, and creative brilliance. Six stars out
of a possible five!
L.B
JayaLakshmiAndAnanda.com
Caught-in-the-Act Short Takes
San Jose Jazz Summer Fest
San Jose recently held its 25th annual, three-day summer jazz festival.
This years program provided 11 stages, offering the largest Latin lineup
of any festival nationwide. Featured were many big-name performers,
including Jerry Gonzalezs Fort Apache Band, jazz piano legend Monty
Alexander, Poncho Sanchez, and David Sanborn.
On Friday night, the festival kicked off with the recent Grammy-winning Pacific Mambo Orchestra, a 20-piece local big band that has been
tearing up the Bay Areas salsa dance world. PMOs repertoire included
Latin standards like Tito Puentes Oye Como Va in addition to some
tasty originals. Band members alternated on lead vocals, and the musicianship was impressiveSan Francisco salsa has arrived and carries
its own distinctive sound. A stark contrast was apparent, though, when
headliner trombonist Jimmy Bosch and his sextet took the stage. His
New York Salsa Dura (Hard Salsa) was electrifying, penetrating all the
way down to your innards, their musical wizardry apparent to all. With
over 10,000 in attendance and perfect weather, the summer fest provided much pleasing fun in the sunand big full moon.

ROY STRASSMAN
DVD
Yoga Maya
Arvind Chittumalla
About 20 million Americans practice yoga. For most, yoga means asana,
the physical postures. No more than 20% of practitioners incorporate
other aspects of yogamorals, disciplines, breath work, meditation
into their practice and lifestyle. While asanas offer many health benefits,
embracing other limbs of yoga brings further benefits: it builds character, discipline, and appreciation for the ecosystem, as well as the resolve
to face challenges more gracefully.
Arvind Chittumalla, producer and director of Yoga Maya, has been
practicing yoga for 30 years. Since moving to the US a decade ago, he
52 SEPTEMBER 2014
has participated in the fast-growing American

yoga industry as a teacher and entrepreneur.
He has owned yoga studios and produced yoga
festivals and conferences. After interacting
with hundreds of yoga teachers, businesses,
and students, Arvind realized that there are
many misconceptions of yoga in America that
prevent people from embracing all aspects of
yoga. In this documentary he sheds light on
these misconceptions, along with numerous
ways to expand ones understanding.
There are interviews with Jai Uttal, Annie
Carpenter, Mark Whitwell, Swami Sri Atmananda, Tracee Stanley, Arun Deva, and
other yoga practitioners, teachers, and pioneers that cover what yoga isa 5,000-yearold discipline with many branchesand what
it isnta religion, an exercise program, or a
merely physical practice.
There is no better time to embrace yoga in
its entirety. We spend more than we earn, suffer from illnesses due to poor diet and lifestyle
choices, spend money on wars, and destroy
the environment for short-term benefits. An
integrated yoga practice can offer the transformation we so desperately need. This well done,
feature-length documentary is an expos on
how yoga is taught, practiced, and marketed
in America. Yoga Maya also encourages yoga
practitioners to go beyond the physical poses
and embrace an integrated yoga practice.
L.B.
YogaMayaMovie.com
54 SEPTEMBER 2014
PHOTO: GERARD BURKHART, GBPIX.PHOTOSHELTER.COM
THE COMMON GROUND INTERVIEW
The (105)
Truth
According
to Bikram
Choudhury
{ BY ROB SIDON }
Born in 1946 to high-caste Brahmans in Calcutta, Bikram Choudhury began his yoga apprenticeship with Bishnu Ghosh, the youngest
brother of Paramahansa Yogananda, at the age
of 5. He would go on to win the All India Yoga
Championship for three consecutive years until such time as the judges disallowed repeat
winners. In the late 1950s he created a series
of 26 postures, the cornerstone of the Bikram
yoga method, which won a copyright in the
United States in 2002. The sequence, along
with two breathing exercises, is performed in
a 105-degree heated room, which is said to
enhance flexibility and detoxification, while
mimicking the climate of India.
On the verge of becoming a 1964 Olympic weightlifting champion, he was victim of
a crippling accident that led him to want to
commit suicide. The incident proved a turning
point, as he moved to Bombay in 1965, where
he became guru to the stars. In late 1969 Bikram moved to Tokyo, where he enjoyed notoriety in a popular TV show for performing
yogic feats. Known for his healing abilities, he
emigrated to Hawaii in 1971, where he was
recommended to President Nixon, who suffered from health ailments. As a token of his
gratitude, Nixon gifted Bikram a green card.
After a brief stint in San Francisco in 1973,
he moved to Los Angeles, where he befriended
and introduced yoga to a long roster of actors
and sports figures including Shirley MacLaine,
Quincy Jones, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Never shy nor averse to controversy, he was
dubbed Yogas Bad Boy in Yoga Journals
premiere issue and was later the subject of a
widely viewed 60 Minutes segment. Given the
worldwide popularity of the practice, Bikram
has become something of a household name.
However, based on pending civil suits alleging
sexual misconduct with ex-students, the Bikram scandal has been active in the news, with
Vanity Fair having published an inflammatory article earlier this year. In our interview,
Bikram claims these lawsuits are the booby
56
SEPTEMBER 2014
A youthful
Bikram with his
parents in 1972
trap of a band of business adversaries trying

to weaken his reputation. To date, police investigations have proved inconclusive.
Bikram married Rajashree Chakrabarti in
1984, who helped build their yoga dynasty
and also went on to found the United States
Yoga Federation. The couple raised a son and
a daughter in Beverly Hills, which is where we
caught up with him.
Common Ground: Thank you for inviting
me to your house and for this interview.
Bikram: I dont give interview to Wall Street

Journal. The New York Times, noI dont have
time. I would normally never do such a small
magazine, but when I learned you doing Bikram yoga for over 12 years, I say, Okay. He
must be okay. He understands something.
Yes. Like many, I find myself addicted to
the detoxifying sequence of poses combined with the heat.
Since 1956, that is 58 years, according to Wall

Street Journal, approximately one billion people has benefitted from Bikram yoga.
So how did this all start?
Born and raised in Calcutta, highly educated,

cultured family because my grandfather was
a king, a landlord with 700 villages owned by
him. My father was the youngest of five. At 7
years old his mother died of snakebite. At 16,
his family wanted to marry him off, but he
didnt want to marry yet, so he shipped off to

Burma and China and worked for the British
Army. He came back to Calcutta when he was
25 and had eight children with my mother,
who was 14. I was the fifth of eight, born on
February 10, 1946.
We got out of Calcutta because of a smallpox outbreak, where everyone was dying, including my sister and brother, and we moved
to Bihar. Once when I was 6, I was playing with
a ball that bounced into a gym with bodybuilders, and this is where I met my guru, Bishnu
Ghosh, whose brother was Swami Paramahansa Yogananda. When I was 11, I appeared
in All India Yoga Competition and was champion, and again at 12 and 13. Then the judges,
which included Krishnamacharya, Swami Sivananda, Pattabhi Jois, B. K. S. Iyengar, and my
guru decide that I could not compete again.
After that, like Miss America, you can win one
time only. So I told my guru I want to go to
Olympics to be football [soccer] player, but my
guru said to become weightlifter, so I become
No. 1 bantamweight lifter in the world. My
guru is founder of International Weightlifting Bodybuilding Federation in New York. He
started Mr. America contest in 1935 and Mr.
Universe contest in 1948. I was always under
118 pounds.
On my way to win 1964 Tokyo Olympics I
have a terrible accident six weeks before. The
catcher [spotter] drops the weights on my
knee. I was in a wheelchair, and they wanted to
amputate. I went to Ganges to jump in to end

my life. I was useless handicapped.
This is a turning point. When was this?
March 1965. This is when my first cousin,

who was a big movie star, came to Calcutta
and invited me to Bombay for a week to visit
the movie sets. I stayed at the Jain house, one
of the richest families in India. They own the
Times of India media company. I went for a
week to Bombay but stayed for five years, becoming a yoga teacher and one-on-one healer.
I used to work like 24 hours a day and became
the guru of Bombay with all the famous peopleguru to the stars. They used to touch my
feet even in those days, like Jesus Christ, who
was a guru at 30 years old.
When did your teacher, Bishnu Ghosh,
leave his body? Were you recognized as
guru before he left?
He left in 1970, but I was well known all over

India before. To give you one example: in 1965
my salary was 200 rupees per month; one year
later I used to earn 100,000 rupees. In 1965 I
charge 5 rupees for a massage on the knee. In
1969 I charge 5,000 rupees.
Theres a long tradition of gurus in India,
but the people dont touch everybodys
feet. Only some.
They touch the gurus feet. They touch my feet

Why?
Because they know I was born a spiritual master, like Jesus or Muhammad or Buddha or
Paramahansa Yogananda, my gurus brother
that by birth they are powerful people.
In Bombay at that time, there were other famous gurus, like Baba Muktananda
and Nisargadatta and others.
In Bombay I was the most superstar guru to

the starsthats my title. I bring Muktananda
to this countryme. I bring Ravi Shankar. All
of them I introduced. I, Bikram Choudhury,
bring yoga world out of India and make it
world famous. Before that, even Nixon asked
me, What is yoga? Is that yogurt we eat? Before me, who came here? Swami Vivekananda
in 1893 and gave a couple of lectures here and
there. How many people know him? Nobody.
After that in 1919 came my gurus brother,
Paramahansa Yogananda. How many people
know him in this country?
He is well known.
Only by those interested in that subject. After

that came my guru in 1925, and he bring some
of the yogis, Shankaracharya and Swami Sivana-
organization need money bad. Yesterday, my

wife taught a class in Manhattan Beach, raise
the funds for cancer or something. Every day
were charitable organization.
nda, to teach yoga at SRF [Self Realization Fellowship] in 1931, 32, 33. Everybody left, each
and every one a failure. You know what they
said? America not born to do yoga. So we dont
want to waste our time. Even my guruhe tried,
he came back and forth. Finally, you know what
he was teaching? Weightlifting, bodybuilding.
Iyengar: failure. Vishnudevananda: failure. Satchidananda: failure. East and West like oil and
water, never mixnot for another 5,000 years.
George Harrison came to learn from me, introduced by Ravi Shankar in Calcutta.
I thought I read somewhere that your licensing revenue brings in more than one
million bucks a day.
Now yoga is good business.
What charities do you support?
I dont want to do anything with business; Ive

hated business all my life. All the businesspeople I trained all my lifeI know how mean
they are. Money, money, money. It doesnt
matter if theyre from India or Japan or Hawaii
or Europe, thats what they think, and thats
why they need yoga. Theyre business-minded people. They treat poor people so bad, and
they steal from poor people.
Hundreds, my god. If you start that, therell be

no lecture finish today.
But youre a good businessman.
No, I am not a good businessman; otherwise,

Id be billionaire today. I am nothing.
You live in Beverly Hills; most yogis
dont have anything.
This is nothing. You think I bought the house?

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi when he died left $1.3
billion. He was a real estate man. Every penny
he earned, he invested in real estate. Just last
week, his university graduated his business
school. You know what they teach? Not yoga
business management. Jim Carrey hosted the
graduation. I watch the clip. They teach MBA.
What do I teach? How to fix knee. How to fix
your marriage. How to stop drinking and get
rid of drugs. Thats my job.
Five hundred or more people in a room
paying over $11,000 each for teacher
certification, and you dont consider
yourself a good businessman?
Absolutely not. A big zero. You know how

much money I earned all my life? I should have
a couple of billion dollars in the bank. You know
how much money I have left in bank? $24,000.
Suddenly, when the lawsuit started, to prove I
am innocent, the lawyer is stealing from me.
I never save anything. Whatever I earn, 80%
I charity it, every single day. You have no idea
how many people I feed, how many children I
raise, around the globe. You know I have cars.
Thats the rumor, the Rolls Royces.
Its not rumor, the Rolls Royces, what do you

think I do? I charity it. Whenever some charity
I make good money, but before I make, already

its going to Mexico, to Bangladesh, to India, to
Ethiopia, to Africayou have no idea. It goes
to charity, 80%.
[We are leafing through a large stack of celebrity photos on the coffee table.]
How long have you known Quincy
Jones?
Since 1974 or 75. For 15 years he did it six days

a week. He had a brain aneurism, busted, operated, declared dead, handicapped. His wife
Peggy bring him to me; I saved him. Since 74
each and every album dedicated to me, including Thriller.
You said you helped create the Jackson 5.
Yes, I will tell the story.

You knew the Kennedy family?
I knew Jackie Kennedy from 62. Thats how

they came close to me.
Is Deepak Chopra a student of yours?
Yes, his wife also.

These are fun photos; can I publish some
of these?
Yes, you can take.

You live in LA, with all the celebrities
and controversy. Youre not afraid of
controversy.
I have girth to speak the truth, and slowly I

make people accept the truth. Truth is most
bitter to accept, swallow, and digest. I told
Clinton alsohes my buddy. I said, Mr. President, if you go right, the left people will not
like you. If you go left, the right will not like
you. If you go straight, the back will not like
you. If you go back, the front does not like you,
and if you dont go anywhere, nobody will like
you, so what do you do? I am his campaign
chairman. I say to him, You are commander
in chief of the country; whatever you think
good, you do it. You dont give a shit about
what people think. You just do your job.
I had this impression you had this crappy childhood. That you didnt have your
mothers love, and thats why you act
out.
Are you kidding? Oh my God, no.
From left: Bikram and his

wife, Rajashree, met with Bill
Clinton in 1996; a meeting in
Indian Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi in 1980; posed between
Michael Jackson and Quincy
Jones in 1980; and laughing
with Shirley MacLaine, 1975
So you were with your parents all the

time and grew up with love?
Always.
Were all looking for love.
We are not looking for love in India. The whole

country is a factory of love, the real love. In India they never say, I love you, honey; I miss
you, honey. We think that is a joke. My mother
and father never tell to any man or any woman,
I love you. Why? Because they dont have to.
We perform it. We feel it. We exchange it.
You have a reputation as yogas bad
boy.
Youre saying stereotype things, looking from

close range, not from larger perspective, not
looking at the broader universe. In 1975, the
first issue of Yoga Journal has story about me.
The magazine was started by some of my hippie students in San Francisco. They have the
idea to make Bikram look really big. How? By
saying Bikram is bad boy of yoga. Thats your
way, thats your language to make great man
look greater. I was very upset. If you think its
good, its good. Do you think I care?
No. I admire that about you.
1.2 billion Islamic people think Jesus is asshole. Do you think 1 billion Christians care?
Americans think 1 billion Indians are most
uneducated idiot group of people in the world.
Thats what they tell me every single day. Do
you think I care? I tell them thats your lack of
education, your total ignorance. It takes 40plus years to make them understand what is
India?
Krishnamacharya was failure. Swami Vivekananda: failure. Bishnu Ghosh: failure. Yogananda: failure. Iyengar: failure. Indra Devi:
failure. I know each and every one of these
people, and what they talk about you guys,
you have no idea. But me, I am the first man,
I see your good things: best country built
the United States of America. I admire it and
love it and enjoy its good things and not the
negativity. What make me successful is that I
make people see how good their life could be.
Not the stupid, ignorant people who are jumping from fire into the frying pan. Theyre all
pissing in the wind, destroying their lives and
their country. You built the best country in the
world over 200 years ago, and today it is bankrupt; you owe $42 trillion. Why? Because you
58
SEPTEMBER 2014
let it happen. America is borrowing money

from India and China!
What is your message here?
Lots of message. When youre interviewing Indian yogi, ask yourself what India has? You
are talking to Mr. India, and India has spiritualism, which is about how to create a bridge,
a path, a road, a telecommunications system
between your own mind and your own spirit.
How to do it? This is called practice of spiritualism.
One author described you as charisma
incarnate.
Good word. Its a gift.

It was interesting that before I came
here, I told two people that I was coming. One woman couldnt contain her
enthusiasm. She says Bikram yoga saved
her life; she begged me to join us here
today. Another woman had a different
response. She said, Oh no, hes appalling. That leaves lots of room in the
middle.
Compared with Lord Krishna, Buddha, Jesus,

Mohammed, and all spiritual masters, I have
more fans that think good about me than any
spiritual masters ever born in the history.
Christians like me, Hindus like me, Muslims
like me, Buddhists like me, Americans like me,
Catholics, Protestants, Shia like me, Sunni like
me, Samurai like me, Hawaiians like me.
Dont forget the Jain.
The Jain love me; they make me who I am today. If some ignorant dont like me, know that
the darkest place in the world is underneath
the lamp. What can you do? Its because they
just dont know. Either theyre jealous or ignorant. Controversy is okay. If everybody like me,
itd be too boring. It would not be valuable.
What is your perspective about worldly

fame?
I really dont think about name, fame, money.

My lifemy body, mind, spirit, time, energy,
sweat, blood, belief, love, emotioncan hold
only one thing, which is, How can I heal that
person? Every person I heal, I feel like I got
five Nobel Prize. What is the worth of a human being? Priceless. Each student I save and
change their life, I feel I have a crown on my
head. Like emperor of the world, son of Jupiter, like Hercules. Do you think I care for my
name? I care for fame? I care for money? That
is called insecurity, wasting time.
I give you credit for being the biggest
name in the yoga industry and for bringing more people to yoga. Even if people
go on to practice another style, they are
often introduced via Bikram.
I have been teaching yoga since I was five

years old. I am the best at what I do, there
is no question. The producers of 60 Minutes, who followed me around for a year,
said, You have the guts to speak the truth
and make the world face the truth. I make
people believe what they can be, to see how
big they can be. I create stars and politicians. I created [tennis player] Andy Murray and Williams sisters. I created Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar. I will do same for Kobe [Bryant], you watch. I make John McEnroe play
six years more after retirement, and he get
three Wimbledon championships. You think
anyone can do it? No. Why not? Because
theyre not Bikram. Britney Spears just started Bikram yoga last week. Madonna since 15
years. Lady Gaga, Beyonc, George Clooney,
Sandra Bullock. So many.
Some people cant tolerate the heat.
Thats their problem; theyre mentally weak

people. If they continued 10 days, theyd com-
plain the room is not hot enough. Who does

Bikram yoga? Those who tried everything, including medical and psychological treatment,
but nothing works. Those who want to commit suicide. They come back. I sell hellits
the only way to paradise.
You provoke people and push their buttons, maybe so they confront themselves. Thats what happens in military
boot camp.
But boot camp doesnt take 75-year-old mama.

I am 10 times worse than boot camp. When
I first came to this country, I thought it was
a jokethe lack of discipline in the class. I
have to discipline them, like a bunch of circus
clowns. Over 58 years Ive been doing this. I
save peoples lives. Harvard Medical School
has done extensive research showing clinical benefits of Bikram yoga. You should write
about it. [Hands me spiral binder with study
from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital about their Depression
Clinical Research Program.]
This is impressive. Can you tell the story
of when you first met Nixon?
It was when I first came to United States in

Honolulu. The Prime Minister Tanaka was
visiting Nixon, who had phlebitis thrombosis, a blot clot in the leg. He would sometimes suffer painful attacks. I had come as
an interpreter because at that time I spoke
perfect Japanese. Tanaka said, I am here with
my guru; he can treat a dead man. We had
like seven sessions. I heal his painlike that!
[snaps fingers] He wanted me to come back
to the White House, but I said no. However,
I did receive an envelope from the president
that contained a green card, with a note that
said, Welcome to the US. I never applied for
a green card. I met Nixon many times, until
he died in San Clemente.
What did it feel like to be working on

the president of the United States?
Nothing. When I teach somebody, I dont give

a shit who the fuck they are. I met a lot of presidents, lots of prime ministers, lot of famous
people all my life. I grew up with them. I was
close to Reagan, Clinton, Kennedy.
What makes you happy in life?
Make other people happy makes me happy

my karma yoga.
What pisses you off?
Nothing pisses me off.

Youve never been vegetarian? Thats
part of the whole ethos of yoga culture.
Never. I dont eat jungle vegetable sandwich. I

eat grilled ham sandwich and cheese. My parents, the highest Brahmin caste, would never
even drive their car where they sold beef,
where the Christians and Muslims live in Calcutta, because cow is our god. I ate beef since I
was 9 years old.
Why did you break the family tradition?
Because I am Bikram. In the yoga tradition I

did try to maintain Brahmacharya [celibacy] as
long as I could, until I was 28.
Really? And then what happened? When
was your first time?
When I was raped, on my birthday, in Beverly

Hills, by three women.
I do need to ask you about the civil suits
that are pending. When you Google Bikram now, thats what comes upsex
scandal.
Same crucifixion, just 2,000 years later. What

do you want to know? Directly to the point. Do
you know the Bengali idiom Para-shree katorota? It means envy. Literally, to see someone
elses beauty makes you feel sad. We also have

the word, jal; it means counterfeit, copy, fake.
Everybody trying to copy Bikram yoga. So a
few years ago, 265 school owners came to me,
saying how other teachers have learned Bikram
dialog and are now opening schools across the
street calling it hot yoga, not Bikram yoga.
They saying, The students dont know the difference, but those studios are charging only $3
per class, while I charge $10. I am losing my
business. What can I do?
One of the students, who are lawyers, they say
that to protect good brand, you need to protect
with copyright. You have to make franchising,
and then the government will protect you. Janet
Reno, who was attorney general at the time, said
you need patent. When Greenberg and Torak,
a famous law firm, copyrighted Bikram yoga,
I close 22 schools overnight with a restraining
order and investigate to find that 35 biggest fitness companies from San Francisco, New York,
Denver, Chicago, Los Angeles like Golds Gym,
Worlds Gym, Gorilla Gym, LA Gymthey
own all those Bikram illegal schools.
All those companies got together. They
spend billions of dollars building fitness centers and hot yoga schools, and that group of
people sue me in Federal Court in San Francisco, saying yoga cannot be copyrighted. I
spend millions of dollars, and I got summary
judgment from Judge Hamilton, who had
said when case started that she thought yoga
is public domain, free like the God. But after three and a half years, I win the case. She
said, If anything should be copyrighted first
thing, should be Bikram yoga. This is around
2006. These 35 companies, some of them multibillion-dollar companies, all got together and
say, Oh my God, Bikram got franchising and
copyright and win the case. How we can save
our money? Now, every law school in America teach Bikram copyright case. I became a
hero because I didnt give up.

sperm. Do you know women used to commit

suicide one after the other because I would not
sleep with them? Because I was virgin in those
days? You want me to name the names? Which
familys daughters? I can give it to you.
PHOTO: GERARD BURKHART
How many women committed suicide

because you would not have sex with
them?
Let me see if I understand. When you

copyrighted your brand with legitimacy
via the courts, you pissed off competitors, notably exercise companies, who
were taking your ideas anyway, and they
basically co-opted certain women with
trumped-up charges to trash your name
and weaken you. To create a business
opportunity for people who had been
otherwise disenfranchised.
Yeah. Like booby trap. They created booby

trap so that Ill be scared and run away.
I know the Sarah Baughn allegations
never got off the ground, and the Los
Angeles police have decided not to pursue her case.
All the cases are falling out. They never even

started. The courts are not satisfied. They did
investigations and find out the truth and decide not to start the case.
Since Sarah Baughn is in the Bay Area, I
assume she will read this interview. Do
you have anything to say to her?
Shes manipulated by crooks, my ex-lawyer,

and other lawyers who use them, because
theyre stupid, to make them think this will
make them rich. So I say to her, Have a nice
life; dont make your daughter like you. I always tell one thing, Truth is easy to prove.
I didnt even go to court, and automatically,
the investigation proved what is right and
what is wrong. These 35 companies have a
lot of money. Theyre all frauds, cheats
60
SEPTEMBER 2014
they call themselves The Hot Yoga Alliance.

A message to your ex-lawyer, Meenakshi
Micki Jafa?
She will be in jail for the rest of her life, either

in United States or India.
Who is Larissa Anderson?
She sit here with my daughter, with my wife,

giving me feet massage. And then she write
I took her over there [points to kitchen] and
raped her. Can you believe this human being?
There is two kind of brain in the world, good
brain and bad brainand no brain. All these
girlswhat theyre telling is 110% lies. Fiftyeight years I did service to the world and one
girl lying, and youre not smart enough to find
out? You didnt ask me? You just wrote it in the
paper [a reference to the Vanity Fair article]
to sell your fucking magazine. I have enough
toilet paper; I dont need to use your magazine
as my fucking toilet paper. How do you think
I feel? Still I am teaching yoga; I didnt stop.
India is so angry with Americayou have no
ideaafter my case.
Yet even in India, theres a whole antiguru culture that has emerged.
Youre right. Thats the guru business that has

been coming to America forever. You know
what is gurus blessing? To sleep with the disciple. Thats what disciple want. They wait 10
years for that. Do you know how many people
want to sleep in this country with me? They
want to buy for $1 million one drop of my
Four. Three died, one survivedwhole body

broken. In Beverly Hills in Hollywood. Ask
Shirley MacLaine. Ask Jamie Lee Curtisshe
will tell you. Because I was virgin in those days.
Ask Barbara Rush. I have hundreds and hundreds like that. I could take advantage; I could
make million dollars every minute if I wanted.
Did I do it? No. Did I sleep with them? No.
Ive been attacked physically, by women, since
I am 15 years old, from Calcutta to Mumbai,
Bangkok, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Honolulu, to
San Francisco, to Los Angeles, Beverly Hills
to Las Vegas. Ive been attacked all my life.
Do you understand what Ive gone through to
protect myself? Yogananda was virgin, Swami
Vivekananda was virgin, Jesus was virgin. I was
virgin. I came out virgin in Japan after two and
a half years, Honolulu I came out a virgin, San
Francisco a virgin.
When did you live in San Francisco?
Six months in 1973. I hate it. Same school is

still there in North Beach.
Do you have any regrets?
No. I live in another worldmy world. Yogis

world. Average people like you guys cannot
reach there. I live a different consciousness.
Average people living on earth are way far
from me. The average American is pissing in
the wind, digging your own graves. I feel sorry for you guys, but whatever you invest you
get same kind of result. I am not angry with
this world. This thing happening for last 5,000
years and 2,000 years in the Western culture,
so what new? Ruining the reputation of successful people trying to help you. But I hope
one day you guys learn the lesson.
Of course I am angry. I created best thing
in history of the earth of all time. Last 5,000
years, every subject of the worldarts, science, commerce, business, money, family, love,
sportsall the inventions if you put it together
[compared to] my invention, 26 plus two [26pose sequence, plus two breathing exercises]
million times more valuable and important
than them. All the million inventions from antibiotics, vaccinations, Taj Mahal, Apollo 11,
automobile, electricity, telephone, computer .
. . all of them put together, mine is millions,
billions times more important. Why?
Let me guess: union, yoga, peace of

mind, health?
Youre right, but put another way. All the inventions help a fraction of our life. All the inventions is useless if you die at the age of 40
cancer or heart attack, but I invented something so you can enjoy a quality of life, so you
can enjoy these other inventions for a hundred
years in your life.
What do you say to critics who think
youre off your rocker, a megalomaniac?
Talking that way?
American way? Eat shit and die. Go fuck yourself. You create more Hitler and more Osama
bin Laden. I create Mother Teresa. When I
was 10 years old, I used to raise the funds for
Mother Teresa. Even before she died, she call
me. Why? We create Mother Teresa. Mother
Teresa is Mother Teresa because she was in
Calcutta. If she was in Romania, she would not
be Mother Teresa. Calcutta create Mother Teresa. You came to India and kissed my ass and
begged me for 10 years to come to your country to help you. You get my point?
That people came to India for you?
Americans. You knew who I am. You came to

India, begged me to come to this country to
help you. I didnt want to come. Accidentally, I
came because of Nixon, then I stayed. You put
me first day Johnny Carson show. You put me
New York Times, every newspaper, every magazine. You write good things about me, make
me who I am today. You fall in love, you get
married and have a child and raise the child
from little baby. Then when baby is 20 years
old, you take the baby on the street and let
some criminal rape her, and you make whole
world watch it and enjoy and make money out
of it. Thats exactly what you did.
Thats your story?
Not just me. You did to lots of people. You did

it to your President Clinton. I was ashamed; I
had to hide my face. Media.
Cant you argue that he did that to himself?
No. Indian people, they do it. I know Indian

prime minister did the same thing.
Youre talking about Monica Lewinsky,
right?
Yes. I know Indian prime minister had a baby

with the maid, just like Arnold [Schwarzenegger]. Why you make yourself look so bad, destroy your culture in front rest of the world?
I think theyre trying to hold the presi-
dent and the office to some higher standard. Thats the idea of advanced democracy.
Its a setupbooby trapfor Republicans to

kick him out, but it backfired. Hes become
more popular. How can you, American people,
make your president, the most powerful and
respectable and loving man in the world, and
make him look like hes a pimp? How can you
do it? You did to me. You came to India, you
kiss my ass, you beg me, you send me private
plane, Air Force plane to bring me to this
country, make me Bikram, the biggest star of
the world of all time, guru of the starsthen
you are writing I am rapist? Because I didnt
rape you? Thats why? If I sleep with all these
girls, they will be sitting on this sofa today
massaging my leg and suck my dick.
I do think, in defense of my country, that
unlike many governments, we attempt
to get to the truth.
Truth of what? You try to prove your president

is idiot? Horny bastard? It doesnt matter what
he did or he didnt. What truth? What makes
you look your responsibilities as citizens of
your countryhow the world is going to look
at you? Where is your dignity? Just money. You
know what I said all the time? You should write
it. One hundred times I say, Americansyou
born for money, live for money, and you die for
money. Thats why today you are broke. Nothing else come in between. Thats all. You want
to sell trash magazine to bring Jesus Christ
down to the cash.
But the Monica Lewinsky story really
happened.
So what? This is his personal right. He can have

a friend with anyone. Thats his wifes problem.
Why you make him look like hes a bad person, bad president, bad human being, to the
world? Keep it inside your family. India, they
do same thing. Dont you think Japan, they do
same thing?
White collar criminals in this country go
to jail. In some other countries, they get
away with everything.
Every American human being, man and women, involve each other. Involve each other
emotionally and physically. Is that a crime?
But because a president doing it? But why you
make your president look a bad man in the
world market? That doesnt make your country
look good.
Maybe not the faade, but doesnt it
look good if were trying to get to truth?
Its the price of a free press.
What is the truth? That president like one

girl and one girl like president. Hes a human being with personal likes. What did you
prove to make him trash, because of media?
All over the world people think you [Americans] are sick people. Crazy people. You need
yoga more than anybody else. Look what you
tried to do to me. And lies? Do you know how
many people are crucified in this way in this
country?
Thats what the press does. It brings
you up, then tears you down, and if you
come back again, they like you even
more. Its kind of the process.
Its the wrong process. On humanitarian, spiritual ground its the wrong process. As an Indian, as an Asian, I have girth, I have balls. I
speak the truth openly to your media, and media understand that and they respect that.
Is there a moral code that you expect of
your yoga teachers?
Yes. Very simplemy whole teaching is a moral

code. Serve yourself for others, to serve the God.
Do you have any fears?
There is no such thing called fear in my life.

I get that. I wish some of that quality
would rub off on me.
My special request, please dont forget to write

something: just like the Jesus Christ, there will
be day in this world when most of all the people will realize what I created for mankindto
save and change the peoples life. But unfortunately, I think I wont be here to see it and
enjoy it. I like to see that happen in front of
my eyes when Im living because I know its going to turn the world 180-degree angle. So you
should mention that Bikram said that.
Ill use your words. What more do you
want them to know about you as a human being?
That I created something. Maybe 50 years later

people are going to say, Wow! Over 1 billion people has benefited directly or indirectly
and doesnt know Bikram is a human being.
Somebody will think Bikram died 2,000 years
ago in some cave in the Himalayas. Somebody
will think Bikram is a system, like hot yoga.
Nobody will know theres a human being who
created it. But Im a living human being right
now sitting in front of you and talking to you.
If you play that tape 40, 50 years from now,
theyll be shocked.
Rob Sidon is publisher and editor-in-chief of
Common Ground.
62 SEPTEMBER 2014
Yoga
Stretches
Across
the
World
{ ALL
IMAG E S BY RO B E RT ST U R MAN
THE ANCIENT PRACTICE OF YOGA HAS RAPIDLY

become a popular expression. This once-sequestered discipline,
confined among the priestly castes, has busted those seams. All
around the globe, from beaches to canyons, from metropolitan
asphalt to remote African villages, yogis can be observed
rejoicing in universal posespostures that rally Gods spark
from within.
We are proud to feature the work of Robert Sturman, who
received his first camera as a gift from his father 30 years ago.
Then, Dads instructions were simple: photograph everything
that you love. Today, this Los Angelesbased native travels
the world heeding Dads advice. Whether amid the serenity of
Walden Pond, or the tumult of the festival, or the rigidity of the
federal penitentiary, Robert aims to capture what is transcendent about yoga.
We hope you relish this pictorial whirlwind and honor Robertthe artist with a camera, whose images can also be seen at
RobertSturmanStudio.com.
64 SEPTEMBER 2014
66 SEPTEMBER 2014
68 SEPTEMBER 2014
happenings
SEPTEMBER 2014
9/13 Deva Premal & Miten and Friends, Marin Memorial Auditorium
A-List presents a Bay Area exclusive performance with Deva Premal and Miten with Nepalese flute
maestro Manose. Rooted in the tradition of japa, Deva and Mitens performances have attracted flocks
for nearly two decades. As part of their Mantras for Life tour, they will perform with a five-piece ensemble to create a deeper, harmonious, soulful experience for yogis who come to chant with them.
Join special guests Tina Malia and Mark Whitwell for a special opening attunement, followed by a
transcendent evening of music, joy, devotion, and celebration. At 7 p.m., 10 Avenue of the Flags in San
Rafael. AListCalendar.com DevaPremalMiten.com
70 SEPTEMBER 2014
9/47 Bhakti Fest

at Joshua Tree
9/20 Peter Jack Rainbird

CD Party, San Rafael
Activate your consciousness into higher levels

of awakening and join the migration of fellow
Bay Area seekers for the sixth year of Bhakti
Fest in Joshua Tree. A veritable whos who of
the kirtan and yoga world, including Krishna
Das, Deva Premal & Miten, Jai Uttal, Shiva Rea,
Dharma Mittra, and many others. New this year
is the addition of acts such as India Arie, Matisyahu (acoustic), and Salif Keifa. With the mantra Be in the Bhava (i.e., the mood of feeling
embraced by devotion), Bhakti Fest nurtures
loving-kindness for humanity as refuge from
disarray. See you there. Bhaktifest.com
Soulful, spacious solo electric guitarists CD

release party for Unravel, his new album from
Sounds True. Studio 55 Marin, 1455 E. Francisco
in San Rafael. Studio55marin.com
9/810 TechCrunch
Disrupt on Pier 48 in SF
Maybe not the obvious hangout for navel gazers, TechCrunch Disrupt is one of the most anticipated technology conferences of the year.
Its a gathering where nascent Silicon Valley
startups compete, one-on-one, for a shot at
winning the coveted Disrupt Cup. A place to
witness nerd gladiators fighting to the death
for recognition and glory. TechCrunch.com
9/9 Yoga Sutra with Pandit

Rajmani Tigunait at Yogaworks
9/20 Intro to Ecoresilience: 20

Principles with Linda Buzzell
The outlines of an emerging sustainable society are clear. Scientists, practical inventors, permaculturists, and social analysts have created
alternatives that are available for implementation. Yet most individuals, communities, and
cultures take little action. This inaction exposes
the ultimate challenge of ecoresilience: not just
what we might or must do, but how to rapidly
shift enough human hearts and minds so we
will take action collectively to prevent our own
demise, and that of our descendants and the
other remaining species with whom we share
our rapidly warming planet. Linda Buzzell is an
expert on ecopsychology; her presentation offers a big-picture understanding of why things
are collapsing, as well as principles for the redesign, restoration, and rebuilding of our communityand planetarylife-support systems. 9
a.m.4 p.m. CIIS.edu/publicprograms
Thank you, Oakland native Kimberly Leo, for

starting the East Bays largest yoga and wellness resource. To mark the occasion, she will
host a free Jai Uttal concert, with musicians Nubia Teixeira and Adriennne Shamszad accompanying. 47 p.m. at Namaste Berkeley, 2820
Seventh Street. Free for online registrations
and $10 at the door. iLoveNamaste.com
9/269/29 Global Sound

Healing Conference in Oakland
With keynotes such as Dr. Jeffrey Thompson,
John Stuart Reid, Don Estes, David Gibson, David Hykes, and Rollin McCraty from Heartmath,
and presenters such as Barry Goldstein, Steven
Halpern, Vickie Dodd, Kimba Arem, Jonathan
Quintin, Suzanne Sterling, Judy Lynne Cole,
Judy Satori, and many more, the Global Sound
Healing Conference looks like its become a
ringing success. At the Kaiser Center Tower
and Rooftop Garden, 300 Lakeside Drive.
SoundHealingCenter.com
9/26 Tears for Fears at

Oakland Fox Theater
Formed in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt
Smith, Tears for Fearss success began with
their platinum-selling debut album, The Hurting. Their second album, Songs from the Big
Chair, went multiplatinum with hits like Shout
and Everybody Wants to Rule the World. 1807
Telegraph Road. AnotherPlanetEnt.com
Sutra is the source wisdom of all yoga traditions. It holds the key to unlocking the mystery
and power of yoga and finding ultimate fulfillment and freedom. As a master of a thousandyear-old lineage, Pandit Tigunait brings the Himalayas to Marin, covering topics such as the
yogic understanding of body and mind, and
how to tap into innate wisdom. He is the successor of Sri Swami Rama and is the spiritual
head of the Himalayan Institute. From 6:30 to
8:30 p.m., Larkspur Landing. Yogaworks.com
9/1718 Yoga Legend A. G.

Mohan with His wife, Indra,
in Oakland and Sausalito
9/21 Namaste Yoga

10-Year Celebration with
Free Jai Uttal Concert
Roland Orzabal
and Curt Smith,
Tears for Fears
Pandit
Rajmani
Tigunait
A. G. Mohan with
his wife Indra
Unlike many of T. K. S. Krishnamacharyas students, A. G. Mohan studied directly with the

master until his death in 1989. He is a treasure
trove of yogic wisdom. With his wife, Indra, this
talk will explore common confusions about
yoga in the modern practice. For serious yogis interested in discerning the precise teachings according to the father of modern yoga.
This special event will be held 9/17 at Oaklands
Mountain Yoga and 9/18 at Yoga of Sausalito.
$20 in advance, $30 at the door if space available. M-Yoga.org YogaOfSausalito.com
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The college is nationally accredited and offers Federal financial aid. Minimum entrance
requirements are 2 years of college.
Since 1984, Five Branches has trained exceptional medical professionals in Acupuncture, Herbology, Dietary Medicine, Qigong and Tuina massage, the five major branches
of Chinese Medicine. We are proud to have the highest passing rate in the California Licensing exam. Our faculty are practicing physicians, most with over 20 years
medical experience in leading hospitals in China and the U.S. Our clinic sees over 100
patients a day.
We invite you to visit our campuses, or request a free catalog at:
(toll free) 877.838.6789
email: tcm@fivebranches.edu
3031 Tisch Way, San Jose, CA 95128
200 7th Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062
www.fivebranches.edu
Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine

CHINESE MEDICINE
Traditional Chinese Medicine is more
than just needles and formulas. TCM is the
art of acupuncture, acupressure, herbal prescription, Taiji Quan, and meditation, based
on the foundation theories of yin and yang,
the five elements and eight principles. The
Academy explores the methodologies of
proper healing while preserving the cultural
and spiritual aspects of the inner self. Before you can heal others, you must know how
to heal yourself.
The Program The Master of Science in Traditional Chinese Medicine is an accredited,
professional degree curriculum designed to prepare graduates to become effective,
competent, and caring members of the Chinese medicine profession. The Tui Na Massage Therapy Certificate is a California BPPVE approved 180 or 300-hour program in
specialized Chinese, acupressure (massage) therapy.
Location and Facilities The Academy is located in vibrant Oakland, California, just
across the bay from San Francisco. The Academy campus is near Oaklands City Center
and Elihu Harris Plaza, and easily accessed by the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) public
transportation system.
Admissions Admission is open to all qualified applicants. Equal educational opportunities will be provided to all persons, regardless of race, religion, gender, national
origin, marital status, sexual preference, age, or physical handicap.
Academics The program emphasizes the cultivation of the intellect and an understanding of human nature. The ability to analyze, evaluate, and effectively translate
Chinese medical information into practical clinical use is essential.
The Clinic The teaching clinic is a clinical program of TCM that is open to the public.
The clinic provides high-quality care at low cost, offering complete alternative medical
services to the community.
Ayurvedic Certification
THE AYURVEDIC INSTITUTE
The Ayurvedic Institute offers authentic
comprehensive introductory and advanced
Ayurvedic education. Founded in 1984 by
internationally recognized Ayurvedic expert,
Vasant Lad, Ayurvedic Physician, B.A.M.&S,
M.A.Sc., and licensed by the state of New
Mexico since 1994, its programs include:
Ayurvedic Studies Program - Level 1
30-week residential program, 730 hours: Students learn to live an Ayurvedic lifestyle
and offer lifestyle counseling and education to help clients improve their health and
wellness by practicing an Ayurvedic lifestyle. M-1 visas available.
Ayurvedic Studies Program - Level 2
30-week residential program, 735 hours: offers continued training in Ayurvedic
theory and practice for students planning a clinical career as an Ayurvedic practi-
tioner including lifestyle management, Ayurvedic herbology, and Ayuryoga recommendations.

Ayurvedic Studies Program - Level 3 Pune, India
Students study with Dr. Lad for 120 hours to learn the healing application of Ayurveda to patients in a clinical setting.
Weekend Seminars and 7-Day Intensives - offer in-depth Ayurvedic topics. Continuing Education Units are available.
Panchakarma Therapy authentic, classical Ayurvedic 5-Day program for healing,
cleansing, and rejuvenation.
Located in beautiful Albuquerque, New Mexico, facilities include classrooms, yoga
studio, correspondence course, retail store, and herb department.
Herbalism
CALIFORNIA SCHOOL OF
HERBAL STUDIES
Founded in 1978 by Rosemary Gladstar,
CSHS is one of Americas oldest centers for
herbal education. Our goal is to empower individuals with the skills, spirit and experience
needed to be capable community herbalists.
CSHS is located on 80 acres in Forestville, CA,
including a medicinal garden with over 250
species of medicinal plants. Classes from one day to our 8-month intensive.
What is growing in the garden will guide each class as we focus on the medicinal
plants that are ready to harvest and utilize this season. Our exploration will span from
the medicinal to the magical, and the cultural to the culinary. Each session is a blend of
lecture and hands-on time in the garden and lab.
Upcoming classes
* The Skill and Practice of Making Herbal Formulas, September 20
* Mental Health and the Communtiy Herbalist, September 21
* Fall Herbal Essentials(Five Monday afternoons), Sept. 22 - October 20
Study at one of our four locations, or complete our Nutrition Consultant Program
from home with our structured yet flexible, Distance Learning Program.
We also offer a comprehensive 8-week personal growth course, Nutrition Essentials
for Everyone, which teaches the core concepts of holistic nutrition and healthy lifestyle.
BAUMAN COLLEGE:
NATURAL CHEF & NUTRITION
CONSULTANT CERTIFICATION
Change the world through nutrition.
NATURAL CHEF Master a healthful holistic
approach to culinary arts. Certify in 7 months.
NUTRITION CONSULTANT Learn a therapeutic approach to the promotion of optimal
health and wellness. Certify in 18 months.
Academy of Chinese Culture and Health Sciences

1601 Clay St.
Oakland, CA. 94612
Phone: 510.763.7787
Fax: 510.834.8646
Website: www.acchs.edu
E-mail: info@acchs.edu
Free catalog. 505-291-9698

PO Box 23445, Albuquerque, NM 87192-1445
www.ayurveda.com
registrar@ayurveda.com
See our website for class details.

For information call (707) 887-7457
CSHS P.O. Box 39, Forestville, CA 95436
E-mail: cshs@cshs.com, Website: www.cshs.com
Berkeley, CA Sonoma County, CA Santa Cruz, CA Boulder, CO

Distance Learning
Schedule an appointment with an Admissions Advisor or contact us to find out more.
baumancollege.org 800-987-7530
Ayurvedic Training
STUDY AUTHENTIC AYURVEDA
IN THE EAST BAY
Vedika Global fulfills its mission to ignite
a community healing and wellness movement via Ayurvedic Medical Education (Gurukula), Community Workshops (Satsangha)
and Ayurvedic Charitable Clinics (Seva).
Make a Difference - Harness the power of
Vedika Globals signature education programs complete with personalized and spiritualized training, practical hands-on
learning, excellent clinical training and customized graduate support.
Give your personal health and wellbeing a Jumpstart!

Join Vedikas popular two-month self-care course which includes:
Hands-on teaching and seasonal care instruction In-class demos of nutrition rules
and recipes Step-by-step guidance in self-care rituals to heal the body
Become an Ayurveda Community Educator: 1 year Certificate Course in the Science,
Philosophy & Spirituality of Ayurveda
Become a Certified Ayurveda Health Counselor: 2.5 Year Specialist Diploma in
Ayurveda Preventative Medicine & Community Health
Massage and Aquatic Bodywork Training

HARBIN SCHOOL OF HEALING ARTS
At Harbin Hot Springs
For over 30 years, the massage and aquatic
bodywork school at Harbin Hot Springs has
been teaching classes. Formerly known as
the School of Shiatsu and Massage, Harbin
is now the owner and operator of the school.
We offer 258 hour Massage Practitioner,
558 hour Massage Therapist and many more
training programs. Courses include Massage, Anatomy, Kinesiology, Pathology, Shiatsu, Deep Tissue, Craniosacral, Trigger Point Therapy and our renowned aquatic bodywork classes in Watsu, Waterdance and Healing Dance.
Our Training Programs can get you started in a new career in massage therapy. But
our classes can also be taken individually for personal growth or to add skills for established bodyworkers. Taking classes here at beautiful Harbin Hot Springs, located just
north of the Napa Valley in Middletown CA,is a wonderful way to connect with body,
mind and spirit.
Massage School on Maui

MAUI SCHOOL OF
THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE
Become a Licensed Massage Therapist while
enjoying the sun and sea of Hawaii! Our 650hour professional program is one of the most
comprehensive and prepares you for a richly
rewarding career. $5,500 tuition makes our
school one of the most affordable anywhere.
The school is located on the beautiful island
of Maui where the warm ocean, gentle climate and lush tropical beauty encourage
inner harmony, deep relaxation and support of ones healing process. Curriculum
includes: Anatomy & Kinesiology, Swedish, Hawaiian Lomilomi, Hydrotherapy & Spa
Treatments, Deep Tissue & Neuromuscular Therapy, Assessment & Clinical Treatments,
Shiatsu, Sports Massage & Therapeutic Exercise, Reflexology, and Body/Mind Integration. Our popular student clinic is supervised by MSTMs exceptional and experienced
faculty. 12-month part-time programs and 7-month full-time programs begin every
September and March. Maui School of Therapeutic Massage is licensed by the HI
Department of Education and is approved for VA benefits. Graduates are eligible for
licensure in most states and countries. Student visas are available. We also offer programs for transfer students to receive their Hawaii license. For more information and
catalogue:
Vedika Global
admissions@vedikaglobal.org
510-601-8334 www.vedikaglobal.org
707-987-3801, registrar@harbinschoolofhealingarts.org
www.harbinschoolofhealingarts.org
MAUI SCHOOL OF THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE

P.O. Box 1891, Makawao, HI 96768
808-572-1888
www.massagemaui.com, info@massagemaui.com
Conferences, Workshops & Classes

Conference, Workshops & Classes
Herbal Symposium
24TH ANNUL NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
WOMENS HERBAL SYMPOSIUM
August 29-September 1, 2014
In Celebration of Women, Plants, and Sustainable Lifestyles, the Sistah tribe will gather
again this year to explore wholistic, healing,
and empowering lifestyles. Four full days of
herbal and sustainability classes, rites-ofpassage ceremonies, drumming and danc-
ing, handcrafted marketplace items, evening camp-fires, great swimming-holes,

and connections with remarkable womyn and children. Over 40 beginning, intermediate and advanced herbal and sustainability classes will be offered, as well as classes and activities for children, young women (teens), and Crones. All levels and ages are
welcome and appreciated. We will camp together nestled between two creeks and
under the ancient oaks, bays and pines at Black Oak Ranch in Mendocino County. Work
exchange and Crone discounts available.
womensherbalsymposium.org ncwhs@monitor.net 707-824-1429
Healing & Wellness

Ayurveda & Naturopathy Clinic
AYURVEDA & NATUROPATHY
Clinic, Academy & Wellness Spa
Dr. Vivek Shanbhag, ND, MD(Ayu), BAMS,
CYEd., Licensed Naturopathic Doctor,
Ayurveda Doctor & Professor for over 30
years. Integrates Ayurveda, Naturopathy &
Yoga to treat chronic & acute diseases with
individualized nutrition, herbal prescription, Pancha Karma cleansing, daily & seasonal routines including exercise, yoga & meditation. 2013 Award for Excellence in
Ayurvedic Practice. Currently on Board of Directors, California Association of Ayurvedic
Healing & Wellness
Thank you for supporting our Advertisers.

74
SEPTEMBER 2014
Medicine. Director, AYU Clinic & Academy, Seattle during 1989-2006(17 years). Chairman, Ayurveda Department, Bastyr University, Seattle 1991-96.
Gayathri Shanbhag, MS, Consultant in Nutrition & Diet Therapy. Specializes in
Weight Management.
Specialists in treating: Acne, Anxiety, Arthritis, Asthma, Cancer, Depression, Diabetes, Eczema, Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, Food Allergies, Headaches, Heart Diseases, Joint
Pains, Menstrual Problems, Obesity, Prostate Disorders, Psoriasis, Sexual dysfunction,
Sinusitis, Sleeplessness.
3 offices: Mountain View, San Jose, Los Gatos. Evening / Weekend Appointments.
Workshops & Cooking Classes. $100 OFF on Initial 60 minutes Consultation. (bring
this advertisement).
www.YogaAyurveda.org, call 408-876-0636 or email drshanbhag@aol.com
Allergies
BE ALLERGY FREE
Adults and children are often free of allergies in 3 or 4 sessions.
Noninvasive Painless Drug-Free No Needles No Rotation Diet
Common allergies that can be cleared:
Hayfever Grass Dust Animals Chemicals
Food Bees Other allergic reactions
Allergies often stem from old feelings of
fear, confusion, loneliness or sadness. These emotions, held in acupuncture meridians,
unconsciously exert their influence over our current thoughts and body functions. Our
work together accesses these emotions and memories releasing them, allowing the
body to return to health. People who have been plagued all their lives with allergies
experience great relief, sometimes after just one session. The allergies do not return.
I have a Masters Degree in Social Work and have been trained by the originators
of Option Therapy and Bio-Energy Balancing. I developed this effective and versatile
method using a synthesis of my education and clinical experiences. I have over 20
years experience working with adults, children and animals.
For the past eighteen years, I have been working with the connection between body
and mind with exciting results. I am committed to creating a safe place where issues
can be worked through with respect and gentleness.
Dont let your allergies limit your life any longer!
Lynn Corwin
415.456.2648
Healing & Wellness
Experience the power of Soul Healing:

Soul Healing sessions Karma Cleansing for life or specific conditions
Soul Readings Soul Wisdom classes
Peggy Werner and Ximena Gavino are Worldwide Representatives of Master Sha.
They are advanced Soul Healers, Soul Teachers and Soul Communicators with a powerful Third Eye and the authority to read all levels of the Akashic records, past, present
and future, and to offer Divine Karma Cleansing for a condition or life.
Healing & Wellness
MASTER SHAS
LOVE PEACE HARMONY CENTER
Heal the soul first; then healing and transformation of every aspect of life will follow.
Master Zhi Gang
Soul Healing focuses on the soulyour
soul, the soul of your organs, your house, your
relationships, your business, your finances,
etc.
Soul Healing brings divine love and light to transform the energy and spiritual blockages that are often the root cause of challenges for any aspect of your life, e.g., health,
relationships, business, finance, spirituality.
Visit website for intro events and classes. Call for an appointment!
Master Shas Love Peace Harmony Center
1549 California St., San Francisco, CA 94109
415.971.7373
www.LovePeaceHarmonyCenterSF.com
info@LovePeaceHarmonyCenterSF.com
Healing Music
AMBIENT ALCHEMY. NEW FROM
STEVEN HALPERN & MICHAEL DIAMOND
AMBIENT ALCHEMY transmutes sound into
gold and conjures a spellbinding listening
experience." (Awareness magazine) The lush
soundscapes and intricate production values
come alive with headphones. AMBIENT
ALCHEMY is an extraordinary collaboration
sure to delight Hearts of Space music fans.
Grammy nominee Steven Halpern and guitar synth/keyboardist Michael Diamond

team up with famed Windham Hill virtuoso Michael Manring. Atmospheric multilayered keyboards, soaring guitar synth, and fretless bass. Let the enchanting
dreamscapes take you on a magical journey. (Great for yoga and tantra.)
Nutrition
THE AWARE BODY: MARY SERPHOS,
CERTIFIED HOLISTIC HEALTH COACH,
LICENSED PSYCHOTHERAPIST,
INTEGRATED NUTRITION COUNSELING
As a certified nutrition consultant, licensed
psychotherapist and mindfulness teacher,
focused on results, I work with individuals
and families to help them eat and feel better.
After creating a personalized, goal- focused
plan I team with clients to tackle obstacles, expand self-awareness and address
chronic health concerns. I have helped clients recover from Lyme disease, Chrons
disease and other digestive disorders, migraines, depression, chronic fatigue, and diabetes. I have helped children, teens, men and women improve body image and lose
weight. Comprehensive programs that are either one, three or six months long are
suggested based upon clients personal needs. These programs include:

Science based nutrition education A balanced menu plan designed around nutritional preferences (gluten-free, flexitarian, locavore, nourishing traditions, vegetarian)
Cooking support 3-7 day mindful whole body cleanse Grocery store tour Meditation and mindfulness coaching Emotional health support An integrated stress
reduction plan
The overall mission of The Aware Body is to provide clients with restored balance,
revitalized health, improved relationships, increased energy, and personal transformation.
Graduate training and degrees: Smith College School for Social Work and The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Call for a consultation and begin your results-focused,
fully supported program for improved health.
Internal Cleansing
ARISE AND SHINE, THE ORIGINAL
TRANSFORMATIONAL CLEANSE
COMPANY, FOR OVER 28 YEARS
Dr. Richard Anderson, founder and owner
of Arise and Shine The Transformational
Cleanse Company, has pioneered the internal cleansing movement for over 28 years,
beginning with his exceptionally effective
originalintestinal cleanse program.
Over the years, the Arise and Shine cleanse program has deeply affected and dramatically changed thousands of peoples lives, restoring, re-building and rejuvenating
individuals physical and spiritual well-being.
How does cleansing do that? Very simply; deep cleansing removes the internal
blockages and toxicity that interfere with physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. When done properly, our cleanse program can clear out causes of health
issues on every level and restore clarity, wellness and vital energy.
Learn more about who we are, the profound value and benefits our products provide, and why we areThe Transformational Cleanse Company.
www.AriseAndShine.com
1-800-688-2444
Healing & Wellness
Healing & Wellness
Healing & Wellness
STEVEN HALPERN recently received the 2014 ZMR Lifetime Achievement

Award, and is a master musician, pioneering sound healer and author.
(STEVENHALPERN.COM). MICHAEL DIAMOND is an in-demand audio producer and
respected music reviewer (MichaelDiamondMusic.com)
Mary Serphos, LCSW, CHHC 415-412-5490

mary@theawarebody.com www.theawarebody.com
Consider Placing Your Ad in Common Ground.

Connecting People for 40 Years. Call 415-505-1410.
Reiki & Hypnotherapy

MINDFULLY UREIKI &
HYPNOTHERAPY FOR LASTING
CHANGE WITH JULIE BREWER
Are you stressed? Experiencing anxiety
or feeling overwhelmed? Have you gained
weight? Do you have trouble following
through? Do you truly want to change?
Sometimes we attempt change, only to find
we can do so temporarily. Julie uses Reiki or
Hypnotherapy to help make this change last. She works with individuals who are
truly ready to take a step towards growth and healing.
Reiki is a natural healing therapy that gently balances the bodys physical, emotional
and spiritual energies. It can activate the bodys natural healing abilities, encouraging wholeness and healing. Hypnotherapy is a tool that can help you change unwanted behavior and bring positive experiences back in your life.
Julie Brewer is a certified Reiki Practitioner and certified Hypnotherapist working in
the SF Bay area. Call for a 15 minute phone consultation to learn more about how
you can be the person you want to be.
Julie Brewer, CHt., RP 415-656-9874
www.MindfullyU.com JulieB@MindfullyU.com
Internal Cleansing
GENTLE, INTUITIVE DETOX
SUPPORT IN MARIN
Woods Gravity Method Colon Hygiene
(also known as colonics) is now available to
the Bay Area community! This is the original
method used by Dr. Robert Woods and Dr.
Norman Walker, and allows for a simultaneous
in/out flowmeaning water enters and exits
at the same time.
Unlike other modalities, no machines, motors, or pumps are used. I will be administering treatments at Project Detox, a body cleansing studio in San Anselmo that
offers customized cleansing programs reflecting each persons unique physiology.
I am present throughout the session, intuitively supporting you in your treatment, and
utilize Do Terra essential oils and abdominal massage. With this sought-out technique,
we gently awaken the bowels with triple filtered UV water to do what they are
meant to dorelease. Please visit my website to find out more about colon hygiene
and other offerings. It would be my pleasure to be of service!
Anjali Krystofiak Email: Anjali@cleansingconsciously.com
CleansingConsciously.com
641-919-7929
Female Hormone & Thyroid Expert

MENOPAUSAL AND PRE-MENOPAUSAL
WOMEN
Do these symptoms sound familiar:
Trouble Sleeping Feel like crying for
no apparent reason Short tempereven
with loved ones Headaches Belly fat
that you cant get rid of Allergies
There is a little known secret to getting rid
of belly fat. The fat will never permanently go
away unless the underlying hormonal cause of the belly fat is addressed. Without diagnosing and treating the emotional, physical and nutritional causes of the hormonal
imbalances, the belly fat will always come back even if it goes away for a period of time.
With our treatment system, symptoms often dramatically improve within just a few
months. Our advanced system may now be used to quickly decrease your belly fat and
other symptoms by diagnosing and treating their underlying causes.
The first 4 callers who call the number below to schedule an exam will receive our
$240 exam for only $37. Just mention code TRIAD. We are near the Northgate Mall.
HEALTHY IS BEAUTIFUL +
EVERY MINERAL THE BODY REQUIRES
HUmineral HUmic/Fulvic Acid Mineral: organic compounds rich in polyphenols (antioxidants), life-giving electrolytes, and Major
& Trace Minerals. HUmic carries 8 Major Minerals & 71 Trace. Majors: Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Nitrogen, Potassium, Sodium, Sulfur,
Zinc (see website for complete list). These
Minerals are special, smart & important, as
they are delivered in organic form and bind INorganic minerals, so they no longer
act as destructive free radicals within the body, thus making them bio-available for
use within the body where necessary. Additionally, they are utilized by body only as
needed (working adaptagenic-like). Body only uptakes what body requires/can use.
This helps prevent build-up of unused inorganic minerals in body, which cause free
radical damage & a host of other health conditions.
ZEOLITE: A powerful NATURAL MINERAL detox w/ Humic Mineral, for children to
elderly, cleansing, detoxing chemicals, metals, mercury and other daily planet pollutions from the entire body.
BENEFITS: Aids in better sleep, stamina, energy, muscle/joint function, hormones,
PH balance, cholesterol. Overall Immune Support & wellness at the cellular level.
Hypnotherapy, Dharma Coaching

SHAMANIC HYPNOTHERAPY & DHARMA
LIFE COACHING
Is emotional, mental or spiritual pain
getting in the way of you experiencing a
joyous expanded self?
If so, theres an antidote
As your guide, I offer tools that guide
you back to your joyous authentic self. My
expertise focuses on transforming mental,
emotional and spiritual pain through integrating Shamanic Hypnotherapy and
Personal Development Coaching with Eastern Spiritual Practices to offer you the
most cutting-edge coaching system available today. Let Shamanic Hypnotherapy,
and Dharma Life Coaching support you healing:

Anxiety & Depression,
Emotional & Sexual Pain, Addictions
Loss of Life Direction, Confidence & Purpose
Relationship Problems
Emotional Disconnection & Energy Blockages
Join me today, as you awaken your joyous wisdom within, allowing your creative purpose & spiritual gifts to shine.
Healing & Wellness
Healing & Wellness
Healing & Wellness
Healing & Wellness
Healing & Wellness
Ask for Dr. Ilya Skolnikoff, Chiropractic Kinesiologist

Female Hormone & Thyroid Expert
Triad Of Health Weight Loss Clinic
45 Mitchell Boulevard, Suite 10
San Rafael, CA 94903
(415) 459-4313 Office
www.triadofhealth.net
www.docilya.com
www.youtube.com/user/triadofhealth
Information: info@humineral.com Sales: sales@humineral.com

888-765-0087 www.HUmineral.com
Every Mineral the Body Requires
Soil + Seed + Root + Plant = Food = LIFE
Maitri Joy, MS CHT CLC

Wings of Bliss Coaching
(415) 990-8977 www.wingsofbliss.com maitrijoyclc@gmail.com
Individual & Couples Sessions Available.
2 office Locations; Marin/SF & Sonoma
October Is Our Womens Issue
The Bay areas Magazine for ConsCious CoMMuniTy sinCe 1974
october 2010 | Free
Consider Placing Your Ad in Common Ground,

the Bay Areas Magazine for Conscious Community Since 1974
commongroundmag@gmail.com |
76
SEPTEMBER 2014
415-505-1410
The new
ChivaLry
reawakening
The feMinine
inBorn
BeauTy
MeeT kaMaLa
harris
commongroundmag.com
The
Women
Issue
Leading
froM
The hearT
Conversations with Alice Walker,
Jean Shinoda Bolen, Joanna Macy,
Nina Simons, Akaya Windwood
Intuitive Arts
Intuitive Arts
School for Meditation & Healing

PSYCHIC HORIZONS
Meditations that Benefit your Life Immediately
FREE INTRODUCTION TO MEDITATION:
Tuesdays 7:30-8:30 pm
The purpose of Psychic Horizons is to enable you to see more clearly, trust your own
information and improve communication
with your self and others. Heal yourself in
ways that are appropriate for you.

Benefits and tools of meditation: Grounding: Feel safer and more confident
Vedic Astrology
VEDIC ASTROLOGY
Vedic Astrology (Jyotisha) was developed
by the illumined seers of ancient India to
help individuals attain the fourfold goals of
human existence: Dharma (Life Purpose),
Artha (Prosperity), Kama (Pleasure), and Moksha (Spiritual Liberation). It is renowned for
its spiritual depth, predictive accuracy, and
practical applications.
Since 1972, Stephen Quong (Umananda) has travelled extensively throughout India,
Nepal, and Sri Lanka, meeting and studying with many of the greatest masters of Vedic
Astrology and Palmistry. In addition, he has been closely associated with Shree Anandamayi Ma and other highly respected spiritual teachers, whose guidance, blessings
and personal example have been a major influence in his life and work.
Stephen is one of a very few Americans honored by the Indian Council on Astrological Sciences with the titles of Jyotisha Kovida, Jyotisha Vachaspati, and Life Fellow,
and is respected by astrologers and clients around the world for his expertise in Vedic
Intuitive Arts
Centering: Focus your attention with clarity and non-judgment

Energetic Boundaries: Be more in charge and less affected by others
Running Energy: Effective methods of meditation
Aura & Chakras: Important energetic aspects of the healing process
De-Energizing Picture: Release emotional charge from memories
New classes begin every 2 months.
Reading and Healing Clinics are also available.
Psychic Horizons: 415-643-8800
972 Valencia (near 21st St)
San Francisco 94110
www.psychichorizons.com
email: psychic@psychichorizons.com
Astrology. Upon meeting him in 1993, K.N. Rao, then director of the largest astrology
school in India, told a client, Go see Stephen Quong. He is the best Vedic Astrologer in
America.
A personal consultation with Stephen will include helpful, practical advice offered
with loving-kindness, as well as in-depth astrological analysis and predictions for the
future. Business, legal and financial issues can be discussed. All consultations are private, confidential, and tape-recorded for your convenience.
Stephens international clientele includes prominent spiritual teachers, healers, political leaders, business executives, portfolio managers, attorneys, scientists, doctors,
psychologists, musicians, artists, and writers. People from all walks of life are welcome
as clients.
To receive a free brochure and a sampling of unsolicited client testimonials, or
to schedule a personal consultation, please call:
STEPHEN QUONG
PO Box 4524, Antioch, CA 94531
(925) 754-8858, Fax: (925) 754-8575
E-mail: quong@jyotisha.com
Website: www.jyotisha.com
Massage & Bodywork

SACRO WEDGY
NECESSITY IS STILL THE
MOTHER OF INVENTION!!
This is how the SACRO WEDGY back pain
device came to be. Imagine holding someones sacrum for 20 minutes or until muscles
in the hips and lower back actually relaxed.
A football coach did just that for years. After
getting continued back pain relief for his athletes, he created the Sacro Wedgy to mimic
his hand to isolate, cradle and elevated only the sacrum. Relax the piriformis to release
the sciatic nerve. This common sense approach to prevention and relieving back pain
has helped when all else failed. Very often simple is best and self- care and prevention
are moving to the forefront. Simply relaxing 20 minutes daily on the Sacro Wedgy
and neck support may be all you need to help correct a not so simple problem.
The cost of the SacroWedgy is $33.95.
Massage & Bodywork
On Site Massage
EXPERIENCE ON-SITE THERAPEUTIC
BLISS WITH GIANNA AND WILLOW
Allow your body, mind and spirit to settle
into the serenity of Sonoma Valley with
a therapeutic massage delivered to you
on-site. We are Gianna and Willowa
deeply experienced duo of professional
therapists, specialized in customizing our
expertise to meet individual needs. We
blend techniques, adjust touch to your preferred pressure and respond to the unique
rhythm of breathpermitting you to surrender into a state of blissful tranquility.
Our Wine County On-Site Massage is unique, combining: Acupressure, Aromatherapy, Deep Tissue, Swedish, and Lymphatic techniques through 60, 75, or 90
minute sessions. We will travel so individuals, couples, and groups can enjoy healing
and relaxation delivered to your home, vacation rental, hotel room, or retreat. Consider the gift of massage as an offering to enhance a party, wedding, wine event,
seminar or business retreat.
Contact Gianna or Willow at 707-363-5630
Email: winecountryonsitemassage@gmail.com
Schedule an appointment to let the healing begin.
Massage & Bodywork
Hellerwork
ROY STRASSMAN - DEEP
TISSUE HELLERWORK
FLEXIBILITY, FLUIDITY & FREEDOM FROM
PAIN
Hellerwork is a powerful system consisting of a series of eleven 90-minute, deeptissue structural bodywork and movement
education sessions designed to re-align your
bodys muscles and joints, and re-educate
movement. Hellerwork can also be experienced in non-series tune-up sessions.

Relaxing deep-tissue massage, based upon Hellerwork principles, is also available at a reduced rate.
House calls available
Roy Strassman, M.S. has been practicing Hellerwork for 28 years and is one
of founder Joseph Hellers original students. He currently practices in the Bay Area
(including at Absolute Chiropractic in Alamo) and Sacramento.
Roy works with his hands, but feels with his heart. When he works on you he weaves
decades of experience, a lifetime on the spiritual path, and years of direct study with his
teacher into a tapestry of healing that has to be experienced to be believed. Just give him
one chance and youll see what I mean. -Stanley Young, Climate Change Communications Professional
Learn more and have a PAYMENT OPTIONAL SESSION by contacting Roy at (510)
232-5700 or roystrassman@aol.com, roystrassman.com
Massage & Bodywork
their movement.
The sessions provide long-lasting relief from tension, stress, aches and pains.
Properly aligning your body helps you regain your natural well-being and grace in
Visit the family owned website at www.sacrowedgy.com or call 1-800-737-9295

for a free brochure.
Psychology, Counseling & Therapy

Psychology, Counseling & Therapy Breathwork
REICHIAN THERAPY
Come alive to your sexuality and joy of
life ...
Reichian Therapy is a non-verbal breathing therapy. Whereas talk is a great way to
avoid what youre feeling, there is no way to
avoid your feelings while lying there breathing in a Reichian session. Over time, chronically stiff and hard muscles blocking sensation and energy flow will soften. Eventually, the rage we hold in our muscles will
surface, giving way to more feelings of pleasure, freeing blocked energy and sexual
dysfunction.
SUPPORTING WOMEN RESPOND

TO THE CALL OF THEIR SOUL
Walking the path of the Souls call asks
much of us. As women, we must learn to trust
our inner guidance, to break patterns in our
female lineages, to honor difficult emotions
but not let them stop us, and to stand tall in
the wisdom we carry. We are not meant to
do this alone.
Psychology, Counseling & Therapy EMDR Counseling
NOURISHING YOUR TRUE SELF

What is your deepest desire? I can help
you discover how you hold yourself back
from what you most want. Often what holds
us back are unacknowledged competing values. Through deep inquiry, body awareness
and present-moment attention, I help honor
where you are now, as well as open up to the
richness that lies dormant within you.
Humanistic-existential, somatic and transpersonal modalities inform my work. I also
Psychology, Counseling & Therapy Relationship & Intimacy
CLAUDIA SIX, PHD

GETTING TO THE HEART OF INTIMACY.
My style is direct and compassionate. Do
you want to:
Make sense of why youre having difficulties
Discover & shift ineffective patterns Create
a relationship that works? I can help.
Single: - Why cant I find a mate?
- Why he wont call (its not personal)
- Why its not personal (really)

- Commitment phobic (its not just the guys)
- Newly dating again? You can feel prepared.
ACTIVATE YOUR SONS NATURAL

MASCULINE WISDOM
Whats Happening To Our Sons? Young
men are at alarmingly high risk for irresponsibility, laziness, feeling entitled, struggling in
school, legal issues, immature social behaviors and emotional problems--as well as drug,
alcohol and digital addiction.
The Purpose of My Work: To show parents
and their sons how to develop more caring and cooperative relationships by respectfully responding to each others needs. As a result, young men are better prepared for
Psychology, Counseling & Therapy A Joyful Loving Therapy
RE-MOTHERING
UNDERMOTHERED WOMEN
Many of us undermothered women have
a deep vision of who we could be, an undeniable longing for the life we are meant
to live. Yet we are afraid to act on the dreams
and aspirations embedded in our souls
code, for fear of not being loved. The pain
of not living out our truths manifests in many
78 SEPTEMBER 2014
We spend an enormous part of our energy holding back basic needs and feelings
which weve learned were not OK. An effective way to free these blocked energies,
release anger and reawaken to your natural vitality and pleasure is through the breathing, movement and sounds of Reichian sessions.
Michele T. Newmark, M.S., D.D., has been involved in the study of human sexuality
for over 30 years. The basis for her work is grounded in Reichian Therapy. Michele has
an ongoing private practice in Santa Rosa and in San Francisco at the Center for Healing and Expression. She also holds classes on Tantra, Yoga and Breath, an Exploration
of Sexual Energy and The Tantric Art of Self-Pleasuring for women.
San Francisco: 415.775.6145
Santa Rosa: 707.538.3778
www.thecenter-sf.org
NEW THIS FALL:
Birthing Yourself: Descend, Transform, Emerge.
A 9-month Soul-Centered, Earth-Based journey for men and women.
Monthly gatherings, with a Vision Fast in the spring.
Womens Clarity Process goes on-line:
A seven-week process for gaining clarity of calling. We will utilize
Expressive Arts, Somatic Awareness, and Land Based practices.
Aninha Esperanza Livingstone, Ph.D.
Ancestral Wisdom for Purposeful Living
www.aninhalivingstone.com (415) 458-8321
I invite you to call me for a free 20-minute consultation
am trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing). When we
have sustained traumabe it physical, sexual or emotionalour traumatized
parts lag behind what our adult selves know intellectually about the present moment.
EMDR is an evidence-based modality that is highly effective for integrating our scared
and limited parts with our wisest and most grounded selves.
With warmth, compassion and sensitivity, I help you let go of old patterns that no
longer serve you and embrace your strengths and inner wisdomso you can live in
a more soulful and authentic way.
Suzanne Berens, MFT
3179 College Ave. 3C, Berkeley, CA 94705 and
1600 S. Main St., Suite 240, Walnut Creek, CA 94596
(510) 541-8868 www.TherapistBayArea.com
Coupled: - Not feeling appreciated?
- Feel like you never do it right?
- How to make your woman happy
- Why he doesnt read your mind
- Birds do it, bees do itAre you?
- Avoiding sex to not get turned down? -Learn how to change that.
Ambivalent? Humans are ambivalent creatures. I will help you understand how your
choices serve you, thus empowering you to make choices that support what you really want.
Claudia Six, MA, PhD, is a Board Certified Clinical Sexologist,
practicing in San Rafael. Individual & couples counseling.
(415)453-6218. www.drsix.net
I invite you to call for a free 15 minute consultation.
a life of happiness and independence.
How I Help Parents By integrating ageless family wisdom with the sciences of adolescent brain development, parent bonding, personal growth and stress management, I teach parents how to restore caring and mutually beneficial relationships with
their difficult or defiant sons.
Dr. Mark Schillinger, DC is a pioneer in the field of family dynamics and adolescent
young men.
ChallengingTeenageSons.com
1050 Northgate Dr. San Rafael, CA.
(415) 785 8818
info@ChallengingTeenageSons.com
symptoms: depression, anxiety, loneliness, eating disorders, etc.
I have 34 years of experience guiding undermothered women of all life styles to feel
loved and cared for. It can be such a wonderful, nourishing experience to have
your emotionality, sensitivity, and spirituality embraced by an attuned mothering figure. When you learn to re-connect with your deep feminine wisdom, you
can soulfully manifest your lifes work and create loving relationships that your heart
and body are hungering for.
You are very welcome to call me for a free phone interview.
Soonja Kim, LCSW (License # : 10157)
510.558.0410
www.motheringwomen.com
Somatic Healing
Wisdom of The Body provides multidimensional therapy for helping professionals, and others on a path of personal growth
and transformation. Clients who have exhausted other modalities often report that
WoB sparks healing on a level they hadnt
known was possible.
Benefits of multiple sessions include:
-Deeper, longer, sounder sleep
-Abatement of chronic physical symptoms
-Enhanced calm, connectedness, vitality and well-being

-Shifting of thought and behavior patterns
-Awakened emotional intelligence, particularly self-awareness
During your time, we unearth and answer your deepest longings for healing and
transformation with intuitive and multifaceted offerings. Your session may include
touch, movement, dialogue, cognitive insight and psychospiritual attunement. With
synergistic intuition, we co-create your experience.
[L]ike Family Constellation meets Hakomi meets Gestalt meets psychic energy
workThis is cutting edge somatic healing. Ilya Yacobson, L.Ac
Jill Nagle (415) 509-6430, Jill@WisdomOfTheBody.com
WisdomOfTheBody.com (live in July)
Spas, Retreats & Travel

Guest Houses
COMMONWEAL
Commonweal, a nonprofit institute with
service and research programs in environmental health, is located on a beautiful 60acre site overlooking the Pacific in the Point
Reyes National Seashore, near the small town
of Bolinas, about one hours drive from San
Francisco.
Our three furnished guest houses are
available to small groups for retreats, workshops, conferences, and similar uses which
are compatible with Commonweals nonprofit purposes and with the peaceful, iso-
lated rural environment.

Pacific House is a historic, 12-bedroom building with a stone fireplace in the large
living room and a fully equipped kitchen. Bothin House and Kohler House are smaller
guest houses nearby, with two and three bedrooms, respectively, and with fireplaces.
Because the houses are often booked well in advance, early reservations are recommended.
For additional information, please visit our website:
www.commonweal.org
COMMONWEAL, P.O. Box 316,
Bolinas, CA 94924
415.868.0970
Hawaii Retreat
KALANI OCEANSIDE RETREAT
Revel in the spirit of aloha in our secluded retreat on the lush southeast coast of
the Big Island of Hawaii.
Kalani celebrates nature, culture and wellness on our 120 coastal acres of botanical
splendor along black sand beaches, near the
worlds most active volcano, where we invite
you to meditate, sunbathe, play with dol-
phins, practice in our daily yoga classes, dance, discover hidden waterfalls, and more.
Enjoy our comfortable accommodations, delicious healthful cuisine, massage therapies; relax by our Olympic-size pool; or just lay back in Hawaii!
Kalani is one of the most potent and nurturing retreat centers in the world Shiva Rea
Come to vacation, to attend a workshop, or bring your own group to this corner
of paradise called Kalani...
Retreat & Workshop Center

HARBIN HOT SPRINGS
Whether you are visiting for the first time
or returning after many years, now is a great
time to experience Harbin Hot Springs, our
non-profit retreat center located in the wine
region north of Calistoga.
Hike 1700 acres of wilderness soak in
natural hot, warm and cold spring pools...
warm yourself in the sauna or on one of the
clothing-optional sun decks... then schedule a nurturing massage, Watsu or pampering spa treatment. Our restaurant serves breakfast and dinner daily, or prepare your
own vegetarian meals in the guest kitchen. Be sure to visit our garden, market, book
store and cafs.
Free guest events include daily yoga and weekly dances. Weekend workshops and
massage classes are held throughout the year. Secluded conference facilities for
groups up to 300 are available. We also have openings for residential employment.
Call or visit our web site for more details on any of these offerings.
Stop by for a day visit, or choose camping, dorms, private rooms or cottages for overnight stays. Room reservations are recommended. Ask about reduced weekday rates.
Reservations:
(707) 987-2477 (10am to 5pm)
CA toll-free 1-800-622-2477
Middletown, CA 95461
www.harbin.org/cg
www.kalani.com
kalani@kalani.com
800.800.6886 or 808.965.7828
IONS EARTHRISE
For Your Workshops, Retreats, and Events
IONS EarthRise, the transformative
learning center of the Institute of Noetic
Sciences, is the perfect location for
your eventsmultiple meeting rooms,
exceptional meals, and lodging for 100+
guests on 194 beautiful acres.
We invite you to hold your event here. We also invite you to join us as a participant
in an incredible line up of transformative workshops and events.
Day Spa
SHIBUI GARDENS SPA
Pronounced: Shi - boo - eean unpretentious sense of tastefulness or virtue; humility)
Nestled in a quaint and serene San
Anselmo garden setting, Shibui has been
happily serving its community for over 30
years. Employee-owned, Shibui offers various
professional massage therapy modalities
including Hawaiian Lomi Lomi, Swedish, Deep Tissue, Shiatsu, NeuroMuscular

Therapy, Cranial Sacral, Visceral, Prenatal, Sports Massage and more. These
modalities can be combined for an even deeper lasting effect with certified therapists
many of whom have 20 or 30 years of professional training and experience.
Or just come with the heavenly goal of relaxing and restoring after a hectic day in
the hot tubs or cedar wood sauna. Sit in the garden before or after your session to soak
in the serenity before venturing into whatevers next. Discounts for wellness, seniors and
children. You deserve a break; come make an appointment for paradise today.
Shibui Gardens Outdoor Spa
19 Tamalpais Ave., San Anselmo, CA
(415) 457-0283; www.shibuigardens.com
To hold your event here, contact:

Lisa Koester, CMP, Sales Director: 707.779.8202 or lkoester@noetic.org
To take a workshop: www.IONSEarthRise.org or 707.781.7401
IONS EarthRise, 101 San Antonio Rd, Petaluma, CA 94952
Special Products
Special Products
Dietary Mineral Supplements

TRUE COLLOIDAL SILVER, GOLD,
PLATINUM, ZINC, SILICA
MesoSilver is one of the only True Colloidal
Silver products being produced in the world
today. MesoSilver has the smallest silver particles (not ions) ever produced (.65 nm). The
Particle Surface Area (which determines effectiveness) is many times higher than any
other product on the market.
Contrary to older and incorrect scientific assertions, a true silver colloid is NOT clear.
Compared to true colloidal silver, all home generators, as well as most silver products being sold are ionic silver, which IS clear and colorless. The problem with ionic
silver is that, by definition, it has a (positive) charge, which immediately reacts with
the chloride ions (negative charge) in the stomach acid or bloodstream to form silver
chloride. Silver chloride has not been shown to have the same antimicrobial effects as
nanoparticle (true colloidal) silver. Therefore, while ionic silver is a fine antimicrobial
agent externally, when ingested, ionic silver is of little use. A true colloid (especially
with sub-nanometer particles) is much more effective.
Learn more about MesoSilver Silver at www.purestcolloids.com
Call: 609-267-2112
Special Products
Healthy Juicer: Manual Wheatgrass Juicer

GET HEALTHY AND DETOX WITH
THE HEALTHY JUICER!
The Healthy Juicer is by far the best manual
leafy green and wheatgrass juicer on the
market! The best part? It is only $49.99! Super
easy to clean (only four main parts) makes it
a quick 3-minute cleanup with only a quick
rinse needed. So whats the trick with the
easy clean-up? No internal screen to clog,
scrub or cleanup! Juicing leafy greens is by far the best way to detox, clean your system
and give yourself natural energy. Wheatgrass has more protein per ounce than beef!
The Healthy Juicer has a 1-Year warranty and a 30-day money back guarantee.
Amazing Breakthrough!
NOURISHING YOUR TRUE SELF
Introducing Health Logics, maker of natural dietary supplements clinically proven to
improve the bodys performance and make
you look and feel your best. Our best selling
products include:
BioCell CollagenOur flagship product,
BioCell Collagen is a patented source of Type
2 Hydrolyzed Collagen, Chondroitin Sulfate,
and Hyaluronic Acid. Numerous clinical trials have proven effective at improving skin
hydration, relieving joint comfort, and reducing fine lines and wrinkles.
Fluid HALiquid, vegan hyaluronic acid (HA) replenishes the naturally occurring
HA in your body and provides lubrication and shock absorption to the joints.
Spinetrac C2 - Formulated by a chiropractor, Spinetrac is made with patented
BioCell Collagen and antioxidants to ease tension, renew cartilage, and promote spinal mobility.
Special Products
Visit www.HealthyJuicer.com for more information, product demonstration

videos and store locations!
Health Logics products can be found on our website, www.health-logics.com,

Amazon, and in natural markets in the greater bay area. Check out our store locator on our website to find a store near you!
Spiritual Practices
Shamanic Studies
DANCE OF THE DEER
The Dance of the Deer Foundation sponsors seminars, pilgrimages and ongoing
study groups throughout the world, particularly in the U.S., Mexico and Europe.
These programs are led by Brant Secunda,
a recognized shaman in the tradition of the
Huichol Indians of Mexico, and are usually
held at beautiful and sacred places of power.
They emphasize the importance of ceremony for personal well-being and for the continued survival of the environment and Mother Earth, and they provide a rare opportunity to experience Huichol Indian Shamanism.
Participants in these programs take part in Huichol ceremonies, the sacred Dance
of the Deer, vision quests and pilgrimages to places of power. They learn practices of
shamanic health and healing, and how to approach sacred places of power and bring
that power into their hearts to help them live more balanced lives.
Special Upcoming Programs and Retreats:
-East Coast OnGoing Meeting, Lake George, NY Oct 3-7, 2014
-Autumn Retreat, Penzberg, Germany Oct 14-19, 2014
-European On-Going Meeting, Allgu, Germany Oct 19-26, 2014
Meditation
SELF-REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP: BAY
AREA TEMPLE & MEDITATION CENTERS
The more you feel peace in meditation,
the closer you are to God.
Paramahansa Yogananda, author of Autobiography of A Yogi
your divine essence. WEEKLY SERVICES: Each week our centers in the Bay Area hold
inspirational services that focus on meditation and spiritual ideals for everyday living.
By applying these principles, you can create a life of lasting happiness and harmony in
body, mind, and soul. We would love to have you join us for silent meditation and readings from the writings of Yogananda! To learn more, please visit the SRF home page at
www.yogananda-srf.org or contact one of the locations below for details.
Spiritual Practices
Spiritual Practices
PARAMAHANSA
YOGANANDA
Fo u n d e r
(1893-1952)
The timeless, scientific methods of Kriya

Yoga meditation taught by Paramahansa Yogananda help dissolve the inner barriers between you and the infinite Peace that is
Vedanta
VEDANTA SOCIETY OF
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
We are free if we would only believe it,
only have faith enough. You are the soul,
free and eternal, ever free, ever blessed.
Have faith enough and you will be free in
a minute.
Swami Vivekananda, Founder,
April 1900
Vedanta is the oldest of the major living religions. It affirms that all religions lead
to the same TruthTruth is one; sages call It by various names (Rig Veda). Vedanta
Spiritual Practices
80 SEPTEMBER 2014
DANCE OF THE DEER FOUNDATION

CENTER FOR SHAMANIC STUDIES
P.O. Box 699, Soquel, CA 95073
831.475.9560 E-mail: info@shamanism.com
Website: www.shamanism.com or www.danceofthedeer.com
SRF Berkeley Temple510.984.0084

SRF Sacramento Center916.483.9644
SRF Los Gatos Center408.252.5299
SRF San Francisco Meditation Group415.584.8270
teaches that the essence of all beings and all things is Spirit, infinite and eternal, unchanging and indivisible. It emphasizes that a persons true nature is this divine Spirit,
identical with the inmost being and reality of the universe and that the goal is to actualize this truth in ones life.
WEEKLY SERVICES: Summer RecessNo Lectures & Classes until September 14;
Wednesday Vespers & Meditation, 7:30 pm; Temple Open for Meditation Bookshop:
Eastern/Western Religions & Philosophy
VEDANTA SOCIETY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
2323 Vallejo St. at Fillmore
San Francisco, CA 94123
415.922.2323 E-mail: temple@sfvedanta.org
Website: www.sfvedanta.org Vedanta Retreat: Olema, West Marin County
last words
It is through your body that you realize you are a spark of divinity.
B. K. S. Iyengar (Dec. 14, 1918Aug. 20, 2014)
82
PHOTO: JAKE CLENNEL
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