July/August 2007 - Yoga Chicago (original) (raw)
Welcome to July/August 2007 issue of Yoga Chicago Magazine!
Yoli Maya Yeh–Bridging Native American Wisdom, Buddhism and Yoga
by
Yoli Maya Yeh (Ma Kurukulla Prajna is her spiritual name) is a Native American Buddhist yogini. She grew up in Evanston not far from her Seneca godmother, who taught her some of the core healing arts of the Wolf Clan, who are the teachers and healers of the Seneca...
Genuine Compassion: The Dalai Lama at Millennium Park
by Kali Om
“It’s just a talk,” said His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, Tenzing Gyatso, at his Sunday, May 6, appearance at Millennium Park. Deceptively casual, he sat in a plush chair on a raised platform and said in his lilting voice that he had no special message and...
Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center Turns 35
by Kali Om
The Sivananda Yoga Vendanta Center is celebrating two anniversaries this summer--the 35th year of the Chicago center in Edgewater and the 50th anniversary of Swami Vishnu-devananda’s arrival in America. In 1957, Swami Vishnu-devananda was given a 10-rupee note and...
Mysticism of the Ten Commandments, Part 4
We continue with our series of the Ten Commandments as interpreted by Swami Jyotirmayananda. Commandment 6: Thou shalt not kill This commandment is generally interpreted as an injunction against murdering other human beings. The commandment is actually rooted in a...
Karma Yoga and the Art of Dying
One of the most profound spiritual practices I have found is karma yoga, “the yoga of action,” as a path of realization and specifically as it relates to serving the dying. Karma yoga transcends all religious boundaries and touches the heart and soul on a deep level...
Children Enjoy After-School Yoga at Lutheran General Children’s Day Care
Approximately 15 children practice yoga in the Lutheran General Children’s Day Care (LGCDC) after-school program for grades K-5, held at Avoca West School in Glenview. Parents and friends were invited to the last class of the season, May 15, for a special performance....
How to Raise a Healthy Family and a Healthy Planet, Part 3
David McGrath, in the final part of a three-part series, suggests additional ways to help individuals make simple everyday choices that will improve their health and the health of our planet. And, finally, he focuses on internal practices, which if done with patience...
Real Life Becomes a Life Practice
by Carly Carney
As far south as you can go on Western Avenue and still be in Chicago sits a small house between a bakery and a financial institution. If you weren't looking for it, you would probably pass it. But the placement of the house, slightly farther back than the other...
Personal Practice: From Terror to Bliss
I am not a morning person. I never have been. I would be perfectly happy staying in bed all morning long, arms spread wide and legs scissored, blissfully taking up as much space in the bed as possible. Many of my loved ones marvel, then, to hear that I now get out of...
Dear Kriyananda
Depression: Symptoms and Solutions, Part 3 Depression is a growing crisis in every way. The rates of depression have rapidly climbed over the last six decades, and it occurring in younger people, with the average age of the first depressive incident being the upper...
Perfect Balance?
by Gary Gran
You can’t figure out your dosha? You can relate to vata, pitta and kapha--all three at once? Is that even possible? “Sometimes I get anxious like a vata,” a friend explains. “But other times I feel so irritated and my anger flares up. And yet I develop so much phlegm...
Dancing with Change!
We hear all the time that change is good. Change is also inevitable. Just look to nature and witness the changing seasons, changing light of day and the aging of all species. No matter what we do to hold on to the perfection of the moment, change happens. Whether it’s...
Moving from Fear to Courage: The Squat and the Star
Those who teach yoga and meditation find that their students are often in the midst of major personal transitions: marriage, starting a family, divorce, death of a loved one, loss of a job (or starting a new job), recovering from a health crisis, returning to school,...
Newar Art
Yogis recognize that the power of sound, through listening to sacred music and the chanting of mantras, contributes to our spiritual understanding. But what about the power of art? Art historian Siddhartha V. Shah gave a talk in April, titled "In Defense of the...
The Practice of Being Present Midwest Yoga Conference, Part 1
The 8th annual Midwest Yoga Conference, held June 1-3 at Indian Lakes Resort & Spa in Bloomingdale, Illinois, was more of a consciousness-raising event than three days of asana practice. The presenters I met were activists, committed yogis working toward positive...
Yoga Journal Conference Review
Yoga Journal’s 2007 Grand Geneva Conference was held in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, at the Grand Geneva Resort and Spa (hence the conference name). The main conference was held on Saturday, May 5, and Sunday, May 6, with additional all-day intensives on Friday and Monday....
A Doorway In Sarah Powers Workshop Review
by Carly Carney
Sarah Powers teaches internationally. She interweaves Buddhism and meditation with Yin and Vinyasa yoga. She was at the Chicago Yoga Center April 14-15 and conducted a workshop titled, “Working with Emotional Obstacles Along the Path.” Five years ago I attended my...