UPCOMING EVENTS

Hanuman in the Ramayana!

A Free Online Event

Saturday, July 29, 2023
8:00-9:30 AM PT
Online

The Rāmāyaṇa is considered an Ādikavya. Meaning it is not just known as our first poem (the verse came spontaneously to the sage), nor just the story of an avatar destined to be known as the dharma king, and not just a story that reaches deep into our souls and pulls out the best in us, but also as a tonic for anyone who is in existential pain.

This then is the story within which we find this humble servant of the Lord who transforms into a legend and who has even traversed the seas to become almost a household name here in the West, where even the US President Obama carried his statuette in his pocket!

Maria and I would be thrilled if you were to join us for tales regaling this vānara devatā, pavan putra Hanumān! And how, as long as he sits amongst us, dharma lives on!!
Jai Hanumān!
Register Now »


ANNOUNCING:

RASA INDIA RETREAT 2024!

Join Anjali and me for our second father-daughter India Retreat!
Register before August 15 and get in a very Special Incentive Price!
www.rasaindiaretreat.com

Read Testimonials from last years’ Retreat here »


Panchakarma at Sivananda Yoga Farm!

Sivananda Yoga Farm, Sept 5-13, 2023

If this calls you, register soon  to make sure you start your pre-cleanse protocol on time!

Pancha is Sanskrit for 5. Karma is Sanskrit for action. Join the two words and you understand the heart of Ayurvedic detoxification. Using the intelligent design of the body-mind complex, the ancients created a brilliant practice for cleansing that includes preparation, intensification, removal of potentially toxic matter, and rebalancing of the constitutional forces that govern our lives. But it does not end there. In following the traditional guidelines, the rejuvenation of the tissues of the body must also be initiated to have a successful cleanse. I can think of very few places that have a more desirable setting for achieving this. Spaces are limited. Find out more here »


SAVE THE DATE!

Ayurvedic Psychology Series

Sitting with MahaDeva

Free Introduction Workshop: Oct 14! Register Now »

UPCOMING COURSE:
Requires basic Ayurvedic understanding and the Free Intro
*Registration coming soon for the full course

OCT 21: Ayurvedic Psychiatry: The Farmacopeia
OCT 28: Ayurvedic Psychology: The Divine Principle
NOV 11: Ayurvedic Psychotherapy: Victory of Truth
NOV 18: Ayurvedic Psychosomatics: Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy

Details coming soon! Intro and all four online classes will be 1.5 hours each.

—————————PAST WORKSHOPS————————-

SŪRYA NAMASKĀRA:

An exploration of the tradition, the meaning and the practice of Sun Salutations.

Sunday, January 8th, 8AM Pacific/11AM Eastern
Early Bird $27 ends December 31st • $36 from January 1st

REGISTER HERE!


Exploring Sun Salutations

Sūrya Namaskāra can be found in the ancient texts as a simple prostration, known as Sūrya Daṇḍāsana: a prostration to the sun, rarely practiced anymore!

Over time it has morphed into a vinyāsa of 12 steps to honor the 12 houses of the Sun. With the original prostration mostly left out.

There is what we now call the classical method (pictured above), fairly recent in origin, and then there are the various versions that we get from the students of TKV Kṛṣṇamācārya, all vinyāsas that explore the primary movements and controls of the human body. And if practiced with a teacher in the tradition, to include Sūrya Daṇḍāsana along with adjustments specific to women.

The fact that there is more than one version itself is a testimony to Kṛṣṇamācārya’s genius in adjusting flows and postures to the student. Thus making sūrya namaskāra once again a personal practice.

In this brief workshop we will examine a few versions, with the goal of aligning individually; from simple movements to artful movements, and to where the postures can be done with mantras (samantra) to honor the original intent: of offering namaskāram to Āditya, the Sun God.

We will context it all with a powerful chant to Āditya that was used in ancient times to conquer our closest enemies: diseased states.

And we will end with another namaskāram: one we offer to the various directions. Ding Namāskaram

Sunday January 8th, 8AM Pacific/11AM Eastern
Early Bird $27 ends December 31st • $36 from January 1st


REGISTER HERE!


INDIA RETREAT 2023
is now SOLD OUT!

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts!!!

Anjali and I are overwhelmed by the response we have received to this daughter-father led Retreat to India. If you had been contemplating joining us, we would love to hear from you and offer you a big incentive to share an India journey with us in 2024!
CONTACT US


YOGA THERAPY HOUR PODCAST

PODCAST WITH AMY WHEELER:
Amy and I discuss Ãyurvedic Yoga Therapy!

Listen to the episode on all major podcasting apps:
Apple Podcasts »
Spotify »
Audible »
Sticher »
Google Podcasts »

Vinyāsa Therapeutics

THE KRAMA OF HEALING THROUGH ĀSANA

Vinyāsa is the art form of yoga. In vinyāsa, the practice of yoga stakes its place as one of the 64 arts of India.

As such, it is about structuring our practice in a way that a pathway is created into an āsana, so that the āsana becomes steady and comfortable, and then creates a safe pathway back out.

In its its logical sequencing, we identify the āsana/postures that are reflective of the natural postures of our bodies. And this allows us to dance within them, by following the laws of placement and movement.

Being eternally grateful to Ramaswami Srivatsa for his teachings, I offer here a therapeutic approach to the practice of these postures and the variations they flower into. Therapy being one of the 6 ways of practice, its need is the need of our times.

The intent of the practice is to bring us back to health. To bring us back to our yoga.

(Check the workshop(s) you want to register for on the form)

SATURDAY EVENINGS ONLINE

JUNE 18, 25, JULY 9, 16, 23, 30, 3-5:30PM PDT

Recordings provided to attendees

$180 early bird (ends June 11) • $210 after

Price is for the series (no individual classes please)

PRANAYAMA:
THE BREATH IN YOGA:

From beginning to end: overview and practice.

Prāṇāyāma is a very particular breath practice, found mid-way within the eightfold path of yoga. It is not, however, the full spectrum of the understanding and use of breath in the practices of yoga.

There are at least three other areas where correct manners of breathing, appropriate specifically to that modality, are essential. Thus, to realize the full spectrum of the breath in yoga we need to look at its correct usage in all its practices: kriyā, āsana, prāṇāyāma and saṃyama.

With this knowledge, breathwork through yoga can become an incredibly powerful tool for bringing balance to all five levels of our health paradigm: the pañca maya kośa.

Especially as yoga tells us that the breath is the link between the physical sheath and the mental sheath and then by extension, the key to our intelligence; our emotional sheath and our blissful spirit.

In this two-part workshop, we will first explore the breath in kriyā and āsana. Then sequentially, we will delve into prāṇāyāma and all its intricacies: from balanced breath to alternating nostrils to amantra and samantra and finally the breath in samyama, including in chanting and visualization.

This workshop includes practice. No yoga mat is needed nor is your Lululemon clothing. However, please check and see if you can inhale for a count of 5 and exhale for a count of 10. If you cannot, you are still welcome, just let us know so we can guide you individually prior to.

Session One: Classical definition of prānāyāma. Breath in āsana, kriyā, prānāyāma and meditative states (dhāraṇā, dhyāna, samādhi, saṃyama) Focus on āsana and kriyā breathwork.

Session Two: Focus on prāṇāyāma practices. Including various alternate nostril practices, amantra and samantra and mudras. Breath and japa in meditative practices.

March 19-20 (Saturday/Sunday)

8:00 – 10:30am PDT
$60 early bird (ends March 12) • $70
ONLINE

HEALING THE CHAKRAS USING YOGA & AYURVEDA

Saturday, February 26, 2022

8-11am PST

Online with Zoom, Early Bird: $45 • After Feb 19: $55

If we symbolize the chakras, after all, for the most part, the best most of us get to do is imagine them; then we need to understand the concept of the wheel. A wheel is something that can be put into motion by utilizing energy and then it may begin to generate the energy itself.

Take for example a water wheel: a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power.

A chakra, whether symbolized, or truly experienced, has the power to shift the energy of our consciousness upwards into higher realms. This takes a special kind of energy. Like a fountain. Or Kuṇḍalini.

In this workshop we look at how over time the chakras have come to be associated with different deities, planets, mantras, elements, emotions, foods and medicines, sexual energy and of course, the seven energies created by time, space and intention.

And then we delve into a yoga practice that offers us an opportunity to move into higher symbology. We will use kriya, āsana, prānāyāma, mantra and finally, meditation, to allow the possibility of higher states of consciousness.

No prior yoga experience necessary and no one to judge your level of expertise nor of your resulting experience.

Study Ayurveda with
Anjali Deva

STARTS FEBRUARY 24!
3 Spaces left!

A chance to study Āyurveda through the lenses of trauma-informed and compassion-based practices. Anjali (my daughter:) and her expert team of teachers will prepare you to be an Āyurvedic Wellness Counselor with skills in dealing with trauma through the lens of Āyurveda.

Sign up now!

HEALING THE HEART, HEALING THE MIND

Healing the Heart
is
Healing the Mind

NOW GOING ONLINE!

The heart is alive. In fact, it brings life to us with each pulsation, sending rivers of prāna flowing through our plasma, blood, muscle, fat, skeleton, marrow and finally, our vital reproductive juices. There it transforms into our very essence itself or leaves us to form a new life with another beautiful heartbeat singing its song!

This heart that is the fiery sun of our own universe, is ever producing our minds through its sensory rays and clear light! Mind as it spreads its venous tentacles to every sense organ so that we can fully experience the world around us. Mind that extends instinctively down into our bellies, so we vicariously feel each perceptive truth as a somatic experience. And mind, like a tree, sends its rising branches upwards to form our brain. Where we think, imagine, reason and occasionally perceive the highest truths.

And yet, we imprison this heart behind gates of arrogance, lust, hatred, greed, jealousy and pride. And we subject it cruelly to fears, unjustly to angers and unmercifully to grieving.

Our hearts are the key to our lives. Heal our heart and we heal our mind. In healing the mind we finally discard the undigested toxins of fear, anger and grief. And spontaneously and oh so creatively, the heart sings its joy and its simple innocent declaration- know me and know peace.

Upcoming Healing the Heart Online Workshop:

June 27. Now open for Registration. Space Limited.  Click here to Register.

July 11: Scheduled. Email adretreats@gmail.com for advance Registration!

 

 

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION:
In the Vedic tradition, the heart is the seat of emotions, of prāna and of our intrinsic immunity. It is also the origin of the mind and it is from the heart that the mind as emotions moves towards the brain for intellectual understanding and the gut for instinctive behavior. If we free our emotional seat from the siege of its enemies: fear, anger and grief then the rightful emotions of playfulness, innocence and joy rule supreme once again. It is a journey of remembrance. One we should all take together. Yoga and Āyurveda show us the way to do so.
WORKSHOP CURRICULA:
The Heart as Seat of Mind
The Qualities of the Heart: Creativity, Innocence and Joy
The Enemies of the Heart: Fear, Anger and Grief
The Allies of the Heart: Resolve, Patience and Faith
PLUS
Practicum: Emotional Intelligence Yoga Practice: Healing The Heart/Healing The Mind (separate practice video)
Understanding Heart Disease Through Āyurveda: Treating Through Yoga (Bonus separate video)

 A heart to heart prayer:

May we together be each others protection.
May we together nourish each other.
May we together become each others strength.
May we together become wise.
May we always be friends.
May we support each other in finding peace.

May your breath always be at peace!

THE RELEVANCE OF THE YOGA SUTRA OF PATANJALI

Yoga Sutras Patanjali with Arun Deva

Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times

The Yoga Sutras are about the tradition of yoga. They clearly define the goal, the practices and the path.  Although the paths and practices are numerous, the final goal is singular. It is peace of mind.

The transformation of patterns into essence.
To find ourselves and come to peace.

The legend is that the eternal serpent upon which rests pure consciousness was awakened by a restless moving of this consciousness. And was sent to seek an answer to end all such restlessness. Through observing the dance of Śiva he discovered yoga.

The beauty is its recognition that as individuals we all seek the same goal but are unable to break our patterns because we cannot put a name to our restlessness. When yoga leads us to this answer we are set free.

Arun teaching yoga students

In this short weekend immersion we will imagine the final goal as Patañjali may have and we will then explore how to adapt the path to our individual states of being, and our own world circumstances. We may find that though much has changed in practice, nothing has changed in principal. Starting with the first chapter where the final goal is laid out in the first 15 sutras, we will jump to the second chapter to the practices for beginning the journey. Besides the traditional understandings of the classical commentaries, we will bring relevance to our own journeys here and now. And we will find how the traditional yoga can indeed infuse our modern practices.

This workshop is informed by a desire to show the huge potential of yoga and how āsana practice has the power to give us an inkling of this. When the āsana expands into something more, then we have begun the inner yoga.

COMING UP IN 2019

FEB 2-3

ENCINITAS, CA
details »
Sat Feb 2:
9:00am – Noon
2:00-5:00PM
Sun Feb 3:
7:00 – 10:00AM (The Practice)
Noon – 5:00PM

$195 • Includes copy of textbook
Held at private studio in Encinitas
Limited attendance available

FEB 8-10

PHOENIX, AZ
details »
Friday: 7-9 pm
Saturday:
9 am – Noon
2 – 5 pm
Sunday:
7-10 am: The Practice
Noon – 5 pm

$245 until Jan 20
$280 after Jan 20 • Includes copy of textbook
Held at private studio

FEB 23-24

LOS ANGELES, CA
310.435.4197
pre-register: adretreats@gmail.com
Sat Feb 23: 10am – 5pm
(Lunch and tea included)
Sun Feb 24: 8am – 5pm
(Brunch and tea included)

$225 • Includes lunches and textbook
Private studio in Hollywood Hills
Limited attendance available

MAR 15-17

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA
949.310.5477
Pre-register: yogabungalow@yahoo.com
Fri Mar 15: 6:30-8:30pm
Sat Mar 16: 12:30-7:30pm
(Lunch included)
Sun Mar 17: 12:30-7:30pm
(Lunch included)

$225 • Includes lunches and textbook
Yoga Bungalow

REGISTER OR INQUIRE

adretreats@gmail.com or call 310.435.4197
Consider registering early as space is limited. Late registration may mean no textbook available in time for class. You will however receive a copy shortly after.
NOTE: times and prices vary by location.


Arun Deva DASc, AP-NAMA, AYT-NAMA, C-IAYT, YTRX is a senior Ayurvedic Practitioner, Certified Yoga Therapist, senior yoga teacher and a long time student of the philosophies of yoga, ayurveda and Buddhism. He travels and lectures around the world, is a Board member for the National Ayurvedic Medical Association, Director of Ayurveda for LMU Yoga Therapy program and the Chair of the Committee for Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy-NAMA.

RELATED READINGS

Yoga Farm – Rasa Bhava Intensive

RASA BHĀVA AT THE YOGA FARM, GRASS VALLEY
Pratipakśa Bhāvanā : The Principles For Application of Opposites

The word rasa means sap. That which nourishes us as organisms. In us mammals, sap can be construed as plasma. As also lymph, (which is also understood as sap in Āyurveda) that which helps keep our blood plasma free of pathogens. So sap (rasa) does it all.

Rasa is also emotion, that which nourishes us on the subtle level. Circulating like plasma, our instinctual ones such as love, compassion, joy, innocence; and cultivating other positive ones such as wonder, expansiveness, courage and exhilaration. Meanwhile the aspect of emotional rasa that represents lymph would then remove from us draining emotions such as hate, rage, lust, anxiety, delusion, greed and all the other countless negative ones, all based on the trinity of fear, anger and grief.

Yet how does one find the connections between the positives and the negatives? And how does one negate the negative and position the positive in the heart center? The Yoga Sūtra of Patanjali talks about pratipakśa bhāvanā.
That is, every time an unwanted (or unruly) emotion surfaces, we should immediately summon memories of its positive emotional opposite.

As a practical approach, this theme is supported by the set up at the Yoga Farm in Grass Valley: where Rasa Bhāva all started some years ago now.

Here it is only natural that we expand the workshop to include more intuitive tips and traditional practices on how yoga and āyurveda can help us achieve emotional stability, mental clarity and physical presence in our lives. With an expanded curriculum, it is easier, especially in such idyllic settings, to open to the glory of the love we humans are indeed capable of, when we are not troubled deeply ourselves.

If you have already participated in a Rasa Bhāva workshop,

this is a wonderful deepening of the experience. Like a sunrise, each experience is unique and unlike the previous. And for all my friends who may have considered but not done a Rasa Bhāva yet, this could be the place you were waiting for.

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS AND TO SIGN UP

With friendship, the greatest of all emotions,
Arun Deva

COMING UP NEXT:

RASA BHĀVA IN LOS ANGELES: CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION AND TO SIGN UP

ALSO ANNOUNCING YOGARASAYANA INDIA 2018!
IN THE PLANNING, THIS RETREAT EXPANDS RASA BHĀVA INTO A TWO WEEK IMMERSION IN INDIA!
TO INQUIRE OR REGISTER FOR A SPECIAL PREVIEW PRICE, PLEASE WRITE TO  adretreats@gmail

TESTIMONIALS

The first time I attended Arun Deva’s Emotional Intelligence workshop, I was literally blown away.  I could not even take notes as it was so fascinating.  I then decided I needed to hear it again – and this time I managed to take notes.  We all know what note-taking ends up being – another pile of papers that are pushed aside somewhere, never again to be referred to.  Not in this case.  Arun’s material is so totally right on, so very timely – I have referred to it many, many times – not only for students and/or clients, but for me as well.  Thank you Arun for sharing this meaningful knowledge – EI is a gorgeous workshop.  I recommend it highly to one and all. 
A. Abhaya Geyer, C-IAYT; AHE-300, C-IAYT Yoga Therapist/Educator, Yoga Instructor, Ayurvedic Health Educator, Las Vegas, NV

What a wonderful workshop! The energy in the room was strong yet calm. I was so impressed with Arun Devi’s intelligence, compassion and warmth. The pacing was perfect- just enough information and physical practice to feel complete, but not overwhelmed. I judge a workshop successful if I take away one lesson that I can I apply and use immediately in my life. I took away six!
Thank you,
Wendy Williams, yoga practitioner, Encinitas, CA

Dear Arun, thank you for the absolute clarity and purposefulness with which you presented at the weekend workshop at Centered City Yoga Studio. I enjoyed the layering of Ayurveda practices along with practical application for wellness. I experienced Vinyasa Krama Yoga for the first time. I also learned new ideology regarding the history and practice of yoga (even though I’ve been practicing and teaching yoga for nearly 2 decades)! The emotional aspect of well-being is so important and I was busy taking 20 pages of notes during the two day workshop! So much good information that was explained and experienced in a way that inspired me to continue practicing every day the following week.
I appreciate your wisdom and sharing! Thank you,

Linda Black, The Yoga Coach
The joy is in the journey

Recently I was able to attend the Rasa Bhava Workshop offered by Arun Deva. Arun is a gifted teacher who has a storehouse of knowledge and experience that he offers generously and with humility and humor to his students. My experience of the two-day workshop was very powerful for me.The first day consisted of four blocks of lecture. I couldn’t take notes fast enough. The following day we put all that information into practice. This allowed the information imparted the previous day to be incorporated deeply into my mind and body. One workshop is not enough to absorb and master the gift that Rasa Bhava is to my life. I will attend again. As my awareness deepens I hope that my life shares the benefits with others who cross my path.
Meg Long-Eastman, MPS; Temecula, CA

The workshop was a holistic experience, beautifully designed in two days, and for me, it marked the beginning of a much longer journey. Its effect has been continuous as I’m still learning about myself and my emotions. I cannot put into words the depth of my experience when I am thinking of how it has deeply touched upon parts of me and awakened memories (that) remained dormant for years.
Leila Mesbahi, yoga practitioner, Los Angeles, CA

Arun is one of those rare teachers, that has a depth of knowledge, traced back to the ancients ..he knows the language of Wisdom and he can make it understood in this modern day world.
He is a strong teacher yet his eyes are full of compassion and love and kindness..So one can ask him questions and not be intimidated ..He has humor and flexibility that he can mingle into the journey of recalling ones souls purpose..He combines the very best qualities of a true teacher…
Diane, Yogini, Encinitas, Ca

HOW DO WE UNDERSTAND THE EMOTIONAL BODY?

The link between the mind and the different organs/systems of the body is  well researched and documented in Āyurveda. Now the progressive field of psychotherapy has related our instincts to our reptilian stem, our emotional to the limbic, and the rational to our neo-cortex. In Āyurveda, however, the mind is not restricted to this structure, instead it begins in the heart, reaches downwards into the gut and upwards into the brain. The connections are easy to see as seats of instincts, feelings and sensation/thought. Therefore, all our instincts and our rational thinking revolve around the mediating emotional state. When our emotional state is one of creativity, innocence and joy, we see beauty, feel compassion and instinctually open to universal waves of loving. However, when our emotions are dominated by fear, anger and grief, we become susceptible to the 6 enemies of the mind: lust, rage, greed, jealousy, envy and delusion. And our thinking and functionality begins to operate from these states. In Ayurveda, it is also said that if you wish to conquer these six enemies, there is no better pathway than that of yoga (sattvavajaya cikitsa). After years of personal practice, study and teaching on the relationship of the emotional body to our health and our peace of mind, the results I have gained offer clear, succinct information on the use of these yogic tools. We will do an actual practice to show their effectiveness in transforming fear, anger and grief into creativity, innocence and joy.

RELATED READINGS:

PSYCHOLOGY OF A SAGE

INTUITION, EMOTION AND INTELLECT

AN INTERVIEW ON LEVITATING MONKEY WITH ANJULA DUGGAL

May we always be friends in the light,

Arun Deva