Category Archives: Ayurveda in Los Angeles

Rasa`vada: Alchemy of Consciousness

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Healing the mind with Yoga, Ayurveda & Tantra
at Sivananda Yoga Ashram, Grass Valley:

April 17-19, 2015

We understand alchemy as the transformation of base metal into gold. In Vedic terms, however, it is best described as rasavada: the revealing of our Essence. Thus we are both the dross metal as well as the gold revealed through the alchemy of our consciousness. Rasa which means essence also refers to the flavors of our lives: the emotional content. When we turn our emotional dross of fear, anger and grief into the gold of creativity, innocence and joy we learn to surf the waves of our lives no matter what the tide.

Upcoming Events:

NAMA Conference
April 9-12
Please join us for this very special Ayurveda gathering. On Thursday and Friday, will be presenting the work we have been doing on creating Standards for Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy (AYT)

 

Barefoot Yoga Studio, San Jacinto, CA
May 9
Ayurveda,Yoga, Health, Disease & the Modern World

Yoga Bungalow, San Juan Capistrano, CA
May 22-25
Memorial Day Weekend Immersion

SYTAR Conference:
June 4-7
Applications of Ayurveda for Yoga Therapy: Arun Deva, Devi Mueller, Hansa Knox.

Greece!
Sept 19-23
Ayurveda Immersion for yogin: The Path of Healing

India 2015!
New Edition: Oct 14-30
Because of limited space, our first week is sold out.
5 spaces are left for weeks 2 and 3.


The Hidden India Retreat:  Oct 14-23, 2015
The Royal India Retreat: Oct 23-30, 2015.
$3950
Write immediately to yogarasayana@gmail.com if you would like to take one of the 5 spots!
Later in the year I am happy to return to old friends in  Salt Lake and Park City, Utah.
Details to follow soon!
With love & light,
Arun

The State of Things and a California Summer

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Dear friend,

This has been a very powerful year already. The transformations have extended around the globe, here at home and in my own life, with great vibrancy. There have been some grassroots growths in consciousness that are astoundingly poignant, especially in the way we relate to food. Love what Michael Pollan, Marion Nestle, Dan Barber have going on!

Many questions have arisen in the yoga world too and I was very honored to be in the new yoga documentary: Yoga Maya  addressing some of these teutonic shifts arising in the synthesis of the western world and yoga, sort of an evolutionary process, I believe.

While not all in our world has shifted for the better, much of this grassroots upheaval in consciousness cannot help but have a long term effect on our planet’s consciousness and its necessary healing. When I say grassroots, I believe I refer to us as we speak our soft voices, calling forth witness for a return to nature. Only she can help us heal the damage we have done to our world and to each other as we drifted from her simple dharma`s.
I am joyful in adding my voice to this movement and very humbled to teach on some of the cutting edges of it: the yoga and Ayurveda field.

It is my privilege to chair the sub-committee of NAMA’s Standards Committee in creating standards for future Ayurvedic Yoga Therapists. This is very dear to my heart and it is the heart of what I teach…

And thus: After a very long time I get to spend almost the entire summer home in Los Angeles fulfilling…

…my dream of teaching an Immersion for Yoga Teachers on integrating Yoga, Ayurveda and Tantra practices for Therapeutic Purposes, now in full swing.

Aptly named “Weaving The Yogic Basket”, a lovely group of dedicated students meet every other weekend for 3 months in San Juan Capistrano. Two weekends are already done!

This Course will  repeat next year, most likely in the Encinitas area, so if you are interested in knowing more…

Although I do not have anything scheduled in my hometown of Los Angeles, the peripherals are mostly well within reach.

Coming up next:

A Weekend of Yoga and Ayurveda in Temecula
July 19th & 20th, 2014

August:

In August, Las Vegas calls. My dear friends Val and Brian are opening up a new yoga studio: TRU YOGA, and I will be traveling there to help open it up! Stay posted for details but it will be a lovely weekend of yoga and Ayurvedic teachings as a grand opening extravaganza!
Put Vegas in your books for the weekend of August 16/17!
Details to follow shortly.

End August I will be part of Labor Day – 2nd Annual Vedic Knowledge Integration Forum at the Sivananda Yoga Farm in Grass Valley. This is definitely one of my most treasured stops on the teaching journey and I very much look forward to sharing with such powerful luminaries as Acharya David Frawley and Yogini Shambhavi

Sept/Oct is India!


Including a weekend Immersion in New Delhi for Om Yoga Studios. It is a lovely studio owned by my dear friend Mini Shastri. She has some very bright students and I look forward to sharing with them again. If you are in India or close by, please come join us.

France!

End of October finds me in new territory but from what I hear, the south of France is going to be another dream come true…

There will be an Ayurveda Immersion for yogi`s at Yoga Evolution in Aix de Provence.

Ah Greece…

…my third visit to Mani to lead a week long Retreat and Immersion. If Greece has been calling you and you would like to spend a week with me immersing in her beauty while studying yoga and Ayurveda, come now?

 

 

Winter plans are still a-brewing but they include Salt Lake City and in the local stomping grounds, LMU for the YTRx Program.  A privilege to continue to be teaching the Ayurveda segment here.

Praying you have a lovely rest of the year wherever your journey takes you.

May we be students together
May we be nourished together
May we grow strong in each other company
May we light the flame of knowledge together
May we always be friends, Arun

Sacred Greetings

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My sacred greeting to you:
To speak with the respect rising from the very floor of the pelvis that holds our deepest secrets.
From the sacred sacrum I offer to share with you in this play of life all the joys I discover and to eagerly hear of yours!
With the power to affect positively, I promise to engage the core power of the belly’s own fierce love when we meet.
It comes from a heart just aching to open and open…and with every opening, it craves to open more.

It is one the throat sings with full abandonment, even warbling is allowed as long as it is full-throated!

It is when our eyes are raised in ecstasy to that sacred spot right in the center of our brows, right there where the optic chiasma centers for a moment, in the moment, and we enter the very presence of our Being.

And it explodes within our own crowns into a thousand open lotus petals! Bring your own inner bees to feast!!!

I greet you all from dreams and truths, that we may find in each moment an awakening of our spirit, our purpose, our celebration and joys and our peace, always in peace.
And truth be told, I wish upon you all much merriment and amusement: where the heart of sacredness hides!!!
In love, truth and light,
Arun

The journey into 2014… 

A yogin`s life these days is not just symbolically a journey. It is a complete practice:)
In 2013 I found myself again and again on the road.

Now it looks like 2014 will be even more traveling. Om Shanti.

So, to dear friends in India, in Greece, in Salt Lake/Park City, Albuquerque, Dallas and Las Vegas, and always in LA and points further south along this magnificent coast, see you soon!

Feb/March offers a personal sadhana with my daughter to our root-home, India. And a pilgrimage of healing in Hariharapura, a sacred village in Karnataka with numerous ancient temples of lore and a police department that plays basketball all day as they have nothing else to do:)
Then end March it is back on the road: Park City/SLC then Albuquerque, and on to Dallas and Corpus Christi, TX extending all the way into April, the season of flowers and fragrances.

…and an invitation to meet along the path:

 

 

Come May, my birth month, I return to Grass Valley Sivananda Yoga Farm with what may be my dream workshop to teach:)
Pancha Maya Cikitsa

Five Layers of Healing through Yoga, Ayurveda and Tantra – Pancha Maya Cikitsa

Friday, May 2—Sunday, May 4, 2014 

Perhaps all healing does have to penetrate into our psyche but what if it begins with the psyche, then comes back to the body, to our life-force, our mind, our intelligence and our very truth/consciousness/bliss?

If you would like to join us for this Certification Program:

Please Click Here for Details

UPCOMING YOGARASAYANA INDIA RETREAT 2014!

2014’s Fall India Retreat will feature a Sacred River Tour. Our first time paying homage to the Ganges and her sister-river, the Yamuna. 

Ganga: 
Varanasi to share in the Shiva/Shakti energy and visit Sarnath, where the Buddha first set the Wheel of Dharma in motion. 
Rishikesh where the Sage`s themselves came to bathe and meditate. We will hike to Shiva’s Neelkanth Temple and white water raft Ganga’s sacred water.
Yamuna:
Mathura/Vrindavan, where Shri Krishna played his flute for Radha and all walk around greeting each other: Radhe Radhe!
And of course we will visit another great monument on the Yamuna, the Taj Mahal.
Somatheeram, Kerala:
As is now the custom for all Yogarasyana Retreats, we begin at the Ayurvedic Beach resort, Somatheeram in Kerala. 
Here we will enjoy six days of Ayurvedic massages, amazing foods, yoga, self-care teachings and a visit to river bathing elephants!

Upcoming Events: February-April 2013

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Spring is a time of rejuvenation. To honor this, I am giving myself the luxury of a one-month sabbatical. This sabbatical will be book-ended between the following offerings:

Dharma of Food

Dharma of Food: A seva workshop at Sivananda Vedanta Center, Los Angeles.

In the last 200 years or so we have weakened our ties to the earth. It is the earth that manifests our food. It is indeed time we return our thanks to the elements that it is made of: space, air, fire, water and earth itself. We do this by remembering that food begins with taste, carries energy and eventually turns into the five elements within. In this lecture we will discuss the Ayurvedic and Yogic concepts of ahara: that which nourishes us and pathya: a suitable diet based on individual need. In the end, food must nourish us emotionally, mentally and physically. We must change our language from “nutritional value” to “taste and nourishment value” to once again discover the joy of eating dharmically.

February 9th, 2013
2:00pm-5:00pm
View Map/Get Directions

 February 15-17, 2013
Dallas, Tx:
Krama Yoga Center
View Map/Get Directions

Program Information:

Friday 7:30pm – 9:30pm
Free: Introduction to Ayurveda
RSVP Required

Ayurveda is an ancient holistic medical science from India, considered by many scholars to be the oldest and most complete healing science in the world. A sister science to yoga, it is the healing side of the yogic tree. Its many benefits can be profound and lasting as a result of its brilliant understanding of human nature, its emphasis on individualized treatment, its focus on removing the root cause of illness, and on its unique theories of the doshas (individual constitutions) and gunas (mental attributes).
In this free introductory workshop you will learn the basic principles of Ayurveda with an emphasis on self-healing.

Highly recommended as a primer for the weekend Ayurveda Workshops.
2 hrs: Free but you must RSVP. This will likely sell out.

Saturday 1pm – 4pm
Daily Rituals & Healing Home Remedies

In this hands on workshop we will examine the basic self-care principles of Ayurveda and the immense power of self healing. From practical daily rituals to simple but very effective home remedies. Learn how much importance and value Ayurveda gives to preventative medicine. We will sip medicinal teas, taste the magical Chyavanprash, inhale and anoint mystical oils, learn self massage and other secrets to help keep us healthy, balanced and at peace. Handouts will include a list of common kitchen herbs and how to turn your kitchen into a simple home pharmacopeia!

3 hrs: $40/$50 at the door
RSVP under WORKSHOPS

Sunday 1pm – 4pm
The Sacred Art Of Eating: Secrets of Ayurvedic Nutrition

In Ayurveda, the principles of nutrition are based not only on what we eat but also on when, where and how. In this workshop we will learn about the tastes, the energies and the effects of food and their relationship to our own digestive fire. We will learn how food affects our physical as well as mental and emotional states. We will examine the values of raw as well as cooked foods. Consider what is a yogic diet and when it is appropriate. Ayurveda has made a science out of the art of eating, one that is based on the following formula: When diet is correct, medicine is of no need. When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use. We will also learn simple recipes that address our constitutions and health needs. Detailed handouts and recipes included.

3 hrs: $40/$50 at the door
RSVP under WORKSHOPS

 Sign up for entire weekend in advance for $70!

*Please note that it is highly recommended that you take the Free Intro Workshop on Friday or have a working knowledge of Ayurveda to get maximum benefit from these two workshops.

 Yogarasayana is on Sabbatical: February 20th-April 2nd, 2013

Coming up in April:

NAMA Conference 2013: April 18 to 21, 2013

Yogarasayana – Ashtasiddhi Mala:
The Ayurvedic Application of Yogic Principles & Practices for Increasing Rasa. (This is an Active Yoga Practice Session)