The elevator doors open to someone sitting behind a drum set getting a lesson from E-Street Band member Max Weinberg by interactive video. Max’s drum kit from the 1988 Tunnel of Love Express Tour is affixed to the other side of the partition.

“The Mighty Mighty” Max Weinberg – Tunnel of Love Express Tour © AVD

Roy Bitan’s keyboard synthesizer has marker-written notes on it with songs that many millions of people now know by heart, “Atlantic City”, “Dancin’ in the Dark,” and “I’m on Fire,” among them.

“Professor” Roy Bittan’s Synthesizer, hand-written notes © AVD

Born To Run

From a pair of headphones you can listen to Bruce’s longtime manager Jon Landau recall how they met back when he was a rock critic in Boston. Landau’s review in the May ‘74 edition of Real Paper helped propel the songwriter’s career. It stated, “On a night when I needed to feel young, he made me feel like I was hearing music for the very first time…. I saw rock ‘n’ roll future, and its name is Bruce Springsteen.”

Jon Landau (l) and Bruce Springsteen (r) 1974  UMass Collection © Jeff Albertson

Sounds of Bruce and his electric guitar wailing in unison come out of the Clive Davis Theater. Inside is unseen footage from the ‘78 tour. With the raw potential of determined youth the singer asserts, “I’ll be on that hill with everything I got, Lives on the line where dreams are found and lost, I’ll be there on time and I’ll pay the cost, For wanting things that can only be found, In the Darkness on the Edge of Town…”

Within a display case there is a hand-written letter from Bruce to his landlord explaining why he can’t pay his rent. There’s a typed one from business manager Michael Tannen to Bruce’s parents. It reads, “Enclosed are some recent clippings on Bruce’s tour which I thought you would like to see…we are all terribly proud of him, as we know you are too.” I smirk recalling the now infamous show here at the Roxy Theater in West Hollywood in the late 70s. Bruce’s mom and dad were in attendance, and between verses of “Growin’ Up” he implores, “And so you guys, one of you guys wanted a lawyer, and the other one wanted an author. Well, tonight, youse are both just gonna have to settle for Rock ‘N’ Roll.”

When They Said Sit Down, I Stood Up

Eileen Chapman, director of the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University and co-curator of the exhibit gets hurried across the space and into a black directors chair. Before her on-camera interview begins, she graciously chats with attendees about her years managing New Jersey’s Stone Pony Nightclub where Bruce got his start, and how much fun she’s having as a councilwoman of Asbury Park.

As Chapman is getting mic-ed up the crew calls for quiet. Something is still making noise. It’s a new video of Bruce Springsteen himself, answering questions about why, and how he’s still touring the world. He remarks, “Then you gotta have something to say. So, In a perfect world you know we’ve made some new music and I’ve got new things to say to my fans when I see them, and I look very forward to doing that, so that’s a great [inaudible] to get you out on the road. I want to see you, I have something I want to say to you, I have a way I want to make you feel, I have a way I want to feel, let’s do this together and see where it takes us…”

Vietnam Veteran Benefit Concert – Los Angeles Sport Arena – 1981

The walls are covered with seemingly innocuous artifacts that actually tell a much larger story of times when Springsteen had something to say. Like the ‘81 “A Night for the Vietnam Veteran” concert poster at LA’s Sports Arena. And the ’84 Born in the USA tour program; a seemingly patriotic song with a much deeper message, in-part about how vets were treated at the time.

I recall Bruce’s potent and skillful activism over the years. This includes writing the title song for the 1993 film Philadelphia that helped humanize the AIDS crisis and the 2000 tune American Skin/41 Shots which is a commentary on racial inequality and brutality.

Springsteen’s set at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2006 comes to mind. He voiced what many displaced residents were feeling, “It’s what happens when people play political games with other people’s lives” before strumming the depression-era classic, “How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live.”

In another case are relics from the ’79 “No Nukes” Concert at Madison Square Garden. They include band rosters, schedules, stage plots and setlists. There are lighting directions written in ballpoint pen on how to cue his newest number, “The River, Slow ballad low lights.”

Come On Rise Up

I turn to see a program from The Rising tour, which stops me in my tracks. Many of us first heard songs off this album during “America: A Tribute to Heroes” a TV special and telethon that ran on all major networks on September 21, 2001 – just twenty days after 9/11. I watched with childhood friends from our usual loud and raucous hometown bar. That evening everyone stood still as Bruce and the band somberly sang, “My City of Ruins.” We sobbed silently into our beers, awaiting hopeful news from Ground Zero that would never come.

The following summer when the album was released it was like a map to get out of grief. Songs  like “You’re Missing,” “Lonesome Day” and “Waitin’ on a Sunny Day” assuaged the indescribable. While “My City of Ruins” encouraged us to find a way forward, “With these hands I pray for the strength Lord, with these hands, I pray for the faith Lord, with these hands, we pray for the lost Lord…Come on rise, come on rise up, come on rise up, come on rise up, come on rise up….!”

Bruce + The Big Man, Born To Run
Source; BS FB © Eric Meola

The exhibit includes an accordion of Danny Federici, and a saxophone of Clarence Clemmons, beloved E-Street Band members for some thirty plus years. Fans wondered how their absence would be handled after their passings before the 2012 tour. I still get chills any time I think of the spotlights on their empty spaces on stage here at LA’s Memorial Coliseum. Bruce serenaded softly, “Well, all I know, is that if you’re here, and you’re here then they’re here. I can hear them in your voices, raise ‘em up.”

In another video set-up you can listen to Jon Landau reflect, “Once Bruce walks on stage the question in mind is this going to be an absolutely great show tonight, is it going to one of the greatest shows he’s ever done, ‘Is it going to be the greatest show he’s ever done?’ That’s the range of possibilities. Bruce as a performer is so dedicated and so committed. In working with him for 45 years, I have simply never seen him go on the stage and do less than 100% of what he’s capable of that night. As Bruce has said, come into a building at 5 o’clock in the afternoon, equipment is being set up, looking at four walls and a lot of empty seats and his job is that by 11:30 at night to have created an event that people, including himself, will hopefully never forget. To make something, out of nothing. To create a spiritual experience, where before there was just emptiness, that’s what it’s all about.”

I Hope When I Get Old,
I Don’t Sit Around Thinkin’ About It,
But I Probably Will

I hear an audible gasp. Another attendee sees Bruce’s Fender Esquire guitar. The one from the Born to Run album and tour. He shares with me a slew of stories about nights he’ll never forget. “They played for THREE AND HALF hours straight, I don’t know how they do it! And now at their age! One time, my buddies and I went to…..”  watching this guy’s eyes glisten while talking about his “Glory Days” brightens the room on an overcast afternoon.

Stenciled on a wall is a quote by Bruce “The heart-stopping, pants-dropping, house-rocking, earth-quaking, booty-shaking, love making Le-gen-dary E-Street-Band!” It is a phrase he often chants while introducing the musicians who break the local sound curfew with him night after night, for most of their lives.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame Induction © Jeff Kravitz / Getty Image

I laugh thinking of high school friends I haven’t seen in more than a decade whose primary form of communication these days is sending sporadic texts on a thread aaalllssso introducing the E-Street Band.

“The Deeeeeaaaannnn of the Unnnnnniversity”

“The foundation of the E Street nation, Mr. Garry W. Tallent! “

“On the guitar, the minister of faith + friendship, keeper of aaaallllllll that is righteous, and staaaaar of the Sooooopraaaanos teeeelevsion shooooow, Little Steven Van Zandt….! “

There’s a wall of hand drawn signs fans have scribed over the years, asking for their favorite songs. Among them is a life-size cut-out drawing of Bruce’s wife and musical collaborator, Patti Scialfa. It requests “Red Headed Woman,” a tune Bruce frequently sings to introduce her on stage.

On another video guitarist and vocalist Nils Lofgren discusses his ever-lasting search for a hotel gym. Seeing Nils I have a sense-memory flash back to meeting him outside the Vatican in Rome, Italy, the night after they played the Stadio Olympico Show in 2009.  Bruce took our sign and announced from stage, “For the birthday girl who came all the way from New Jersey to see the boss man on her birthday.”

I giggle thinking of the gelato stand owners and taxi drivers who would ask us in English where we were from and when we said “USA, New Jersey” they would reply in Italian, “Aaah, El Pedron, El Pedron” Italiano for “The Boss.”

“Aah El Pedron, El Pedron” – The Author At Rome’s Colosseum #BornInTheUSA

‘Cause Down The Shore Everything’s Alright

As I exit, I scan the Spotify QR Code for the playlist created by the curators of the exhibit. I hop in the car and head home on the 10. Someone abruptly slams on their brakes, and then I slam on mine. Everything in the front seat goes flying. In that moment, “Rosalita” begins blaring, I laugh out loud remembering a similar situation some 25 years ago.  A friend borrowed her older brothers’ topless jeep so we could cruise down the shore, not mentioning that no-one reeaally knew how to drive a stick shift. That thing choked its’ way all the way down the parkway to exit 98 “Rosalita” on repeat all the while.

I think back to all the nights at Jersey Shore bars, when Springsteen’s version of “Jersey Girl” alerted patrons last call was coming, all the hook-ups that turned into couples, all the weddings I’ve been to where that was the bride and grooms’ song. All the children who ask me to tell them about the night their mom and dad met and all the “Don’t you dare” glares I get from their now middle-aged parents.

I smile-wide remembering late-night dance parties powered by “I’m goin’ down,” and fourth of July parades where the firetrucks were chalked with the lyrics, “No Retreat, No Surrender.”

Let’s Make Our Steps Clear That Others May See

“The Power of Prayer” comes on the Spotify playlist – I look down at my phone wondering, “How have I never heard this before, what is this, when is this from…?”

I uncharacteristically burst into tears, pondering what any of the aforementioned memories, national crises, or global movements would have been like without these songs, without these statements, without this man.

“Bruuuuuuuuce” Courtesy of ShoreFire Media © Danny Clinch

Throughout time there have always been troubadours who transform through song. There was the Tibetan Buddhist Jetsun Millarepa, the Catholic Saint Gregory the Great, and even the Hindu mystic Mirabai.

In our place, in our time we have Bruce Springsteen.
An American treasure, a soul singer.
A healer, a sadhu, a modern-day sage.

Right on cue, as if answering my inquiry, Bruce busts into the chorus, “Darling, it’s just the power of prayer, Baby, it’s just the power of prayer, Darling, it’s just the power of prayer…”

Thanks Boss.

Bruce Springsteen Live! At The Grammy Museum

Bruce Springsteen Live! is now open to the public and running from October 15, 2022- April 2, 2023

For more information on Bruce Springsteen Live! At the Grammy Museum click here. 
To buy tickets click here.

Co-curated by Jasen Emmons, Chief Curator and Vice President of Curatorial Affairs at the Grammy Museum, Robert Santelli, and Eileen Chapman, director of The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music, Bruce Springsteen Live! explores the evolution of Springsteen through the decades and grants exclusive backstage access to Springsteen and the E Street Band’s legendary performances.

Author’s Note; Thank You Rob DeMartin Photography. 

Amy V Dewhurst

To Check Out Amy’s Work Go To; Sense + Color, You Can Reach Her At IG:  Amy_V_Dewhurst  + AmyVDewhurst@SenseAndColor.co #PutYourGoodWhereItWillDoTheMost

www.senseandcolor.co

The post Soul Singer; Bruce Springsteen Live! Exhibit at The Grammy Museum  appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Salvation Mountain is a Spiritual Treasure & Socially-Distanced Day Trip from LA

Three hours from L.A., way out beyond Palm Springs and the Salton Sea, is Salvation Mountain, one man’s spiritual gift to the world. Proclaimed by Senator Barbara Boxer as a national treasure, this “mountain” is covered in multi-colored paint and proclaims the message that God is Love.

For 25 years Leonard Knight (1931–2014) poured his heart, soul, and over 100,000 gallons of paint onto the hill he built of adobe and straw. Salvation Mountain is covered with Biblical verses and Christian sayings and contains special rooms and alcoves filled with decorative art. If you wish to climb to the top, signs will point out the Yellow Brick Road to lead you up. The other visitors when I was there were assorted hipsters and Goth kids, apparently folk art aficionados.

During a spiritual awakening at age 36, Leonard realized that the answer to life was not complicated: just accept Jesus Christ, repent, and love everybody. He spent several years attempting to spread the word to organized religion which rejected his message as too simplistic. Leonard moved to Niland, California, in 1984 and began working full-time on his masterpiece, living in his truck even when temperatures hit the 100s.

Salvation Mountain was featured in the 2007 film Into the Wild. A photo of Coldplay atop the Mountain appeared on their A Head Full Of Dreams album.

Visiting Salvation Mountain

I’m not sure if the six-hour round trip would be worth your time. The videos on YouTube are so excellent that watching some of them might be enough. If I weren’t writing this book (Guide to Spiritual LA), they probably would have sufficed for me, the actual site being almost anticlimactic after the great filmmaking of the videos.

However, the drive out included unexpected delights. Highway 78 winds alongside the Salton Sea, an eerie, dead, inland body of water which looks as I imagine Loch Ness does and stinks to high heaven from the rotting fish. There are picturesque abandoned restaurants and compounds covered in graffiti from the days it was a real resort, with many intriguing photo ops.

The town of Niland is a rare treasure for an urbanite. You’ll witness a slice of life you’d never see in LA: people renting a space in an RV park for $400 a month, living amongst the deserted, defaced buildings, enduring the Salton Sea stench, bragging with their Trump stickers; the whole town looking like it’s been bombed out. It certainly opened my eyes to people whose lives I hadn’t known about.

And on the other hand, if you don’t go, you’ll miss experiencing Leonard Knight’s passion in person. There is something mesmerizing and humbling about a man with such single focus using his life to spread the message of Love. To be there personally at Salvation Mountain is to stand in awe of his frenzy of love.

Guide to Spiritual LA

This is an excerpt from Catherine Auman’s book Guide to Spiritual L.A.: The Irreverent, the Awake, and the True, available on Amazon or at your local bookstore.

Catherine Auman LMFT

Catherine Auman, LMFT is a licensed therapist with advanced training in both traditional and spiritual psychology with thirty years of successful professional experience helping thousands of clients. She has headed nationally-based psychiatric hospital programs as well as worked through alternative methodologies based on ancient traditions and wisdom teachings.

www.catherineauman.com

The post Salvation Mountain: A SoCal Spiritual Monument appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

A Few Hidden Spiritual Hotspots in Los Angeles

The Hollywood Vedanta Temple

L.A.’s spiritual hotspots are calling, and there’s no time like the present to take a tour – much less traffic and so few tourists. Hop in your car and visit these sacred sites to soak up shakti energy:

The Hollywood Vedanta Temple’s radiance is intense. A glamorous group of writers and mystics who gathered around Aldous and Laura Huxley hung out there, and guru Adi Da Samraj achieved enlightenment inside. As monk Jnana Chaitanya stated, “Some very holy people lived and taught here and contributed a great deal to the vibration.”

Vedanta is an ancient Hindu religion whose main teaching is the oneness of all, respect for all, including all religions, and that God dwells within all hearts. The main teachers were Swami Ramakrishna and Sri Sarada Devi (“Holy Mother”) who were a married couple, and later, Swami Vivekenanda.
Built in 1938, the Hollywood Vedanta Temple is located in the midst of a quiet residential community right by the Hollywood freeway. Even though you can’t enter the temple right now, the powerful energy permeates the grounds.

Hollywood Vedanta Temple
1946 Vedanta Place, Hollywood, CA 90068

Bonne Brae House

The Pentecostal movement — the Christian sect including baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, charismatic preachers, healings — that must have started in the Deep South, right? Actually, it started right here in L.A. at the Bonnie Brae House.

William J. Seymour, a black, one-eyed preacher who was the son of slaves, had come out from the Midwest. In 1906 at this little house, a group of African-Americans had gathered to fast and pray. Suddenly they began speaking in tongues, and it was an ecstatic moment of outpouring of Divine energy. The intensity blossomed and swelled, filling up the house, pouring down the street, and entering the hearts and spirits of willing Angelenos.

It spread out so far that within three days the House and surrounding streets were jam-packed with crowds of all income levels and ethnicities — blacks, whites, and Latinos — speaking in tongues, singing, and shouting. The worshipping went on continually night and day until finally, the front porch of the house started shaking and collapsed from the rapturous celebration.

Seymour’s preaching must have been phenomenal, because the word is still spreading. You can imagine how high the energy must have been – utterly joyful, ecstatic, blissed out. A bit of that vortex power remains – can you feel it?

216 N Bonnie Brae St, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Krotona Apartments

Today it’s a bit tacky, run-down, run-of-the-mill apartment building in the Hollywood Hills, Beachwood Canyon to be exact. But in its heyday, the Krotona Apartments were a hotbed of occult activity hosting a temple, a metaphysical library, a vegetarian cafeteria, a theater, a “magnetically charged” meditation room, and a fascinating cast of characters such as Charlie Chaplin and Annie Besant. It was the headquarters of the Esoteric School, the Temple of the Rosy Cross, and the Order of the Eastern Star.

Begun by the Theosophical Society in 1912, the Krotona community consisted of eleven acres in Beachwood Canyon hosting homes for about 500 people. The 17-unit Krotona Apartments were its center. The complex was to be an institute of higher learning and research on the subtler aspects of science including psychology and psychic phenomena. After all, the Theosophical Society’s mission was to “explore the inexplicable.”

In 1926 the community relocated to Ojai citing the growing influence of urban Hollywood. The Krotona Apartments have continued to be populated by artists, hipsters, and spiritual explorers ever since. In the 60s and 70s there were reported LSD parties around the courtyard’s lotus pond, and guitar sessions with the likes of members of Jimi Hendrix’s band. It is rumored that Quentin Tarantino crashed on the couch of a screenwriter resident for seven months. Plus, the hundreds of intriguing characters whose names we will never know.

If you visit, you can still see the lotus pond resting quietly in the center court, keeping any previous occult or bohemian activity a secret. Upstairs you’ll find a building with a Moorish-style dome and a circular stained-glass window. That symbol is a Rosicrucian seal, and the door is to the former Grand Temple of the Holy Cross. Very little other information offers itself, and the mind wanders to fantasies of what may have gone on inside these walls. Or what’s going on inside them today, for that matter.

2130 Vista Del Mar Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90068

Find More Spiritual Hotspots

Don’t wait to visit these holy places and more – the lack of other spiritual tourists won’t last long!

Find out more in Catherine Auman’s book Guide to Spiritual L.A.: The Irreverent, the Awake, and the True, available on Amazon and at your favorite retailer.

=

Catherine Auman LMFT

Catherine Auman, LMFT is a licensed therapist with advanced training in both traditional and spiritual psychology with thirty years of successful professional experience helping thousands of clients. She has headed nationally-based psychiatric hospital programs as well as worked through alternative methodologies based on ancient traditions and wisdom teachings.

www.catherineauman.com

The post Tour L.A.’s Spiritual Hotspots While Safely Social Distancing appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

ROGA Celebrates Pride and Inclusivity

The Western edge of Route 66. A popular site for Instagram stories. A place to ride a Ferris wheel or a roller coaster over the Pacific Ocean. The edge of the California Coastline. A great place to walk your dog. A fisherman’s dock. One of the most iconic destinations not only in LA but maybe in the world, with 9-12 million people visiting annually. And one of the most epic locations for a pop-up yoga studio. The very end of the Santa Monica Pier is a place where people can gather with friends on a Saturday morning during the ROGA (Run + Yoga = ROGA) season.

ROGA on the Santa Monica Pier

The 2019 season (the ninth year of ROGA) will continue through August 3, each Saturday morning offering participants time to play with their own edges on the mat. Around the 8am run start time or the 9am yoga class, the Santa Monica Pier is still waking up. It is before the bustle is in full swing, a perfect environment in which to practice. As Generic Events Producer Michelle Lindner says, “The ability to practice yoga right over the Pacific Ocean is incredible. There’s nothing like it.”

Yoga on the end of the Santa Monica Pier fulfills one of the criteria for unique event selection identified by Negin Singh, Executive Director of the Santa Monica Pier Corporation. Negin says the team asks themselves, “Can it happen anywhere else?” About ROGA Negin says, “This is not your average yoga experience. Doing yoga on the Pier is a great amalgamation of city life and nature. The Pier is part of LA’s heartbeat.” It’s a heartbeat that is inclusive.

Since the Santa Monica Pier is dog-friendly, attendees can bring their pups to class. (Stay tuned for an upcoming dog-themed experience in July.) People attend from throughout the region, kids are welcome, the Metro station is within walking distance, and the free all-levels classes mean that you don’t have to know your downward facing from your upward facing dog in order to participate.

Part of what keeps the ROGA series free are the relationships with partners and sponsors, which currently includes the Capital One Cafe and Boxed Water. The goal, according to Michelle, is that “everyone feels welcome.” As Negin says, “We are proud of the fact that we attract such a large and broad audience.”

Pride on the Pier

Pride will have an additional meaning this summer. Santa Monica hasn’t been a city with an official Pride celebration, but that changes in 2019 with a city-wide initiative that will have a visible presence on the Pier. Some of the noticeable signs will be an installation that includes lighting up the Pier bridge in Pride colors each night in June.

Instructors throughout the ROGA series are carefully curated with an eye for teachers who can hold the space over the ocean and can deliver a class that is soft yet powerful, according to Michelle. For Pride month, the teachers will all be sharing the themes of inclusivity and acceptance.

One of the instructors scheduled for this series is Maygen Nicholson of Native Soul Yogi, who regularly teaches classes for the LGBTQ+ community at locations such as Wanderlust Hollywood and La Maida Institute in North Hollywood. Maygen says, “As a gay woman who teaches yoga, it is important to me that the spaces I hold feel inviting and inclusive to all…since yoga is indeed for everyone.”

Felicia M. Tomasko

Felicia Tomasko has spent more of her life practicing Yoga and Ayurveda than not. She first became introduced to the teachings through the writings of the Transcendentalists, through meditation, and using asana to cross-train for her practice of cross-country running. Between beginning her commitment to Yoga and Ayurveda and today, she earned degrees in environmental biology and anthropology and nursing, and certifications in the practice and teaching of yoga, yoga therapy, and Ayurveda while working in fields including cognitive neuroscience and plant biochemistry. Her commitment to writing is at least as long as her commitment to yoga. Working on everything related to the written word from newspapers to magazines to websites to books, Felicia has been writing and editing professionally since college. In order to feel like a teenager again, Felicia has pulled out her running shoes for regular interval sessions throughout Southern California. Since the very first issue of LA YOGA, Felicia has been part of the team and the growth and development of the Bliss Network.

www.blissnetwork.com

The post Community Pride, Inclusivity, and Yoga on the Santa Monica Pier appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Painting of Ruth Bader Ginsberg by Maira Kalman

The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsberg: RBG at the Skirball

“I’m not queen….I’d rather be notorious.” This now-famous quote from one of Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s public conversations adorns one of the walls at the exhibition Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsberg.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s appointment to the US Supreme Court. Popularly known as RBG, the long-serving justice has become an icon. The reasons for her notoriety certainly include but are not limited to her expressive and dedicated personality, her willingness to uphold a dissenting opinion based on her convictions, her work ethic, lifelong valuing on teamwork and sharing credit, her unwavering commitment to the legal profession, and her passionate advocacy for fairness.

The Exhibition at the Skirball Cultural Center

The Skirball Cultural Center’s interactive and thoughtful retrospective is based on and produced in collaboration with the New York Times best-selling book by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik. The array of artifacts and installations on display offer a profound glimpse into RBG’s influences and teachers, her personal and home life, and her groundbreaking commentary on the court.

Visitors can hear recordings of RGB’s arguments and discussions. These audio installations provide a context into the importance in everyday life for people who aren’t legal scholars. And to encourage all of our aspirations, there are a set of robes and a set up of the bench. Attendees can photograph themselves–if not in her shoes– then cloaked in the uniform of her position.

Go see the exhibition to appreciate the ongoing legacy of the Notorious RBG. Oh, and bring people. People who would benefit from the inspiration afforded by spending time in the virtual presence of the life of one of today’s great role models.

Notorious RBG

On View through March, 2019 at the RBG at the Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles

Exhibition Events

Look for special events, Notorious Teen Night (December 15). Read the Family Guide for Visiting Notorious RBG.

Felicia M. Tomasko

Felicia Tomasko has spent more of her life practicing Yoga and Ayurveda than not. She first became introduced to the teachings through the writings of the Transcendentalists, through meditation, and using asana to cross-train for her practice of cross-country running. Between beginning her commitment to Yoga and Ayurveda and today, she earned degrees in environmental biology and anthropology and nursing, and certifications in the practice and teaching of yoga, yoga therapy, and Ayurveda while working in fields including cognitive neuroscience and plant biochemistry. Her commitment to writing is at least as long as her commitment to yoga. Working on everything related to the written word from newspapers to magazines to websites to books, Felicia has been writing and editing professionally since college. In order to feel like a teenager again, Felicia has pulled out her running shoes for regular interval sessions throughout Southern California. Since the very first issue of LA YOGA, Felicia has been part of the team and the growth and development of the Bliss Network.

www.blissnetwork.com

The post Notorious RBG at the Skirball appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Self-Realization Fellowship Easter Services

Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) will explore the true meaning of resurrection during online Sunday morning services on Easter.

In 2020, Easter is celebrated on April 12.

Paramahansa Yogananda, founder of SRF and author of Autobiography of a Yogi, said: “…Resurrection does not mean only resurrection of the body, but the ascension of the soul from all three bodily encasements [physical, astral, and causal] to live immortally in oneness with the whole universe.”

The Self-Realization Fellowship Easter services will include a meditation and an inspirational talk by Brother Chidananda.

Paramahansa Yogananda on Resurrection

“Resurrection has been well understood by accomplished yogis of India since the dawn of the highest ages. Jesus himself was a realized yogi: one who knew and had mastered the spiritual science of life and death, God-communion and God-union, one who knew the method of liberation from delusion into the kingdom of God. Jesus showed throughout his life and death his power of complete mastery over his body and mind and the oft-recalcitrant forces of nature. We understand resurrection in its true sense when we comprehend the yoga science that clearly defines the underlying principles by which Jesus resurrected his crucified body into the freedom and light of God.”

– Paramahansa Yogananda from The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You (Self-Realization Fellowship, Los Angeles, CA)

Lauren Landress

The post Easter at Self-Realization Fellowship appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Talking about Running, the LA Marathon, and Yoga with Tracey Russell 

The Conqur Endurance Group manages the Los Angeles Marathon. Their CEO Tracey Russell is the woman who runs the marathon–well, she really runs the organization that puts on this community event. In addition to being a devoted runner, Tracey is an avid yoga practitioner who took some time to talk to LA YOGA about her yoga practice, marathon initiatives, and more. 

LA YOGA: What are some of the things that make the Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon an integral part of the city and a must-run race?

Tracey Russell: This year will mark the 33rd year the Los Angeles Marathon has been in existence. More than ever, it has become such a staple within the community as a unifier that truly embodies the Los Angeles spirit. Our marathon runs through four cities and countless neighborhoods, each with individual characteristics and personalities. The Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon stands out as an example of the diversity in greater Los Angeles and showcases the determination and grit that exists within our city.

The marathon unites people of all ages, ethnicities, and genders. This is the case whether you are running in the marathon or cheering on the sidelines. Many runners participate in the marathon to support and celebrate others through the significant fund-raising efforts for one of our 75 charity partners that collectively raise nearly four million dollars each year.

The 2018 Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon Initiatives

What are some of the initiatives you are excited about for the 2018 Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon?

TR: The new LA Loyal Program is an exciting initiative we created this year. It is inspired by our 144 legacy runners who have run the previous 32 marathons. LA Loyal celebrates our runners and those who run our marathon consecutively. We wanted to create a program that not only celebrated our existing loyal runners, but also one that appeals to new runners who want to start their own legacy and run with us year after year. We are recognizing those with two- and five-year streaks with cool swag and those who have run 10 or more with a coveted gold medal which features the original 1986 Los Angeles Marathon medal mark.

Cross-Training: Yoga and Running with Tracey Russell

You mention that yoga is your favorite non-running activity. Do you have any go-to practices, teachers, or studios in LA?

TR: The best part about Los Angeles is that wherever I may be, whether it’s Downtown, Midtown, or the West Side, I can always find a great yoga studio. I kiddingly tell friends back east that yoga in LA is like Starbucks, there’s a studio on every other corner. My go-to studio is YogaWorks in Larchmont or Los Feliz. I’ll practice at the Westside Studio when in NYC for business. Some of my favorite teachers in LA include Colleen Garrity, Ella Cojocaru, and Joe Kara. I always try to get in a class with Laurie Sleep when in NYC.

Is anyone ever surprised by your love of yoga?

Not really; so many people in LA practice yoga and over the past several years, a lot of runners have seen the benefits of incorporating yoga into their fitness routine.

What do you feel are some of the reasons why yoga can be a helpful practice to combine with running?

My motivation to begin practicing yoga was to increase flexibility and focus more on my breath. As someone who didn’t carve out time to stretch after runs, practicing yoga taught me better alignment and how to safely and effectively stretch. That was nearly 10 years ago. The increased flexibility certainly helped my body respond better to the miles I was logging on the roads. As my teachers over the years have taught me about the importance of breath, I’ve been able to incorporate that thinking and practice when I’m off the mat and at the office or out on a run.

Making the Marathon Personal

Do you have a personal story you would like to share about being a part of the Conqur Endurance Group and the Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon?

I have been here now close to five years. In this position, I was given the opportunity to reimagine what our business could be. I am particularly proud of the work our team has done in re-engineering and re- branding our business to be able to work more effectively with business partners and to communicate more deliberately with our participants. We have reason to be proud of the significant difference our charity program makes for thousands of people in our community.  More dollars are being raised each year for incredible and worthy causes here in the LA community.

It is also very rewarding to know that our team plays a big part in helping people overcome obstacles and challenges in their lives through their participation in our marathon and our other events. We have a site on our home page called “My LA Moment.” Here runners can post personal stories about why they are running the Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon. So many people are running it for someone else. It is special to read these compelling and amazing stories that are a testament to the profound impact our marathon has on so many lives.

Staff Writer

The post The Woman Who Runs the LA Marathon: Tracey Russell on Yoga, LA, and More appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

The 33rd Los Angeles 26.2 miler is on March 18, 2018

From the Stadium to the Sea is more than just a tag line for the Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon. The course begins at Dodgers Stadium and finishes in Santa Monica near the picturesque Pier; these start and finish lines have been in effect since 2010.

While it is the Los Angeles Marathon, it covers ground through Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and West Hollywood and passes by notable LA landmarks such as El Pueblo de Los Angeles State Park, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels, Sunset Boulevard, the Walk of Fame, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Rodeo Drive, and of course, Dodgers Stadium and the Pacific Ocean.

The ocean view Finish Line features a festival at the Angel City Brewery Beer Garden complete with entertainment. Runners are eligible for a complimentary beer (10am-2:30pm) as well as a complimentary massage. If I ran a marathon, I’d definitely need some relaxation, recreation, and restoration.

Cheer on the LA Marathon Runners!

If you’re not running, where can you watch to support the people taking to the streets?

Here are some suggested locations where people gather and cheer on the runners:

Mile 11
Angel City Brewery Cheer Zone
Orange Dr. & Hollywood Blvd
The cheer zone includes a St Paddy’s celebration with a DJ and giveaways.

Mile 12.9
KTLA + Charity Challenge Cheer Zone
Sunset Blvd & Orange Grove Ave

Mile 16
Air France Cheer Zone
Burton Way & Foothill Rd
Cheer surrounded by a French-themed party.

Mile 15
Skechers Performance Cheer Zone
Santa Monica Blvd & Robertson Blvd
Join in on an 80s party with Angel City Pit Bulls, a costume contest and giveaways.

Mile 19
Cliff Bar Cheer Zone
Santa Monica Blvd & Veteran Ave
Drink coffee and dance to a DJ while cheering.

Mile 19.5
Rivalry Row/Special Olympics Cheer Zone
Sepulveda Blvd & Ohio Ave

Mile 21
LA Road Runners Cheer Zone
San Vicente Blvd & Gorham Ave
LA Marathon Pre-Race Health & Fitness Expo

LA Marathon Health & Fitness Expo

Before Marathon Day, join your friends or just pretend to be a runner at the Health & Fitness Expo and packet pick-up at the Los Angeles Convention Center Friday, March 16 from 10am-7pm and Saturday, March 17 from 9am-5pm. Marathoners can pick up everything they need to race from the stadium to the sea. Everyone can check out the latest in athletic gear, nutrition, fitness, and more with more than 120 exhibitors filling the Convention Center. It’s completely free to attend whether or not you are a runner.

For More Information about the LA Marathon

For more information about the Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon, visit: lamarathon.com

Felicia M. Tomasko

Felicia Tomasko has spent more of her life practicing Yoga and Ayurveda than not. She first became introduced to the teachings through the writings of the Transcendentalists, through meditation, and using asana to cross-train for her practice of cross-country running. Between beginning her commitment to Yoga and Ayurveda and today, she earned degrees in environmental biology and anthropology and nursing, and certifications in the practice and teaching of yoga, yoga therapy, and Ayurveda while working in fields including cognitive neuroscience and plant biochemistry. Her commitment to writing is at least as long as her commitment to yoga. Working on everything related to the written word from newspapers to magazines to websites to books, Felicia has been writing and editing professionally since college. In order to feel like a teenager again, Felicia has pulled out her running shoes for regular interval sessions throughout Southern California. Since the very first issue of LA YOGA, Felicia has been part of the team and the growth and development of the Bliss Network.

www.blissnetwork.com

The post Where to Watch The Skechers Performance LA Marathon appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

photographed by David Young-Wolff

Rubi Rymenmy is the CEO and Founder of Art Flying Yoga  and Art Flying Aerial and Sam Tribbe is a coach with StrengthProject.com.

David Young-Wolff

David Young-Wolff loves to tell a story in a single frame. Never satisfied with the ordinary, he strives to creat exciting images with a unique twist. In addition to his assignments, he is currently working on two other projects. One is Coming to LA, which involves photographing people who have moved to LA from other countries. He is also shooting photos to illustrate an upcoming book, Navajo Mothers, Navajo Daughters. davidyoung-wolff.com

davidyoung-wolff.com

The post Yoga on Location: Balancing Life and Fitness appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Yoga On Location: Brock Cahill, founder of Kurmalliance, in Vrscikasana on the Santa Monica pier.

Brock Cahill is wearing a shirt to support the ocean activism nonprofit Kurmalliance (Kurmalliance.Org).  He is the founder of Kurmalliance and teaches Yoga at Yogaworks, Yoga Salt, and Equinox.  GravityCowboy.com

David Young-Wolff

David Young-Wolff loves to tell a story in a single frame. Never satisfied with the ordinary, he strives to creat exciting images with a unique twist. In addition to his assignments, he is currently working on two other projects. One is Coming to LA, which involves photographing people who have moved to LA from other countries. He is also shooting photos to illustrate an upcoming book, Navajo Mothers, Navajo Daughters. davidyoung-wolff.com

davidyoung-wolff.com

The post Yoga on Location: Route 66 appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Often referred to as LA’s West village, this eclectic boulevard offers everything from killer Sunday brunches to galleries, boutiques, small studios and gyms, coffee shops, and cutting edge pop-up shops.

This neighborhood has undergone several transformations on its journey to become what GQ has called “the coolest block in America.” the recent renaissance includes farm to table bistros like Gjelina and Tasting Kitchen, which are equally famous for their eccentric mixology and in-demand reservations. Stroll AK and find locals lining up halfway to Main Street for an organic drip from Intelligentsia. TOMS has become a social hot-spot since opening an inviting indoor/outdoor space with free wireless, where people congregate for the workspace and networking opportunities as much as for the ‘one-for-one’ shoes, sunglasses, and roasted brew.

Perhaps even more intriguing than the drinking and dining are the locals: hipsters, surfers, and creative entrepreneurs. Immerse yourself in the hip old-school vibe of casual beach-chic. As Rumi says, “What you seek is also seeking you.” Whether you’re seeking a rosemary absinthe mojito or a human connection, grab your beach cruiser, channel your inner creative, and ride down Abbot Kinney for an interactive and soulful meditation.

Elise Joan teaches yoga at locations including Equinox and Exhale. She created an online yoga/fitness site that lets you build and save your own yoga and workout playlists from 10 minutes to two hours: elisejoanfitness.com

Elise is wearing clothing by OUT incorporated (best friend sport tight, contortionist sportee, and agent bra): outincorporated.com

Nir Livni’s photography can be found at: bigcameraman.info

Elise Joan

Elise Joan is an LA yoga teacher who teaches at Equinox and Exhale (among other locations). She has a yoga/fitness site that allows users to create yoga and workout playlists from 10 minutes to two hours. www.elisejoanfitness.com

www.elisejoanfitness.com

The post Destination LA: Abbot Kinney appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

When people think of Venice, they may think of medical marijuana, the iconic Muscle Beach, Silicon Beach, or the always entertaining boardwalk, but some of the neighborhood’s most stylish blocks are undoubtedly found on Abbot Kinney. Often referred to as LA’s West village, this eclectic boulevard offers everything from killer Sunday brunches to galleries, boutiques, small studios and gyms, coffee shops, and cutting edge pop-up shops.

This neighborhood has undergone several transformations on its journey to become what GQ has called “the coolest block in America.” the recent renaissance includes farm to table bistros like Gjelina and Tasting Kitchen, which are equally famous for their eccentric mixology and in-demand reservations. Stroll AK and find locals lining up halfway to Main Street for an organic drip from Intelligentsia. TOMS has become a social hot-spot since opening an inviting indoor/outdoor space with free wireless, where people congregate for the workspace and networking opportunities as much as for the ‘one-for-one’ shoes, sunglasses, and roasted brew.

Perhaps even more intriguing than the drinking and dining are the locals: hipsters, surfers, and creative entrepreneurs. Immerse yourself in the hip old-school vibe of casual beach-chic. As Rumi says, “What you seek is also seeking you.” Whether you’re seeking a rosemary absinthe mojito or a human connection, grab your beach cruiser, channel your inner creative, and ride down Abbot Kinney for an interactive and soulful meditation.

Elise Joan teaches yoga at locations including Equinox and Exhale. She created an online yoga/fitness site that lets you build and save your own yoga and workout playlists from 10 minutes to two hours: elisejoanfitness.com

Elise is wearing clothing by OUT incorporated (best friend sport tight, contortionist sportee, and agent bra): outincorporated.com

Nir Livni’s photography can be found at: bigcameraman.info

Elise Joan

Elise Joan is an LA yoga teacher who teaches at Equinox and Exhale (among other locations). She has a yoga/fitness site that allows users to create yoga and workout playlists from 10 minutes to two hours. www.elisejoanfitness.com

www.elisejoanfitness.com

The post Destination LA: Abbot Kinney appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Photo by Nir Livni

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is one of the miracles on Wilshire Boulevard’s famed Miracle Mile. The largest museum in the west, LACMA is home to over 120,000 works of art and more than a million annual visitors.

The integrated practice of yoga includes appreciating the brilliance and divinity of this life. A stroll through LACMA’s chambers is like a journey through the hearts and minds of humankind through the centuries. Experiencing humanity’s artistic contributions can inspire our own talents and capabilities.

Outside the museum, and free to the public, is one of the city’s most recognizable large-scale assemblage sculptures. Urban Light by Chris Burden, was installed in 2008. If you’ve ever scrolled through a dating profile in LA, you’ve seen selfies with the stunning array of restored street lamps from the 20s and 30s as a backdrop.

Burden’s creation is a yogic metaphor. These lamps of different styles and origins, when brought together, create a unified structure of strength, beauty, and illumination. In the same way, all of us with our different perspectives, experiences and gifts, can come together with the common intention of elevating ourselves and each other to our best and brightest contributions. Like these solar-powered lamps, we can illuminate the lives of others by burning brightly with our own passions and sharing our light.

“Just as one candle lights another, and can light thousands of other candles, so one heart illuminates another heart and can illuminate thousands of other hearts.”—Leo Tolstoy

For more information on LACMA, visit: lacma.org

Elise Joan teaches yoga at Equinox and Exhale (among other locations). She created an online yoga/fitness site that lets you build and save your own yoga and workout playlists from 10 minutes to two hours: elisejoanfitness.com

Elise Joan

Elise Joan is an LA yoga teacher who teaches at Equinox and Exhale (among other locations). She has a yoga/fitness site that allows users to create yoga and workout playlists from 10 minutes to two hours. www.elisejoanfitness.com

www.elisejoanfitness.com

The post Adventures off the Mat: LACMA appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Photography by Nir Livni

The Santa Monica Pier is one of Los Angeles’ great landmarks. Jutting out into the Pacific at the foot of Colorado Avenue, this 106-year old tourist attraction is the final destination of famed Route 66; it offers spectacular views of the ocean, bluffs, and mountain ranges, while providing thousands of meandering pedestrians a great deal of entertainment all its own. 

In its early incarnation circa 1916, it was known as The Pleasure Pier. Constructed by amusement park pioneers Charles Looff and his son Arthur, this promenade eventually included roller coasters, Wurlitzer organs, merry-go-rounds and even a fun house. Today the Pier is home to Pacific Park, which houses the world’s only solar-powered Ferris Wheel. In addition, the pier offers a yearly line-up of community-enriching events including the Twilight Concert Series, Cycle for Heroes, Opera on the Pier, and even “Roga” (Saturday morning group running and yoga held in six week series two-three times a year).

Walking the Pier, cotton candy or coconut water in hand, evokes nostalgia and magic and whatever our age, induces childlike delight. This enchantment can be applied to our yoga practice when we come to the mat with enthusiasm, and a willingness to let go and just play. We can twist out practicality and invert our perspective, finding magic in the mundane, and weaving a spell of joy and laughter.

By practicing looking inward at our own childlike longing for fun and freedom, we are able to find entertainment in the ordinary, and delight in our day to day. The Pier reminds us, that even as adults, we can balance our everyday sensibleness with a ride or two around a vintage carousel.

Elise Joan teaches yoga at Equinox and Exhale (among other locations). She created an online yoga/fitness site that lets you build and save your own yoga and workout playlists from 10 minutes to two hours: elisejoanfitness.com

Elise is wearing Run Jump Jump ‘N Twist Crop in Viola and Twistie Tank in Seattle Mist. For more information visit yogasmoga.com

Elise Joan

Elise Joan is an LA yoga teacher who teaches at Equinox and Exhale (among other locations). She has a yoga/fitness site that allows users to create yoga and workout playlists from 10 minutes to two hours. www.elisejoanfitness.com

www.elisejoanfitness.com

The post Adventures off the Mat: Play on the Santa Monica Pier appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

photo: DavidYoung-Wolff.com

Ione Skye is best known as an actress in films such as Say Anything, River’s Edge, and Zodiac and the TV show Arrested Development. She has practiced Kundalini Yoga for about 20 years as part of her passion for connecting to her being and changing through work on herself. Throughout, her dogs have been frequent companions, “I’ve never been able to live for long without a dog in my life. These two dogs are very different, they are buddies that are always there.” She has had art shows in Los Angeles and Tokyo, including a joint show with Kim Gordon and Sofia Coppola. Ione also has directed short films and music videos and authored her first children’s book, My Yiddish Vacation, in 2014. She is happily raising two daughters, Kate and Goldie, in Laurel Canyon with her husband, musician Ben Lee.

Staff Writer Lakshmi

The post Yoga on Location: March 2015 appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Metaphorically, the natural renewal of Spring is an opportunity to join forces with Mother Nature to focus on rebirth.  Just as seeds break open in March to create growth, so can we emerge from the meditation and hibernation of Winter. We can begin refreshed and clear, without the heavy weight of that which no longer serves us. A clean slate.

On a more literal level, Spring is a natural time to focus on nourishing our bodies with healthy, clean foods. Eating in a way that fosters mental clarity, elevated energy, restful sleep, greater focus, and emotional stability is of the most significant choices we can make to treat our body as the temple for our souls.

To support this, I took a jaunt to one of my favorite California haunts: the Santa Monica Farmers Market. Simply walking through the market is an experience in mindful awareness: The scent of fresh flowers and lavender waft through the air, and colorful, decadent fruits and vegetables surround you on all sides.

Pick up your repurposed bag and practice nourishing your body — your heart and mind will undoubtedly follow. For more information visit the Santa Monica Farmers Markets website.

Elise Joan teaches yoga at Equinox and Exhale (among other locations). She created an online yoga/fitness site that lets you build and save your own yoga and workout playlists from 10 minutes to two hours.

Elise Joan

Elise Joan is an LA yoga teacher who teaches at Equinox and Exhale (among other locations). She has a yoga/fitness site that allows users to create yoga and workout playlists from 10 minutes to two hours. www.elisejoanfitness.com

www.elisejoanfitness.com

The post Adventures off the Mat: Santa Monica Farmers Market appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

On Sunday, October 5, the tenth CicLAvia will be held from 9am to 4pm. Dubbed “The Heart of LA,” this new route will be an exciting adventure for those who are unfamiliar with the Eastside of Los Angeles. It will pass through many ethnic communities, from Historic Filipinotown on the western end, through Chinatown and Little Tokyo, to the largely Latino-populated communities of Boyle Heights and East LA on the eastern end. Once again, streets will be closed to motor vehicles, with police positioned at intersections to ensure everyone’s safety. Hubs will be placed strategically along the route for information, souvenirs, first aid, bike repair, and food trucks. Participating businesses will welcome visitors with entertainment and special deals.

A new “CicLAvia Explores” program was launched to highlight the food, culture, and architecture along each CicLavia route. There are two more planned for the October 2014 event: walking tours of the Broadway Theater District on September 7th, and a culinary tour of East LA restaurants on September 14th.

If you’ve never experienced the joy of biking, running, or walking down streets without having to dodge speeding cars, you owe it to yourself to dust off your bike, dig your running shoes out of the closet, or break in a pair of walking shoes and join the crowds at the next CicLAvia. And best of all, it’s free!

For more information about all CicLAvia events, visit their website at ciclavia.org

Joni Yung, the Accidental Yogist, has been immersed in LA’s yoga culture for over 10 years and hosts the internet radio talk show, Yoga Chat with the Accidental Yogist on killradio.org. An avid bike commuter, she has enjoyed every CicLAvia and is looking forward to seeing everyone on October 5! yogachatshow.com/Twitter: @ayogist 

Joni Yung

Joni Yung loves finding things to do around LA — especially ones that are free and good for you. Follow her on Twitter at @ayogist

blog.accidentalyogist.com/

The post CicLAvia appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

CLEAN LA Solar is a revolutionary new energy program that supplies zero-carbon, renewable energy to Los Angeles by taking advantage of the vast, underutilized rooftop space in the area. Launched in 2013, CLEAN LA Solar will be the largest urban rooftop solar program in the United States—and is already being hailed as a model for the nation.

The fashion retailer’s 5.1 megawatt solar power system, designed and built by PermaCity, makes Forever 21 the first to take advantage of both LADWP’s Solar Photovoltaic Incentive Program and Feed-in Tariff (FiT) Program on one site. The incentive program compensates customers who purchase and install their own systems; the FiT program allows businesses and commercial property-owners to generate energy for the city’s power grid through rooftop solar panels, and sell the power back to LADWP.

Currently, most of the city’s renewable power is generated outside the LA basin and transmitted inefficiently to customers. By contrast, the CLEAN LA Solar program incentivizes clean-energy production within city limits. The result will be more efficient power delivery and a reduction in the city’s reliance on polluting, coal-fired power plants.

The impact of Forever 21’s commitment is significant. PermaCity estimates the system will help keep nearly 13 million pounds of carbon dioxide out of the air each year, which is the equivalent of taking 1,200 cars off the road. It also puts Los Angeles one giant step closer to its goal of generating 33% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

For more information, visit cleanlasolar.com

Staff Writer Lakshmi

The post Forever 21 Raises the Roof on Sustainability appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Run+Yoga on the Santa Monica Pier

The Santa Monica Pier is not only an iconic symbol of Southern California and the end of the road of Route 66, now it’s become an open-air yoga studio with expansive views of the Pacific. At the first Roga (running and yoga) in what has now become a highly anticipated Saturday morning series, 40 runners and 80 yogis showed up to run and to practice with Michelle Lindner. Lindner’s company, Generic Events, is the Active Lifestyle Curator for the Pier. The latest round of classes filled the end of the pier with yoga mats in every corner with classes taught by Eden Goldman, Sara Ivanhoe, Cory Martin, Suzanne Bryant, Cristi Christensen, and Juliet Kaska. Honest Tea, Clif Bar, Burn This, and VIONIC by Orthaheel sponsored the series where attendees received copies of the latest issues of LA YOGA. The next series of Roga begins September 6 and runs through October 11. In the meantime, Pier attendees can workout with Hey There Muscles in partnership with Ferrigno Fit.

Felicia M. Tomasko

Felicia Tomasko has spent more of her life practicing Yoga and Ayurveda than not. She first became introduced to the teachings through the writings of the Transcendentalists, through meditation, and using asana to cross-train for her practice of cross-country running. Between beginning her commitment to Yoga and Ayurveda and today, she earned degrees in environmental biology and anthropology and nursing, and certifications in the practice and teaching of yoga, yoga therapy, and Ayurveda while working in fields including cognitive neuroscience and plant biochemistry. Her commitment to writing is at least as long as her commitment to yoga. Working on everything related to the written word from newspapers to magazines to websites to books, Felicia has been writing and editing professionally since college. In order to feel like a teenager again, Felicia has pulled out her running shoes for regular interval sessions throughout Southern California. Since the very first issue of LA YOGA, Felicia has been part of the team and the growth and development of the Bliss Network.

www.blissnetwork.com

The post Yoga on the Santa Monica Pier appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

During the final dog days of summer before Labor Day, you may be revisiting your to-do list of unique summer activities; have you given yourself the opportunity to experience as much outdoor yoga as you were planning to practice? There’s still time to lay out your mat in one of LA’s unique locations for practicing yoga.

In case you need some inspiration, we’ve scouted the top five outdoor yoga classes. From yoga on the iconic Santa Monica Pier, to the canyons, to even a rooftop helipad, the organized outdoor yoga classes in Los Angeles are as versatile and endless as the city itself.

Here is our list of top five must-visit places to practice this summer:

1. InterContinental Summer Rooftop Yoga Series: Summer rooftop yoga series from the unparalleled vantage point of the Century City InterContinental Hotel’s 16th floor helipad. Renowned yoga instructor Noah Christensen leads a class open to all levels gazing out over the picturesque cityscape, with views spanning downtown and the Hollywood Hills to the Pacific Ocean. Every Tuesday at 6:00 pm; open to the public for $16. Book your mat in advance and arrive early.  InterContinental Los Angeles

2. Roga on the Pier: FREE Run + Yoga class on Saturday mornings with the best views in town. Get fit with some low-key locals; all experience levels welcome in both classes. Last class is this Saturday, August 24! 8am: Run; 9am: Yoga; free. For more information, visit Run+Yoga=ROGA.

3. Runyon Canyon YOGA: Donation-Based Yoga at the Fuller Avenue entrance of the famous Runyon Canyon Park. Combine your flow with a walk or hike in this serene city getaway. Classes can be found every day of the week; donation-based. For full schedule: Runyon Canyon YOGA.

4. Beach Yoga with Brad: Practice at the water’s edge for memorable yoga and fellowship. Located just off of Marine Street next to lifeguard station #29, Brad Keimach leads yoga every Saturday and Sunday year-round. As a summer special, Brad has extended classes to include sunset yoga on Mondays, Tuesday, Wednesdays, and Fridays; $10 minimum donation. Check Beach Yoga with Brad’s Facebook Page for further info.

5. Yogalution in Long Beach: Dubbed “The Revolution and the Solution”, Yogalution on Bluff Park is lead by teachers from Long Beach’s Trilogy Yoga. This yoga-in-the-park takes places year round on a gorgeous stretch of green overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Classes are completely free as part of founder Dharma Shakti’s Yogalution movement to bring yoga to all. Classes run daily at 11 am. For further info, visit: Yogalution.

Staff Writer Lakshmi

The post Outdoor Yoga in Los Angeles appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Photography by Rob Shanahan

An unprecedented exhibit dedicated to the phenomenal career of rock star drummer Ringo Starr made its debut at the GRAMMY museum on June 12, 2013. Ringo: Peace & Love delves into the creative and personal life of the music legend with displays of rare photographs, personal letters and artifacts including Ringo’s drum kits from The Ed Sullivan show, Let it Be, Abbey Road and The White Album. Also on display is his Sgt Pepper Suit and his red jacket worn during the filming of the Beatles rooftop concert. The limited-run exhibit is interactive and visitors can experience taking a drumming lesson from Ringo himself.

Ringo Starr, born Richard Starkey in Liverpool England, is a 7-time Grammy Award winner most popularly known as the drummer for the Beatles. His career continued after the Beatles broke up in 1970 to include several successful albums and singles, hosting television shows and continuing to tour since 1989 with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band.

The GRAMMY museum’s exhibit explores Ringo’s career from a young lad in Liverpool where he battled many medical conditions growing up including tuberculosis, to his success with band Rory Storm and The Hurricanes (prior to the Beatles) up through his current touring success with his All Starrs Band.

This is the first large exhibit dedicated to a drummer and intends to continue to spread Starr’s prevalent message of global peace and love.

Ringo: Peace & Love is on display in The GRAMMY Museum’s Special Exhibits Gallery on the 2nd floor and will be shown through November 2013.

By Olivia Kvitne, who teaches yoga throughout the LA area.  She is an ambassador for Yoga for Vets specializing in teaching yoga to veterans struggling with PTSD through the Yoga Warriors method. Her classes at Golden Bridge Yoga Hollywood are free for veterans and military. Between teaching and practicing yoga she loves working as an editorial assistant and contributing writer with LA Yoga. TheYogaAbbey.com 

Staff Writer Lakshmi

The post Ringo: Peace & Love Exhibit Opens at the GRAMMY Museum appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

On a crisp spring morning, photographer Brett Leigh Dicks and I set out to document the diverse environment and open expanse of the Gaviota Coast. Arriving at Refugio State Beach just after sunrise, we encountered children playing where a chilly creek flowed into the ocean, flocks of sea birds twisted and turned just above the surface of the waves, dolphins dipped above the waves close to shore and surfers enjoyed a small break. As one surfer with a longboard strolled past, he noticed Brett intently photographing in the sunrise-drenched light and yelled behind him, “Don’t tell anyone where you took the photos!” This is one secluded location that needs to be revealed – if only to protect it from a pending development which threatens to destroy its integrity as an environment so far untouched by the invasive hand of urban sprawl.

Will the American dream of urban sprawl destroy one of the last untouched areas of biodiversity on the southern Californian coast?

The Gaviota Coast

Just north of Santa Barbara sit 30 miles of the Gaviota Coast, an environmental treasure and the last remaining jewel of undeveloped land in Southern California. It is a prime example of an undisturbed

Mediterranean environment and one of only five representatives of this type of ecosystem worldwide. The Gaviota Coast has an ancient connection to the Native American Chumash, being home to one of the oldest indigenous settlements in North America. It was also an integral part of the mission system and Mexican land grants. Even so, the inaccessibility of large tracts of land leading north to the Santa Ynez Mountains has allowed this area to remain a wilderness undisturbed by fences, freeways or urban streets. Zoned rural, this in part is what has helped protect its biodiversity and sustain the associated marine habitat.

To signify its biological diversity, the United Nations lists the Gaviota Coast as one of the world’s top 15 ecological wonders, home to more than 195 species of birds, 60 species of fish and 1,400 other plant and animal species. The sanctuary is a refuge for the critically endangered southern steelhead trout and the red-legged frog, as well as another 24 resident species which are currently federally listed as threatened or endangered. Another 60 species linger just outside the line that would mark them as officially threatened or endangered.

From canyons to plains to mountains, the breathtaking Gaviota coastline is filled with sycamores, willows, sage scrub, shimmering golden grasses and a carpet of wildflowers.

Gaviota Coastline

More than 30 freshwater creeks gently cascade into pebbled streams from the Santa Ynez Mountains into the Pacific Ocean, contributing to the clean and productive waters off the coast. It makes for some drama: in the summertime, one of the largest herds of blue whales in the world congregate in the waters of the offshore Channel Islands to feed on krill. The dense concentrations of these plankton are a result of the area’s unique and biologically diverse point of marine confluence, caused by the meeting of two major oceanic currents and the shape of the continental shelf at Point Conception. The Channel Islands fill the landscape with their silhouette, and offer an irresistible temptation to those who wish to claim this view as their private backyard.

Fresh Water Creeks

With this unspoiled jewel in mind, a canny developer recently claimed an 1888 map of an imagined subdivision of Naples (named for Italy, but located here on the Gaviota Coast). In 1995, after a protracted legal battle, Santa Barbara County was forced to recognize 274 mansion-style lots on the site. This galvanized the community to fight the legal exception to the agricultural zoning of the Gaviota Coast, thus spurring the formation of the Naples Coalition, which was established in 2003 with the aim of protecting the region’s rural character and environmental qualities.

As the land of the Gaviota Coast pulses and breathes, free of the undeterred urban human footprint, it leaves us to ponder if it still has a chance to glisten in the light like a rare jewel, or will it be tarnished by those who seek to develop this environmental bastion.

More information about the Naples Coalition can be found at http://www.savenaples.org.

Natalie D-Napoleon is a musician and writer who lives in Santa Barbara, California and Perth, Australia. http://www.nataliednapoleon.com

Brett Leigh Dicks started off life as a photographer and he continues to pursue a view of life through a camera’s lens. http://www.brettleighdicks.net

By Natalie D-Napoleon

Natalie D-Napoleon

Natalie D-Napoleon is a yogi, songwriter and writer from Fremantle, Australia who now lives in California. She has an MA in Writing and works as a Coordinator at a Community College Writing Center. Her writing has appeared in Entropy, Australian Poetry Journal, LA Yoga and Writer’s Digest. In 2018 she won the Bruce Dawe National Poetry Prize (Australia).

www.nataliednapoleon.com

The post The Gaviota Coast appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Yogananda himself, of course, played a principal role in that history. After making a 12-acre site atop Mount Washington the international headquarters of his Self-Realization Fellowship, he became “the 20th century’s first superstar guru,” to quote the LA Times. Over the years, Yogananda’s visible footprint was placed on other choice properties in the region, notably the magnificent Lake Shrine on Sunset in Pacific Palisades and the cliff top retreat in Encinitas, where he wrote his iconic memoir, Autobiography of a Yogi.

More than two decades before Yogananda made L.A. his home, Swami Vivekananda ushered in the 20th century in this part of the world. During his three-month visit commencing in December of 1899, lecture halls were filled with crowds eager to hear the triumphant star of the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions speak on subjects like “The Science of Yoga.” In 1923, one of his devotees, Swami Paramananda, founded Ananda Ashrama, a still-functioning sanctuary in the hills of La Crescenta. A few years later, the triple-domed temple of the Vedanta Society rose up in Hollywood. There, in the 40s and 50s, a trio of celebrated authors, Gerald Heard, Christopher Isherwood and Aldous Huxley, were schooled in Vedanta philosophy and Yogic practices by the erudite Swami Prabhavananda, who presided over the temple from 1929 until his death in 1976 at the age of 82. The essays, novels and nonfiction books (e.g., Huxley’s seminal The Perennial Philosophy) produced by those literary lions educated millions about India’s spiritual treasures. Prabhavananda and Isherwood teamed up on elegant translations of the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras (titled How to Know God) that were the best-read versions of those classics for years. The Hollywood center remains a custodian of Vivekananda’s vision of adapting the ancient dharma to the modern West.

The other Hollywood—the star-making industry, as opposed to the geographical entity—has also played a major role in beaming Yoga and Indian philosophy to the masses. As early as the 1930s, celebrities such as Charlie Chaplin and Greta Garbo would motor up to Ojai in their roadsters to listen to the pathless pathfinder, Jiddu Krishnamurti. It was in Ojai that the iconoclastic Krishnamurti had the spiritual breakthrough that led him to reject the messiah-like role for which he’d been groomed by the Theosophists who brought him to the West as a teenager. For nearly six decades, his spring lecture series drew thousands of Angelenos to Ojai annually.

Hollywood star power also taught folks in the hinterlands about Hatha Yoga. Celebs like Mae West and Greta Garbo were linked to the practice early on, and in the 1950s gossip columnists reported that icons such as Gary Cooper, Marlon Brando, and Marilyn Monroe were into it. Marilyn was said to do asanas “to improve her legs,” proving that Yoga as physical fitness did not begin in the Madonna era. One of the teachers of celebrities and thousands of others was Indra Devi, the so-called First Lady of Yoga, whose landmark book, Forever Young, Forever Healthy, coupled with numerous public appearances, helped bring the teachings to the masses. Born in Eastern Europe, she was a student of the legendary Hatha revivalist Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. Only an exceptional woman could have broken through India’s male-only Yoga club back then, and Indra Devi remained exceptional until her death in 2002 at the age of 102.

Among the region’s other mid-century Hatha teachers was Bishnu Charan Ghosh, Yogananda’s younger brother. One of his students was Bikram Choudhury, who went on to build a worldwide empire with his trademark high-temperature Yoga. Another innovator in L.A. at the time was Richard Hittleman. A devotee of the non-dualist saint Ramana Maharshi, Hittleman penned enormously popular books and pioneered the use of video. His daily TV show, “Yoga for Health,” debuted in L.A. in 1961 and was syndicated nationally for years.

In 1953, Judith Tyberg, a direct disciple of Sri Aurobindo, one of the spiritual giants of modern India, founded the East-West Cultural Center near the intersection of Beverly and Vermont. The center moved several times before settling into its present location in Culver City in 1985. A native San Diegan who studied Sanskrit in Benares, Dr. Tyberg introduced Angelenos to Sri Aurobindo’s work and hosted visiting teachers who went on to have a huge impact on modern Yoga. Among them was Swami Vishnudevananda, who was sent to America in 1957 by his guru, Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh. Ganga White, one of many seekers who found their way to East-West in the sixties, trained with Vishnudevananda and later opened the Sivananda Center for Yoga on Sunset and Western during the apex of flower power. The Hare Krishna devotees added to the colorful atmosphere of the era, giving locals their first glimpse of traditional Hindu Bhakti and their first earful of Sanskrit chanting, a precursor to today’s kirtan scene. They would soon establish an L.A. temple (now in Culver City) and, in 1977, start their annual Festival of Chariots in Venice.

In the seventies, White disconnected from the Sivananda lineage and turned The Center for Yoga into a prototype of today’s independent studio. It offered an eclectic menu of classes and hosted a parade of luminaries, from Swami Satchidananda to Allen Ginsberg to the first teachers trained by the influential Hatha masters B.K.S. Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois (Iyengar himself lectured there in 1976, as did Pattabhi Jois in 1985). The center caught on quickly, forcing a move to a larger location on Larchmont Boulevard, which is now owned by YogaWorks. White went on to found the White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara, and Swami Vishnudevananda’s lineage was reestablished as the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center, which is now located in Marina Del Rey.

The watershed moment in the West’s embrace of India’s spiritual heritage came when the Beatles met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, studied his Transcendental Meditation (TM) and, in early 1968, famously retreated to the banks of the Ganges River. Overnight, words like mantra, guru, and ashram entered the collective vocabulary, and it became acceptable, even fashionable, to start the day in silent meditation. The locus of that phenomenon was London, but the sparks were lit years earlier in L.A. when clean-cut citizens of Ozzie and Harriet’s America were drawn to the Maharishi. When college students looking for ways to expand their awareness without dangerous drugs turned to TM, the Students International Meditation Society (SIMS) was created at UCLA. By 1966, SIMS had branches at several major campuses, and after the Beatles’ media explosion its office on Gayley Avenue became the administrative engine of a massive movement. One of the UCLA meditators, Keith Wallace, wrote his doctoral dissertation on the physiology of TM, and his findings, published in 1970, would jumpstart a research juggernaut that moved meditation into the mainstream.

The chain reaction that led directly to the Beatles began with an L.A. record producer named Richard Bock. The head of World Pacific Records, Bock started promoting the music of Ravi Shankar soon after the great sitarist’s first visit to the West in 1956. He produced some of Shankar’s early albums and connected him to L.A. based jazz artists like flutist Paul Horn, who became one of the first American TM teachers and later recorded the seminal “Inside the Taj Mahal” album. Bock also introduced Shankar to John Coltrane, who infused his music with Indian sounds and themes, and to Alice Coltrane, who went on to become a Swami with an ashram of her own in the Malibu hills. It was also through Bock that David Crosby, then a member of the Byrds, first heard Shankar’s music. Crosby shared his discovery with George Harrison in 1965, at a Benedict Canyon party. The rest is musical and spiritual history. While studying sitar with Shankar in India, the quiet Beatle’s spiritual longing found direction, and his path led to the historic Beatles-in-India moment.

Once the floodgates were opened, L.A. continued to be the principal conduit for the East-to-West transmission. Yogi Bhajan, who first appeared at the East-West Cultural Center in 1969, started teaching his distinctive Kundalini Yoga on Melrose Ave, down the road from the Bodhi Tree, which in 1970 established itself as the prototype for spiritual bookstores everywhere. Also starting up in a Melrose storefront (circa 1972) was the American guru who was born Franklin Jones, became Bubba Free John and, after more name changes, passed away as Adi Da Samraj.

Virtually every teacher whose impact reverberated nationally made important inroads in Los Angeles. Swami Muktananda, for instance, introduced his Siddha Yoga to Angelenos during his three world tours, beginning in 1970. On his first visit, he was accompanied by Ram Dass, who was then in the early stages of his indispensible life as the spiritual teacher formerly known as Harvard psychologist Richard Alpert. Mutkananda spent six months in L.A. on his third tour, holding public events in a huge tent in Santa Monica, where the Loews Hotel now stands. His successor, Swami Chidvilasananda (Gurumayi), also came to Los Angeles a number of times in the eighties and nineties. And, as local Yogis know, B.K.S. Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois, the progenitors of the asana-based practice now virtually synonymous with the word Yoga, established a powerful L.A. presence. The transmission continued through the turn of the century, as new teachers—Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Mata Amritanandamayi, Sri Karunamayi, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, and others—have found some of their most welcoming audiences in L.A.

Somehow, a city known for glitz and glamour also acquired a strong ethos of inner development. In what other city could Bhakti Fest, Yoga Month or Yoga therapy have been incubated? Where else could professor Christopher Chapple create a Yoga Studies program at the Jesuit-run Loyola Marymount University? Los Angeles has probably produced more Yoga teachers per capita than anywhere else in the country, and must surely lead the nation in the number of asanas performed and mantras intoned per day. By all indications, the Benares of America will continue to beam Yoga in all its forms as skillfully as it beams movies and TV shows.

Phil Goldberg

Philip Goldberg has been studying the world’s spiritual traditions for more than 50 years, as a practitioner, teacher, and author. An Interfaith Minister, public speaker, and workshop leader, his numerous books include Roadsigns on the Spiritual Path; American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation, How Indian Spirituality Changed the West; The Life of Yogananda: The Story of the Yogi Who Became the First Modern Guru, and his latest, Spiritual Practice for Crazy Times: Powerful Tools to Cultivate Clarity, Calm and Courage. He blogs on Elephant Journal and Spirituality & Health, cohosts the popular Spirit Matters podcast, and leads American Veda Tours to India. His website is www.PhilipGoldberg.com.

www.philipgoldberg.com

The post Spiritual History of Los Angeles appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

God was not  especially welcome in our New Jersey home. On the contrary, my father offered the occasional and animated tutorial on the nonexistence of God-sort of a catechism in atheism. While the house was full of books-from Charles Dickens to Karl Marx- woe be it to him or her who thought we might want a Bible on our shelves. With a tight, chilly smile, my mother once dispatched a drably -dressed twosome from the Seventh-day Adventist, who thought otherwise. But in the moment before she closed the door to the front porch, one of the visiting pilgrims, slipped a  Bible into her reluctant hands. Though I searched for days, that black-bound volume was never again seen in our home. What my mother did with the Good Book remains, well, a mystery.
My illumination would have to wait until our back-door neighbor, eight-year-old Barbara O’Brien, shared her catechism book from St. Joe’s, as we called the Catholic church on the other side of town. Forever seared in memory will be the moment Barbara turned a page and pointed out an illustration of God. There He was, emerging from a flock of pastel-pale cumulus clouds-a light-skinned, toga-clad, bearded man of stern benevolence. Gushing with wonder and relief, I told Barbara I was ever so grateful because now I would recognize Him should we ever meet.
Such revelations are not guaranteed at the Vedanta Temple at the top of Ladera Lane in Montecito–though they should not be ruled out altogether. One is certain to find, however, a respite from life lived on the information highway and a sanctuary where being trumps doing. With its wraparound, panoramic vistas of the Pacific and the Santa Ynez mountains, it happens to be one of the loveliest haunts in California.
While the Central Coast is a veritable mecca of the New Age–with dozens of spiritual teachers, quacks, kooks, and all manner of self-improvement classes, Vedanta speaks in a voice from another age-the Old Age, as it were. Its teachings are rooted in the Vedas, the most ancient of all spiritual scriptures, going back more than 6,000 years, which are the cornerstones of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Vedanta. They include the Upanishads and express the core belief that God is within and without and that the divine is everywhere-but most manifest in the human heart. Among Vedanta’s appeals is it generous embrace of other faiths and their prophets.
Vedanta’s most famous modern-day prophet was the remarkable Indian monk Vivekananda, a disciple of Bengali-born saint Ramakrishna. It was Vivekananda who brought the message of Vedanta to the West. He first visited London, then Chicago, where, on September 11, 1893, the thirty-year-old missionary delivered an electrifying lecture at the World’s Parliament of Religions to 4,000 stunned and cheering attendees.
Well-born, handsome and fabulously rich, Spencer Kellogg had it all. In 1940, the sixty-four-year-old Santa Barbara linseed-oil millionaire divorced his longtime wife and married a younger woman. Yet, having bested all his material goals, Kellogg still fumbled through anxious, dark nights–wondering what it all meant.
So profound was his yearning that he began a transformation from tycoon to spiritual seeker. In 1942, Kellogg stumbled upon The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, the extraordinary firsthand account of the Indian saint born in 1836 that had just been translated into English. The Gospel chronicled the life and mission of Ramakrishna, whose followers believed him to be an avatar, a divine incarnation. Aldous Huxley, who contributed the book’s forward, tended to agree. He described the recorded conversations of Ramakrishna as “the most profound and subtle utterances about the nature of Ultimate Reality.”
Transfixed by The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Kellogg insisted on meeting its translator and editor, a monk named Nikhilananda. As luck would have it, the Indian monk often visited the Vedanta Center in the Hollywood Hills. Through this young, erudite monk, Kellogg would meet Swami Prabhavananda, the charismatic head of that center. It was Prabhavananda’s talks and ministry that had attracted Huxley, Christopher Isherwood, Igor Stravinsky, and the philosopher Gerald Heard. Another acquaintance of Swami P,  as he was called, was Somerset Maugham, whose friendship with Isherwood moved him to write his novel (and screenplay) The Razor’s Edge, a phrase taken from The Upanishads.
Luminaries and occasional seekers such as Greta Garbo, Vivien Leigh, and Laurence Olivier also found their way to the Vedanta Center in the Hollywood Hills. For a period Isherwood contemplated forsaking his fame, name, and shining career to become a monk, and lived for several years off and on as a monastic at the center. Inspired by Isherwood, Garbo asked if she too might live there. As the story goes, a flummoxed Prabhavananda pointed out that the monastery accepted only men, adding apologetically “and you are a girl.” But Garbo wasn’t having any of it. “Doesn’t matter,” she responded. “I’ll put on trousers.” Isherwood, who was initiated in 1940, remained devoted to Prabhavananda throughout his life and became his collaborator in translating the Bhagavad Gita (song of God), Pantanjali’s yoga Aphorisms, and Shankara’s Crest Jewel of Discrimination, among other texts.
Like Isherwood, Kellogg had found his path and teacher. In 1942, he bought thirty acres of soft rolling hills of chaparral on Ladera Lane in Montecito to create a spiritual retreat for himself. At the time, Ladera was not a paved road, and had just a few homes, and was inhabited mostly by coyotes, mountain lions and rattlesnakes. But it had magnificent ocean and mountain views and, yes, an otherworldly feeling.
Kellogg began by building a house, an art room, and a shrine room for worship on the sprawling Montecito property. Although Kellogg thought he had found heaven, his new wife, Cosetta Kupp, was less than enchanted. She yearned to be back in a proper neighborhood–one closer to downtown Santa Barbara- -and other proper people. Kupp was delighted when her husband deeded the site to the Vedanta Society in 1944.
Initially, Kellogg’s paradise was used as a retreat for visiting monastics and devotees. Slowly it expanded, with four bedrooms added to the art room. By 1947, it had become a convent and residence for several nuns who moved up from the center in Los Angeles. Within a decade, Sunday lectures were initiated and held in the original main house, which today is the living area for its seven resident nuns. Fifty years ago, in 1959, it became the first center in the world for women to receive sannyas (final monastic vows) by the Ramakrishna Order of India. The nuns all have names that that end in prana (loosely meaning “life force”) cheerfully call themselves the “Prana Sisters.”
One of the original nuns, Varadaprana, a composer and musician, is still there at age eighty-seven, having spent sixty-six years of her life as a monastic. “The first fifty were the hardest,” she quipped after her golden anniversary. She can be heard every evening at vespers, playing the tabla (the double Indian drum), and on Sundays, playing the organ.
In response to the surprising number of visitors, devotees, and students who flocked to the new retreat, a temple was built. The gifted, innovative architect Lutah Maria Riggs was entrusted with the commission. She did not disappoint. Riggs’ exquisite rendering, completed in 1956, was informed by the ancient wooden temples of Southern India. Its peaked structure is supported by processions of golden-hue wood columns that were formerly telephone poles made from Oregon pine trees. They are complemented by graceful laminated arches, Indonesian carvings, brass lamps, and a broad Egyptian screen near the entry. Frank Lloyd Wright, who had met Prabhavanada, was an early visitor and great admirer of the temple’s interior design.
Surrounding the structure are native plants and rock gardens, landscaped by Riggs herself with direction from Frank Lloyd Wright. Between the temple and the bookstore is a massive twelfth-century bell, cast in Japan, which had once been rigged to a Chinese military ship.
While there are twenty-five Vedanta societies or Ramakrishna Order centers in the United States, some 200 centers and branches around the world, and more than 1,000 in India, the Montecito convent is among the loveliest. But Santa Barbara’s Shangri-la almost wasn’t to be. Like Ramakrishna, Prabhavananda was wary of gifts, lest there be strings attached of impropriety and unforeseen financial obligations. Twice when Kellogg offered his estate to him, the monk said no. But having overheard Kellogg speaking to himself about his grand plan while he swept the path near the shrine–along with an endowment of a lemon orchard–the monk decided it was indeed divinely given. “Okay,” said Prabhavananda, “we’ll take it.”
Visitors should be forewarned that although Yoga in the West owes its existence to Vivekananda, Vedanta is not a body cult. Those seeking enhanced physical exertion or flexibility are best directed toward a Yoga or Pilates class. If Vivekananda had but one message, most especially for Americans, it might have been, “you are not your body.” Yoga, in its original meaning of “union” or “to yoke oneself to God,” is the sole practice at Vedanta.
That said, there are rich and transformative rewards to be had for the curious, devotees, and restless seekers alike. The grounds and temple are open daily to visitors. Every evening, arati,or vespers, are held with the nuns singing mesmerizing ancient chants, followed by silent meditation. There is also a lecture every Sunday, and classes for serious students are offered on Saturday afternoons twice each month with one of Vedanta’s visiting eminences. Most popular are those with Swami Swahananda, the eighty-eight-year-old titan who heads the Vedanta society of Southern California and, when not traveling to other centers, is based at the Hollywood Hills center. “God created the world for his fun,” he says, “and yours.”  Although Swahananda is partial to shaggy dog stories and irreverent jokes, and is an avid student of politics, his own teacher was a direct disciple of Ramakrishna.”I can take you to the door,” one of the visiting monks from Calcutta told devotees after a class last September, “but Swami can take you through the door.”
Sometimes the Sunday lecture is given by an esteemed scholar such as Nandini Iyer, who might speak on Hindu Mysticism. (She is also the mother of writer Pico Iyer.) Occasionally, it may be the convent’s resident historian, Vrajaprana, who joined the society in 1977. She has written and edited seven books on her magnum opus-scholarly interpretations on Ramakrishna and his teaching-will be published next year. When she is not writing, Vrajaprana, a concert hall-quality soprano, is singing–either at the temple or at various classical recitals at the Arlington or the Granada.
The convent’s oldest nun, at eighty-eight is the petite and always snappily dressed Anandaprana, a German-born Jewish refugee who fled the Nazis with her parents. She joined the Hollywood Hills order in 1952 and lived in Los Angeles for thiry years before moving to the Montecito center. A woman of keen intellect and erudition, she is warmly acknowledged by Isherwood in his Vedanta work and is the author of a chronicle of the remarkable life of her teacher Prabhavananda.
The youngest nun is thirty-three-year-old Sitaprana , an attractive UC Santa Barbara graduate in religious studies who joined the convent in 2000. A self-described “Type A nun,” she keeps the place running on clock time. She also attends Swahandanda’s visits and care, and purchases the eclectic, one-of-a-kind gift items sold in the Vedanta Bookstore. A well-trod stop for seekers and shoppers alike, the store offers all manner of spiritual texts and religious books. Its shelves also boast unusual statuary-arguably the best selection of Ganeshas (the half-elephant, half-man deity) to be found in the country- as well as a diverse collection of pashmina shawls and jewelry. Proceeds support Vedanta’s nonprofit ministerial and charitable work.
Another bookstore habitué, Bhavaprana is a tall, graceful woman whom offers tips and serenity to perusers. She is also the webmistress for Vedanta at Vedanta.org, which receives up to one million hits a day. Others nuns include Deviprana, who devotes herself to worship rituals in the temple and the making of Prasad (blessed offerings). And there is an indomitable Krishnaprana, the convent’s general manager of sorts. K.P., as she is called, coordinates the society’s efforts for the homeless through Transition House.
The presence of the center has achieved a salutary symbiosis with its neighborhood, fostering a small spiritual community.  A number of homes on Ladera Lane were bought in the 1950’s and ‘60s by devotees who then bequeathed them to Vedanta.
I first encountered Vedanta when I was a teenager enduring a protracted “lost weekend” while living in the Hollywood Hills. Hearing about a Vedanta temple located at the elbow of two streets just north of Franklin Avenue near Argyle -I ventured toward the property. While I circled the grounds, I never dared enter the temple-daunted by the exotic foreignness of its name and my own adolescent sense of unworthiness.
Would that I had. Twenty years later, I stopped by the Ladera Lane temple. I was only planning to circle the grounds–yet again. But Swahananda, leaving the temple after a Sunday lecture, turned around quite unexpectedly and leveled his eyes with mine. “Is there something you wanted to ask me?” he said.
And so began a longer walk than I anticipate.

{author credit} Ann Louise Bardach is the author of Without Fidel: A Death Foretold in Miami, Havana and Washington and serves on The Brookings Institution’s Cuba Study Project. She won the PEN USA Award for Journalism in 1995 for her reporting on Mexican politics, and was a finalist in 1994 for her coverage of women in Islamic countries. Her book Cuba Confidential was a finalist for the New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Award for Excellence in Journalism and the PEN USA Award for Best Nonfiction, and named one of Ten Best Books of 2002 by the Los Angeles Times. She was a finalist for the 2005 PEN USA award for Journalism.

Felicia M. Tomasko

Felicia Tomasko has spent more of her life practicing Yoga and Ayurveda than not. She first became introduced to the teachings through the writings of the Transcendentalists, through meditation, and using asana to cross-train for her practice of cross-country running. Between beginning her commitment to Yoga and Ayurveda and today, she earned degrees in environmental biology and anthropology and nursing, and certifications in the practice and teaching of yoga, yoga therapy, and Ayurveda while working in fields including cognitive neuroscience and plant biochemistry. Her commitment to writing is at least as long as her commitment to yoga. Working on everything related to the written word from newspapers to magazines to websites to books, Felicia has been writing and editing professionally since college. In order to feel like a teenager again, Felicia has pulled out her running shoes for regular interval sessions throughout Southern California. Since the very first issue of LA YOGA, Felicia has been part of the team and the growth and development of the Bliss Network.

www.blissnetwork.com

The post The Vedanta Society of Santa Barbara: A Serene Retreat appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.