Eddie has been teaching yoga in New York City since 1989, and since 1993 has run the NYC branch of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois’s Ashtanga Yoga Institute. Now the Brooklyn Yoga Club, the school also functions as a consecrated Hindu temple. He is also involved in bringing health and wellness programs to under-served and in-need …
Kurt has been a Christian monastic; a highly regarded scientist with a Ph.D. in evolution, ecology and comparative biology; and now an eco-spiritual activist and leader of the interspiritual movement. The coauthor of The Coming Interspiritual Age, he teaches at the One Spirit Interfaith Seminary in New York City. We spoke about his diverse influences …
Marci is a bestselling author and internationally respected public speaker. Her runaway bestsellers, Happy for No Reason and Love for No Reason, established her as a leading expert on happiness, success, and unconditional love. She is also the woman’s face of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, with six bestselling titles, including Chicken Soup …
Sally was a well-known journalist in the early 1970s when she met Swami Muktananda and began working closely with him. She was initiated into the Saraswati order of monks and taught in the Siddha Yoga lineage as Swami Durgananda for 20 years. After leaving the monastic life in 2002, she became a highly popular teacher, …
Mallika is the founder of Intent.com, a website and app focused on personal, social and global wellness. A media entrepreneur, public speaker and published author, her most recent book is Living With Intent: My Somewhat Messy Journey to Purpose, Peace and Joy. We spoke about the power of intent, her spiritual history, her intent to harness …
Dr. Mills is a clinical researcher with a focus on integrative medicine and spiritual practice. A former president of the American Psychosomatic Medicine Society and editor of several professional journals, he has published more than 300 manuscripts and book chapters. He is a professor at the University of California, San Diego, where he heads several …
Dr. Sawyer is professor of religion and philosophy at the Maine College of Art and a popular lecturer at such venues as the Esalen Institute and Kripalu. The author of critically acclaimed biographies of Aldous Huxley and Huston Smith, he is an expert in theories related to the “perennial philosophy,” the view that there is …
Yogacharya is the Spiritual Director of the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment in San Jose CA. Ordained to teach by Roy Eugene Davis, a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda, she is the author of several books, a frequent speaker at conferences worldwide, a leader of service projects and host of The Yoga Hour on the Unity …
Rick was trained as a Transcendental Meditation teacher by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1970, and served in that capacity for 25 years, teaching TM to hundreds of people, lecturing around the world, helping to train teachers, and serving in other capacities. He created Buddha at the Gas Pump in 2009 and has since interviewed over …
Dr. Chapple is a professor of Indic and Comparative Theology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. The author of numerous academic articles and books, he has taught Sanskrit, Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism, and in 2013 established the Master of Arts in Yoga Studies program. We spoke about his own spiritual history, his distinguished academic …
Dr. Walsh is a professor of psychiatry, philosophy, and anthropology at the University of California at Irvine. Since the 1970s, his research and writings have spanned a myriad of subjects related to psychological wellbeing, religion and spirituality. He is deeply immersed in contemplative practices as a student, researcher, and teacher. We spoke of his work, …
Dr. Tart is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Davis, and is renowned for his research on consciousness and parapsychology. One of the founders of transpersonal psychology, he is the author of many books, including Altered States of Consciousness and Transpersonal Psychologies. His most recent book is The End of Materialism. We …
Dr. Finley lived as a monk at the cloistered Trappist monastery of the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky, where the world-renowned monk and author, Thomas Merton, was his spiritual director. Jim leads retreats and workshops throughout the United States and Canada, attracting men and women from all religious traditions who seek to live a contemplative …
Prudence, the inspiration for the Beatles’ “Dear Prudence,” was raised Catholic and privileged, with parents and a sister (Mia) who were Hollywood royalty. Like many in the generation that came of age in the uproarious Sixties, she transitioned from drugs to spirituality, spending time with yoga master Swami Satchidananda then learning Transcendental Meditation and studying with Maharishi Mahesh …
Rabbi Rami is an ordained rabbi who describes himself as “a freelance theologian making my living writing and talking.” A boundary crosser, he draws from all the world’s spiritual traditions, and his path has gone through Zen and Vedanta Hinduism in addition to his ancestral Judaism. The most recent of his many books is Perennial …
Dr. Rita Sherma is Associate Professor of Dharma Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA, and Director of GTU’s Hindu Studies Initiative. A distinguished scholar and prolific writer, her academic specialties include Hindu Theology and Ethics, Science and Religions, Women and Hindu Goddess Studies and Comparative Theology. We spoke of many topics around …
Dr. Prendergast is a psychotherapist with a decades-long commitment to spiritual growth as a practitioner and teacher. We spoke about his new book, In Touch: How to Tune in to the Inner Guidance of Your Body and Trust Yourself, the leading nondual teachers who influenced his path and his synthesis of psychological insights and spiritual …
Dr. Ursic is professor of world religions at Mesa Community College near Phoenix. A former management consultant, she switched careers and earned a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Arizona State. Her recently published book reflects her academic interests: Women, Ritual, and Power: Placing Female Imagery of God in Christian Worship. We spoke about women in religion, …
Pandit Dasa is an author, meditation teacher, inspirational speaker, and Mindful Leadership Expert. A former monk in the International Society of Krishna Consciousness, he has conducted workshops at Google, IBM, JPMorgan Chase, Citi, and other major institutions, and has presented at numerous prestigious conferences. Pandit has been featured on PBS and NPR and in the …
John has been Executive Director of the International Association of Yoga Therapists since 2003 and is dedicated to the development of Yoga Therapy as a discipline. We spoke about IAYT’s goals and the challenges of integrating yoga into modern healthcare while preserving its classic mental, emotional and spiritual goals. Learn more about John Kepner here: www.iayt.org Phil …
Dr. Soni is Dean of Religious Life at the University of Southern California, the first Hindu to hold that position at an American university. With a Ph.D. in Religious Studies, he is also an adjunct professor at USC and the author of Natural Mystics: The Prophetic Lives of Bob Marley and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. …
Julie is a Hollywood actress turned yoga teacher, yoga therapist and licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Associate Director of Mental Health at Loyola Marymount University’s Yoga Therapy Rx program, she helps train yoga therapists and works with private clients. We spoke about her transition from acting to healing, her emphasis on synthesis and integration and …
Sister Vrajaprana is a nun at the Vedanta Society of Southern California’s Sarada Convent (the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda lineage). A spiritual activist, public speaker and writer, her books include Vedanta: A Simple Introduction. We spoke about her calling to the monastic life as a young woman, her lineage and the relevance of Vedanta philosophy in today’s world. …