Some of my favorite teachers, thinkers, artists, and voices who inspire me and whose work shines light into the world. Enjoy!
SANSKRIT CHANTING
To truly learn and study Sanskrit chanting, study with a teacher
is necessary. However, there are many beautiful audio options
for listening …
Pilgrimage of Sound by T.K.V. Desikachar
Mantra Mala by T.K.V. Desikachar & Mekhala Desikachar
Patanjali’s Yogasutra (A Chanting Guide in the Tradition of T. Krishnamacharya)
by T.K.V. Desikachar
Learn to Chant Yoga Invocations by Manorama
Fire in the Heart by Surya & Tias Little
The Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in India has created apps to help students study vedic chanting:
Patanjali’s Yogasutra
Mantra Mala
Learn Vedic Chanting
Taittiriyam
and Caprina Brown is a fabulous Sanskrit chanting teacher in Minneapolis.
SPIRITUAL + DEVOTIONAL MUSIC
Ragani
I particularly love her albums Best of Both Worlds and Ancient Spirit.
If you can see her in person – do!
Krishna Das
My favorite album is Pilgrim Heart
Karnamrita Dasi
Prayers by Women
Steve Gorn
I love his album Luminous Ragas
Yoga Chants of India by Sivananda Vedanta Centres
Songs of Kuan Yin by Various Artists / Sounds True
Sacred Tibetan Chant by The Monks of the Sherab Ling Monastary
Gregorian Chant
“Happiness Is …” by Yungchen Lhamo
“Returning” by Jennifer Berezan
“Earthsong” by James Asher
“Kothbiro” by Ayub Oganda
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” by Melinda Doolittle
“Ella’s Song” by Sweet Honey in the Rock
“Hand in Hand” by Jayanthi Kyle
“Glory” (from the Motion Picture Selma) by Common & John Legend
TEACHERS + TEXTS
Ram Dass
I love hearing Ram Dass deliver his teachings in his own voice, and think his audiobooks are incredibly powerful. My favorite is Love, Service, Devotion, and the Ultimate Surrender: Ram Dass on the Bhagavad Gita. I can usually find this at the public library.
Study of the Chandi Path, The Mahabharata, and Patañjali’s Yogasutra
I highly recommend studying these texts with a teacher. I’m not sure that just reading them on my own would have had the same impact as study and transmission has had on my mind and heart. That said, my preferred translations are Chandi Path by Swami Satyananda Saraswati; The Mahabharata by Kamala Subramaniam, and Liberating Isolation: The Yogasutra of Patañjali by Frans Moors, along with Mr. Desikachar’s English translation of the Yogasutras in the back of his book Heart of Yoga.
In addition, Chase Bossart of the Yoga Well Institute leads wonderful group study of the Bhagavad Gita and the Yogasutra online.
INNER WORK
The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown
Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life by Byron Katie
Anger and No Mud, No Lotus by Thich Nhat Hanh
When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chödrön
Unconditional Forgiveness by Mary Hayes Grieco
Heart Thoughts: A Treasury of Wisdom by Louise L. Hay
Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life by Thomas Moore
Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach
Tara also has a wonderful podcast with weekly dharma talks and guided meditations.
BODY POSITIVITY
Every Body Yoga: Let Go of Fear, Get on the Mat, Love Your Body by Jessamyn Stanley
Curvy Yoga by Anna Guest-Jelly
Yoga Rising by Melanie C. Klein
Yoga and Body Image by Melanie Klein and Anna Guest-Jelly
Amber Karnes, Body Positive Yoga
Jessamyn Stanley, Yoga for All Bodies
“The Yoga and Body Image Coalition is committed to body love by developing, promoting and supporting yoga that is accessible, body positive and reflects the full range of human diversity. Our mission not only advocates yoga as an essential tool in personal transformation, from the inside out, but also includes a critical social justice component by challenging industry leaders and media creators to expand their vision of what a yogi looks like.” —Yoga and Body Image Coalition
YOGA PHILOSOPHY
Heart of Yoga by T.K.V. Desikachar
The Yamas and Niyamas: Exploring Yoga’s Ethical Practice by Deborah Adele
Yoga and The Quest for the True Self by Stephen Cope
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: A Visual Meditation by Melissa Townsend
The Wisdom of Yoga: A Seeker’s Guide to Extraordinary Living by Stephen Cope
YOGA + IBPOC
Maya Breuer, Santosha School of Yoga
Jessamine Stanley, Yoga for All Bodies
Faith Hunter, Spiritually Fly Yoga
Monique Schubert, Om Society Yoga
Dana Smith, Spiritual Essence Yoga
Dianne Bondy, Dianne Bondy Yoga
Chara Caruthers, Bliss, Body and Soul Yoga
Octavia Raheem, Sacred Chill West
Jana Long, Power of One Yoga Center
Susanna Barkataki, Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute
POC Yoga + Monthly Potlucks at One Yoga Studio in Minneapolis
Black Girl in OM
Website, blog and podcast whose mission is to “create space for women of color to breathe easy”
Article, “Black Yogis Exist and Yes, We Matter” by Thea Monyee
Article, “Can Yoga Help Heal Racial Trauma?” by Crystal Duan
Video: The Uncommon Yogi: A History of Blacks and Yoga in the U.S. by Jana Long
“This short documentary provides an historical view of how the practice of yoga moved from the East to the West and to the black yoga teachers and practitioners who offer and share this ancient healing system in black and other communities in the United States.”
HEALING JUSTICE
A collective of people of color and indigenous, of queer and trans practitioners and healers. We believe that our purpose is to heal and be healed, to open space for the healing in justice and the justice in healing. Our intention is to bring forward marginalized and isolated healing practices, wisdoms, healers and practitioners. We are committed to doing local work, feeling a commitment to the land we practice on.
Seed, Root + Bloom is a hood collective gathering to weave healing + justice for our indigenous and african lineages. We weave together ancestor folk medicine from turtle island, black communities, and traditions from the diasporas in service of remembering the sacredness of our communities, and ourselves.
Yoga as a Peace Practice is the first national initiative of the Black Yoga Teachers Alliance. It began in response to a growing epidemic of violence in our communities, in particular, as a direct response toTrayvon Martin’s tragic death in 2012. Yoga as a Peace Practice is a curriculum designed to train yoga teachers, civic and social workers, and community members, to facilitate, create and introduce contemplative practices, rooted in the philosophical tenets of the niyamas, restorative and kriya yoga and culturally relevant themes, and to offer them in ways that are accessible to individuals and communities where trauma from violence exists. The curriculum is the collaboration of yoga teachers Maya Breuer, Jana Long and Dr. Gail Parker.
A free online conversation series created and hosted by Susanna Barkataki, speaker, author, teacher trainer, and yoga culture advocate. “The purpose of this summit is to highlight the importance of diversity in Western yoga spaces and explore how we can honor rather than appropriate yoga while inspiring learning, growth, reflection and action.”
TRAUMA
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
by Bessel van der Kolk M.D.
“Mind Body Solutions is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) with a mission to transform trauma, loss and disability into hope and potential by awakening the connection between mind and body. We’re best known for adapting yoga for persons living with disabilities. Through our Opening Yoga to Everyone program, we offer adaptive yoga instruction in the Twin Cities area and teacher training for yoga teachers from around the world.” —Mind Body Solutions
RETREAT
Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat, Paradise Island, Bahamas
The kindest gift I have ever given myself is time here, alone.
The Christine Center, Willard, Wisconsin
MEDITATION
Meditation for the Love of It by Sally Kempton
Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn
POETRY
Rabindranath Tagore
A Year With Rumi: Daily Readings by Rumi (Translated by Coleman Barks)
Maya Angelou
Emily Dickenson
Hafez
A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver
Salt by Nayyirah Waheed
Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
Earth Prayers from Around the World edited by Elizabeth Roberts and Elias Amidon
Ayurveda
Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution by Dr. Robert Svoboda
The Science of Self-Healing and Ayurvedic Cooking for Self-Healing by Dr. Vasant Lad
Eat, Taste, Heal by Thomas Yarema
Eat Like You Love Yourself, by Chara Caruthers
Sukha Wellness
Elizabeth Cunningham Bossart is a teacher of mine who offers wonderful workshops and classes on ayurveda that focus on practical application for daily life.
My Ayurvedic Kitchen
Website and food blog of the talented Akshaya Chinapa-Reddy, whose recipes are always delicious, and from whom I have learned so much about ayurvedic cooking!
Banyan Botanicals
This website has many nice articles and introductory information for those just beginning to explore ayurveda. However, I definitely do not recommend buying any herbs or supplements unless they have been recommended to you by your ayurvedic practitioner.
SPIRITUALITY, RESILIENCE, HEALING,
AND HUMANITY
Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence by Matthew Sanford
Dakini Power: Twelve Extraordinary Women Shaping the Transmission of Tibetan Buddhism in the West by Michaela Haas
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Krishnamacharya: His Life and Teachings by A.G. Mohan
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton
The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
Night by Elie Weisel
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton
Podcast: Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations
CREATIVITY
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
YOGA THERAPY
The Yoga Well Institute is an organization dedicated to the practice of yoga as taught by Śri Krishnamacharya and Mr. Desikachar in all of its forms. We especially emphasize the importance of maintaining a daily, personal practice that is guided by an experienced mentor. All of our teachers have been studying and applying this approach to yoga for many years and have their own daily practices that are guided by their mentor.
International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT)
The IAYT supports research and education in yoga and yoga therapy and serves as a membership-based, professional organization for yoga teachers and therapists worldwide.
Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram, Chennai, India
Established by T.K.V. Desikachar in 1976 as a non-profit yoga therapy center, KYM is among the premier centres of yoga and yoga therapy in India. Under his guidance it has developed into an important yoga teaching and therapy center that teaches students and patients from India and all over the world.
Informative website dedicated to providing information about yoga therapy—what it is, how it helps, who it benefits, latest research, information for health care providers, and more.
Article, “The Distinction Between a Yoga Class and a Yoga Therapy Session” by Gary Kraftsow
