Yasodhara Ashram Blog & Podcast
The Garden, the Practice, the Way – One Taste
Standing in the garden, lulled by the hum of insects intent on collecting nectar while they still can, I’m enjoying the soft warmth of an autumn sun. The season has clearly shifted from languid long days of summer to cool … Read more »
Meaningful Lives Episode 2
In this episode Swami Lalitananda interviews Candace Batycki, a conservation advocate for more than 30 years, specializing in protecting ecosystems for threatened and endangered wildlife, and caribou in particular. She served as the BC and Yukon Program Director for the … Read more »
Animation & Salvation – Ego Reconstitution & Redemption
While weeding the carrots last week I was amazed at the tenacity of hoary alyssum, and yet I am equally as perplexed by the intricate layers of my ego, after some serious dismantling. When I awoke paralyzed in ICU after … Read more »
Podcast #5
In this episode Katie Taher interviews Swami Sivananda, long-time Ashram teacher and Swami Radha’s personal driver, student and friend. He talks about searching for a teacher to clarify the teachings from the east and through a flyer for a workshop … Read more »
Feather from Sue – Lightening the Weight of Grief
Surprises come in many guises. Sometimes even shocking the nervous system with disbelief — no this can’t be true, I only saw her 3 months ago and she was fine then…. Reality takes many different forms. Could this be true? … Read more »
Meaningful Lives Podcast Episode 1
Welcome to our new podcast series hosted by Swami Lalitananda, Meaningful Lives. Over the next months, she will be talking with people from diverse backgrounds who are driven by an inner calling and give back to life in various rich … Read more »
Bridging Traditions—First Nations Meets Yoga
I have been thinking about the question of who am I? When I first came to the Ashram, I was looking for something better. I didn’t know anything about yoga. I began to relearn a lot of things and this … Read more »
Podcast #4
Katie Taher sits down with Devi and discusses her time with Swami Radha and the theme of commitment. Devi reflects on how Swami Radha challenged her and was able to break down her defenses – knowing exactly what she needed. … Read more »
The Trampled Flower Resurrection: A Story of Healing
Prologue: Once upon a time there was a gentle flower who came to be in an endless green meadow by a shimmering river between two majestic mountains. Though the flower was very beautiful, it had particularly delicate petals that could … Read more »
Podcast #3
Our third podcast is an insightful conversation hosted by Katie Taher, this time with long time Yasodhara Yoga teacher Tara Huston. In the 70s, Tara and several other women (names you will know) started a women’s centre in Lethbridge, Alberta. … Read more »
Deconstructing and Rebuilding Inner and Outer Worlds
The snow capped mountains greet me today, inviting a call to stillness. As I look upwards to the peaks, I have a sense of lifting above the day-to-day of Ashram life—to a place that brings a bigger perspective. A place … Read more »
Podcast #2
Our second podcast is another wonderful conversation hosted by Katie Taher, this time with senior Ashram teacher Swami Satyananda. They discuss Swami Satyananda’s beginnings at the Ashram and her interactions with Swami Radha who she remembers as a fierce yet … Read more »
The Gift of Madness: offering compassion in a crazy world
“Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift.” -“The Uses of Sorrow” by Mary Oliver It was a dreary June evening in Sudbury, Ontario, and … Read more »
Podcast #1
We are excited to launch our new Yasodhara Ashram Podcast for our 60th year! Today we hear from Swami Jyotihananda discuss her time with a great woman – Swami Radha. We have been considering this idea for sometime now but … Read more »
Where Do You Go In A Crisis?
This spring, my wife Molly and I are moving back to the Ashram. It’s been a long time coming and I feel like I am holding my breath waiting. We plan to go for a year but for me, it’s … Read more »
The Power of Receiving and Offering Light
This winter morning I chant my mantra in darkness lit only by a small altar light reflecting on the image of Tara, bodhisattva of compassion. Her golden body shines in the intricate inner heaven of the shrine. She smiles a … Read more »