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NYCYogaStudioFinder New York yoga centers. OMagain.com’s own listing, currently limited to studios in Manhattan.
YogaFinder Search by country, state, etc., to find yoga teachers & centers worldwide.
YogaDork Blog chock full of juicy goings-on.
YogaPassBook
Here one may purchase a booklet containing passes for free classes at a long list
of yoga & Pilates studios throughout New York City (and several
other major US cities). Coupons expire at the end of the calendar year,
but most are good for two or more visits. Could potentially
save you lots of money.
YogaPeeps
“…a place online where yogis and yoginis can listen to their peeps
(people)” Site founder Lara Cestone interviews renowned yoga
instructors and offers the audio as mp3 files also available by
podcasting.
YogaJournal True,
Yoga Journal has changed hands and editors repeatedly over the years,
and has become more and more commercial and mainstream (as has yoga on
the whole). And true, there is more “fluff.” But perhaps one need not
go so far as to call it— as did one critic— “insidious” ( The Hostile New Age Takeover of Yoga).
This magazine still has much of value, especially for the relative
beginner, and their website certainly has a wealth of information. They
offer several free email newsletters, a searchable archive of past
articles, and a Pose Finder offering detailed advice on yoga asanas.
YogaWorkshop
Website of Richard Freeman, masterful practitioner and teacher of
Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga. The site is primarily dedicated to goings-on at
his yoga studio in Boulder, Colorado, but also includes notes on
postures, articles, and excellent interpretations of several important
Sanskrit chants such as the invocation commonly chanted before practice
by ashtanga vinyasa practitioners ( Vande gurunam…). At the Store,
one may purchase Richard’s practice DVDs, and a number of excellent
recorded lectures, including the The Yoga Matrix, a 6-CD set on yoga
philosophy that is unparalled as an introduction for beginners and
equally fascinating and inspiring for experienced yogis. Not to
miss: the audio archives on the YW blog, with recordings from Richard’s Sunday Talks series.
e-Sutra Blog hosted by Leslie Kaminoff, author of the bestselling 
book Yoga Anatomy and founder-director of The Breathing
Project, a nonprofit studio in Manhattan. Never afraid to post something that will stir up a healthy
discourse, he has with this blog been “making waves in the yoga
community since 1998.” Kaminoff
is an anatomy teacher who has specialized particularly in the inner
workings of the breath. He is also an amazing bodyworker and a teacher
of yoga in the tradition of T.K.V. Desikachar. Nowadays Kaminoff
prefers to call himself a “yoga educator.” Read why, in his article in the International Journal of Yoga Therapy: I’m Not a Yoga Therapist Anymore!
Easwaran
Website of the Blue Mountain Center for Meditation and of Nilgiri
Press, legacies of the late Eknath Easwaran, who wrote beautiful
English translations and commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita
and the principal Upanishads. Easwaran’s writings drew upon not just
Hinduism and Buddhism, but also Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc.
Through this site, one can subscribe to the daily email newsletter Thought for the Day, with inspirational quotes and commentary.
GoodGuide Assess the ecological impact of the products you buy (or used to buy). Daniel Goleman, author of the bestselling book Emotional Intelligence, and more recently Ecological Intelligence, is on a mission to get as many people as possible to use this amazing new website.
VegGuide
International listing of vegan, vegetarian and veg/vegan-friendly
eateries, searchable by region, town, zipcode, address. TheMeatrix Food for thought: a cartoon made for the internet, a disturbing critique of industialized agriculture.
ACI-LA The Asian Classics Institute of Los Angeles: Here Lama Marut (Brian K. Smith) has a truly enormous trove of free “Downloadable Teachings” in the form of readings (pdf files) and audio (mp3 files), on many topics: Yoga Philosophy, the Sanskrit language, Mahayana Buddhist teachings on Happiness, Compassion, Death, Dharma, etc., etc. Also in-depth study of major texts like the Yoga Sutra and the Bhagavad Gita.
ExoticIndia See this archive of articles/newsletters for in-depth explorations of ancient Indian mythology, arts and philosophy. Here’s
a very nice recent article about the many names of Krishna; great for
anyone who has ever been baffled by the preponderence of epithets for
the divine, in the Gita as elsewhere.
Souljerky
Here are said to be “dried chunks of soul for you to chew on”— brought
to you by the same community of yogis that offers up the
phenomenal periodical Namarupa.
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Classical yoga texts & commentary
Yoga Sutra translations
The Online Companion to “The Yoga-Sûtra Of Patañjali: A New Translation With Commentary” Chip
Hartranft’s translation, companion to his book on the Yoga Sutra,
published 2003 by Shambhala Classics. NOTE: At the bottom of the page,
click on Sanskrit-English Translation (PDF) in order to follow
the link to a pdf file* which gives the sutras in the Sanskrit
(Devanagari font), as well as in phonetic translation, and in the
English, interpretated both line-by-line and word-for-word. (*Adobe
software is required to read a pdf file; this can be downloaded for
free on the internet.) If your computer and browser are already ready
to handle a pdf, you may take a shortcut to this document, here.
P.N. Mukerji translation of the Yoga Sutras Appendix F from “Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali,” published in 1983 by SUNY
Press. This link leads to a page with just the aphorisms in English
translation by P.N. Mukerji. The full book is a widely respected
scholarly reference, as it contains, line for line, the original
Sanskrit (Devanagari) of both the Sutra and the classical Yoga Bhasya
(commentary traditionally attributed to the ancient sage Vyasa). Each line is then given in English translation, followed by extensive notes (rendered in English) given to Mukerji by his teacher
Swami Hariharananda Aranya, head of the Kapil Math (Kapila Monastery) of Madhupur, Bihar, India. The Vyasa commentary is widely considered essential to correctly interpreting the sutras.
Extensive collections
Advaita Vedanta Library If you are searching online for
English translations of ancient Sanskrit texts, you may find many
directories to be disorganized and often also out-of-date, with “dead
links.” This collection, however, consists of a refreshingly concise
single page that links to excellent translations of a vast body of
works.
Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda. Also
available as a hardcover set, a whole shelf full of volumes, this
compilation is now available, free of charge, on the internet. Includes
Vivekananda’s writings as well as transcriptions of his talks,
given mainly in England, the U.S. and India. This one-man embassy for
Indian culture began globetrotting in the 1890s, but his message of
unity,hope and peace speaks to us as clearly today as ever. Vivekananda
had an extraordinary ability to quote at will, and translate to
English, passages in Sanskrit — from e.g., the Bhagavad Gita, the
Upanishads, and Patanjali, Ramanuja, Shankara, etc.— and to frame them
in such context as to make them more readily grasped by Western
audiences.
Anyone interested in very in-depth discussion of questions such as just
how objective Vivekananda could be in his presentation of Indian
philosophy (as if anyone could ever really claim objectivity), may well
enjoy the Kelamuni
blog (“Explorations in neo-vedanta and perennialism: informal essays
and book reviews examining basic themes and ideas in neo-vedanta,
perennialism, and transpersonal theory.”)
4 translations of the Bhagavad Gita
Eknath Easwaran translation. Nilgiri Press, 1985 (softcover). Also in hardcover
from Shambhala Publications. Easwaran’s Gita is an excellent
introduction to this text, an eminently readable version. He does not
break down the text line by line, however he does discuss certain word
choices he has made, in his beautiful 45-page-long introduction, which
itself alone is priceless. Each chapter is also preceded by an
insightful synopsis and commentary. Excerpt: Chapter 12.
Graham M. Schweig translation. Harper Collins, 2007. Available as hardcover or e-book. When I read Schweig’s recent article in Namarupa,
I knew I would have to go out right away and buy his new translation of
the Bhagavad Gita. He has been “contemplating its verses forover
thirty-eight years,” and it shows. In this elegant rendering, the full
Sanskrit text is presented in English transliteration as an appendix,
and the text is given in verse with excellent footnotes.
Stephen Mitchell translation.
Harmony Books, 2000. A beautiful, poetic rendering, although without
commentary or any discussion of various possible interpretations of the
original Sanskrit. Excerpt: Chapter 9. See also: Stephen Mitchell interview
on NPR regarding his process of translating the Gita. Mitchell is
famous for his eloquent English translations of the Tao Te Ching, of
Rainer Maria Rilke and of the book of Genesis, among other
classics.
Winthrop Sargeant translation.
Hardcover: Doubleday, 1979. Softcover: SUNY Press, 1994. Yoga Journal’s
reviewer said, “If you don’t know Sanskrit but you still want to come
to grips with the Gita in its original language, then this is the
version for you… every word is analyzed for its grammatical form and
given a range of possible English equivalents. If you work with a verse
for a while, you begin to see some of the nuances and possible
alternative meanings present in the original—even if you don’t know
Sanskrit.” Says a reviewer on Amazon, “…since Sargeant’s edition has
a linguistic orientation, one will have to look elsewhere for a
‘philosophic’ commentary.”
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Indra Devi, on his 100th birthday in 1989.
T.K.V. Desikachar & family T.
Krishnamacharya’s son and longstanding student, T.K.V. Desikachar
founded the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (KYM) in Chennai, India, in
1976. This school has emphasized that yoga practice must never be
taught with a “one size fits all” approach, emphasizing the adaptation
of yoga practice to one’s individual abilities and condition, and the
use of yoga as a form of therapy. T.K.V. Desikachar has authored of a
number of books, including The Heart of Yoga. Although little
involved in teaching at the KYM of late, he occasionally tours and
offers workshops around the world, as do both his wife Menaka and their
son Kausthub.
Srivatsa Ramaswami Author of The Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga and other books based on more than three decades of private study with T. Krishnamacharya, Ramaswami
aims to teach yoga much as it was taught to him by the master. This, he
says, has been widely done only in more fragmented form, even by other
notable teachers who studied under the same guru.
Ramaswami emphasizes slow, steady movements and long breaths— so much
so that his Vinyasa Krama approach can make some of what is taught
internationally as vinyasa yoga, look a bit like like aerobics by
comparison. Ramaswami has relocated to the U.S. from Chennai, and he
frequently tours in several states, offering workshops and teacher
trainings. See Ramaswami’s recent article in Namarupa: My Studies With Sri Krishnamacharya.
A.G. Mohan & family A family of yogis whose work centers around a therapeutic approach
where individual consultations are held to prescribe custom-tailored
asana sequences, pranayama exercises, etc., to suit one’s needs and
constitution. The Mohans have thoroughly integrated the practice of
yoga with traditional Ayurvedic healing as well as Western medicine.
A.G Mohan studied with Krishnamacharya for eighteen years and is the
author of Yoga for Body, Breath and Mind and of Yoga Therapy: Yoga and Ayurveda for Health and Fitness.
He co-teaches with his wife Indra Mohan, who was one of the few people
to receive a post-graduate diploma in Yoga from Krishnamacharya, and
their son Ganesh, a U.S.-trained M.D. and Indian-trained Ayurvedic
physician. Daughter Nitya teaches yoga in Singapore, while the rest of
the family live and teach in Chennai, India. They occasionally offer
workshops and teacher trainings in the United States.
K. Pattabhi Jois & family Having
studied with Krishnamacharya at an early age, K. Pattabhi Jois (1915-2009) was
appointed by the Maharaj of Mysore to teach yoga at the Sanskrit
College. Later he founded the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in
Mysore, India, which today draws large numbers of devoted adepts from
around the globe. Jois’s Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga method draws its name
from the concept of ashtanga
that hails from from the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, the ancient Sanskrit
text that is the primary reference for the darshan of yoga. Thus when
people nowadays say “ashtanga yoga” it is only clear depending on
context, or with some explanation, whether one is thereby referring to
Jois’ particular approach to vinyasa yoga, or to the ashtanga
outlined by Patanjali over two millenia ago. Jois’ Ashtanga is known
for its long and rigorous sequences of postures, which typically
require many years of practice and which are intended to be
practiced six days a week, except on full- and half-moon days.
Known for the axiom, “99% practice – 1% theory,” Pattabhi Jois just passed away (May 18, 2009). His tradition is carried on by ashtanga vinyasa teachers around the globe, including his son Manju Jois, his daughter Saraswathi Rangaswami and his grandson Sharath Rangaswami.
B.K.S. Iyengar & family A
student of Krishnamacharya from age 16 to 18, Iyengar would would later
become brother-in-law to his guru; Krishnamacharya was married to his
sister. Though he regrets not having studied at greater length directly
under his guru, he says that because he spoke some English,
Krishnamacharya urged him to leave Mysore at this early age in order to
teach and spread the knowledge of yoga. And so he did, with great
success. He went on to develop his own methodology which is now taught
as “Iyengar Yoga” all around the world. Especially after the
publication, in 1966, of his classic book Light On Yoga,
Iyengar sparked much interest in yoga and garnered an international
following. His most notable contributions have been very detailed
attention to, and instruction in, alignment in asana practice,
and pioneering work in modifications of postures for the sick and
disabled, as well as in developing props, such as the
now-ubiquitous yoga blocks, straps, bolsters, “rope walls,” etc. Many
yoga therapists around the world favor his techniques. Now in his
nineties, Iyengar still teaches at his Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga
Institute in Pune, India, along with his daughter Geeta and son
Prashant.
Indra Devi Russian-born
Eugenie Peterson (1899-2002) later took the name Indra Devi. Having
fled to Germany during the Revolution, she was drawn to Indian thought
from a young age. She first traveled to India in 1927, and settled down
there for some 12 years. In 1937, she became the first woman— and, some
say, the first Westerner— to study yoga with T. Krishnamacharya. During
this period in India, Indra Devi met and married a Czech diplomat. When
he was transferred to China in 1939, she went on to open a yoga school
in Shanghai. After the second World War, she continued her study of
yoga in the Himalayas. Following her husband’s death, she moved to the
United States and opened a yoga studio in Hollywood. In 1960, Indra
Devi traveled to the Soviet Union and convinced the Kremlin to abolish
the USSR’s prohibitions on yoga practices. In 1985, she moved to to
Argentina and founded the Indra Devi Foundation, which continues to
foster the spreading of yoga throughout Central and South America. She
also traveled and taught workshops around the U.S. and Europe, and
wrote a number of books, including the posthemously released Yoga for You. Indra Devi continued with her yoga asana practice past the age of 100.
Related articles, etc.
3 Gurus, 48 Questions. (pdf file) From the periodical Namarupa: the same questions were put to Desikachar, Iyengar and Jois, about their experiences studying with Krishnamacharya.
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