K. Michael Ferranti along side Hindu Saddhus

About K. Michael Ferranti: A medically trained professional, integrating both eastern and western medical traditions for over a decade. A licensed allopathic, Physician Associate/Assistant for the past 15 years, after many years of practice, K. Michael realized that he wanted to concentrate on the inner healing of his patients and felt a strong link between the “diseased” physical body with the imbalances of the mind and spiritual bodies. There was a symbiotic relationship between them. So, being frustrated with the restrictions of western medicine, K. Michael was in search of a real immersive, traditional Ayurvedic program in the US. This lead him to The Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, in Lenox, Massachusetts. He attended the first class of The Kripalu School of Ayurveda, an 18 month comprehensive Ayurvedic Medical training. Highlights of his Ayurvedic gurukula education included being taught by great Ayurvedic vidyas (Ayurvedic teachers) such as Dr. Vasant Lad, Dr. John Douillard, Dr. Robert Svoboda, Dr. Shekar Annambhotla, Dr. Jay Apte, and Dr. Sunil Joshi.

In March 2007, K. Michael studied in India with world renowned Ayurvedic Physician, Dr. Partap Chauhan at Jiva Ayurvedic Institute, completing course work on ‘Ayurveda and Incurable Diseases.’ At the Jiva Institute, he learned the interconnection between the body, mind, and spirit and how they affect the disease process. Concentrating on the emotional and spiritual bodies to heal the physical body, “Dr.Chauhan taught us the ways to heal “chronic, incurable diseases”, focusing on various Ayurvedic healing modalities, such as herbal preparations, lifestyle and diet recommendations, herbalized massage, panchakarma (detoxifying and cleansing treatments), yogic and breathing techniques, and developing a connection to your spiritual body”.

His introduction to a life of spiritual growth and enlightenment started as a very young child. Thanks to his parents, he was initiated with a mantra into the Transcendental Meditation (TM) movement by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi at age 6. Then when he was a young adult, K. Michael volunteered as a missionary in Russia, as he was invited there by the Patriarch of Moscow. Travelling around Russia, he taught the New Testament, in small villages where religion was forbidden by the Communist government. “My heart was awakened while witnessing these suppressed people with such an eagerness to have spirituality in their bleak lives. The year was 1991, I witnessed the fall of Communism. This experience was paramount to my spiritual journey. Studying the Bhagavad-Gita and being Krishna conscious at a young age, spiritual growth through various Vedic texts, Buddhist Eastern thought, and Christian mysticism became central to my life. Since I was young, I was always in search of my “truth” and found solace in finding it through the development of my spiritual body, knowing I needed to detach from the attachment of the material world.”

Receiving Darsan from Amma Ji

LM: Western medicine generally relies on established scientific authority. What is the source of authority in Ayurveda?

KMF: Ayurveda, being the oldest, most traditional form of “medicine” as we know it today, relies on our instinctual insight to heal ourselves with the gifts of Mother Earth, that have been used for centuries and taught to many other cultures and civilizations by the Indians. If one consciously trusts in the power of self-healing and surrenders the power over to themselves to heal, then the healing process will naturally start the transformational process of homeostasis (bringing the body to a healthy state). The body does not like being sick, injured, imbalanced, or in pain. The plant kingdom that Mother Earth has blessed us with to sustain life, has a vibrational healing energy, that cannot be duplicated by a “lab tested” small white pill, produced in a cold lab somewhere, or one in which Western culture has become addicted to. Especially when it comes to herbal therapies, not only do the herbs receive the energy of the Mother Earth and the Sun feeding it, but the people harvesting and preparing the herbs are praying over the herbs, infusing them with a lot of heart grounded loving energy, to maximize their healing effect, even before being ingested. Therefore, the source of authority in Ayurveda is [Read more →]

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In the nonstop, hectic world we live in, meditation can often simplify our lives and help us be more in the flow. But it’s not always that easy to get started. When you begin to meditate, don’t give up, with time and practice, you will experience a real sense of peace and joy.

There is many ways people meditate, but we’ve gone ahead and listed our Top 10 Tips here:

1. Breathing: Slow down and become conscious of your breathing. Focus on carefully regulating your breathing, as this greatly benefits your meditation. I’ve heard many yoga masters say that when we meditate, our breath should be so gentle that if someone placed a feather by our mouth it would barely move.
2. Stop Your Mind and all its Thoughts: Easier said than done, I know. But this is truly the essence of meditation. If we can learn to stop our mind from pursuing endless thoughts, as Sri Chinmoy says, then we will be able to enter into real meditation.
3. Mantra: Using a mantra can be of great help in quieteing the noise of the mind. A mantra is simply a sacred word or phrase repeated many times. By repeating a mantra we calm the mind and also make it single focused. After chanting a mantra, meditation will be easie
4. Meditation Shrine: Create a sacred space for meditation. It can be a small corner of a room we use only for meditation. Over time we will find this space builds up a meditative consciousness helpful to our meditation.
5. Regularity: Like many other activities, the more we practice meditation, the better we will become. If we meditate sincerely everyday, then we will find that our capacity to meditate increases. The key is consistency!
6. Spiritual Heart: As we calm the mind, we should try to feel our whole sense of awareness is leaving the mind and entering the heart. If we are able to meditate in the heart this way, we will identify with the expansive and divine qualities the spiritual heart embodies.
7. Concentration: In order to meditate, we need to master the art of concentration — focusing on only one thing at a time.
8. Inspiration: Meditation should be viewed as a lifelong process of self–discovery. It is important to try and maintain our enthusiasm and inspiration for meditation.
9. Keep the Faith: Stay with it, making progress is not always immediately obvious.
10. Intensity. Meditation doesn’t just mean sitting down quietly for a few minutes. If we have real eagerness to experience the inner rewards of meditation, we will be rewarded with Peace of Mind.

GIVE IT A GO

…Open your eyes after, you feel more relaxed and centered.

1) Whatever your dosha, awaken early and start the day by meditating. (Sit in bed or on a couch for a moment and be grateful for the day to come).

2) Next, to help get things moving along and flush your gastrointestinal tract and kidneys, drink a fresh glass of water. (For the best results, the water will have been resting in a copper pot overnight.)

3) Splash your face a few times with cold water, then wash your eyes with cool water and gently massage them. Blink your eyes 7 times and then give them a bit of an early morning work-out. Rotate them in both directions, side to side, up and down, even diagonally if you can manage it. (This will have you alert and buzzing in [Read more →]

Specifically designed for slip prevention during yoga practice, the 100% silicone eco nubs, (healthy for mother earth), grip the mat or carpet, keeping your hands and feet from slipping mid-stretch.

These yoga towels are super absorbent, and put a hygenic layer between you and the yoga mat, (or any exercise equipment). Use them on the other side too, to stimulate pressure points on hands and feet.

To prolong the life of the towel, be sure to machine wash in cold water and tumble dry on a delicate (cool) cycle.
Size: 24″x 64″, 17″x 26″, 25″x 80″

Great for yoga-on-the-go when you are traveling!

YOGA STUFF

What most people refer to as “yoga” is actually Hatha Yoga. Hatha Yoga is a system of yoga introduced by Yogi Swatmarama, a yogic sage in the 15th century in India. This particular system of yoga is the most popular one. It is from Hatha Yoga that several other forms of Yoga originated including: Power Yoga, Bikram Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, and Kundalini Yoga.

The word “hatha” comes from the Sanskrit terms “ha” meaning “sun” and “tha” meaning “moon”. Thus, Hatha Yoga is known as the branch of Yoga that unites pairs of opposites referring to the positive (sun) and negative (moon) currents in the system. It concentrates on the third (Asana) and fourth (Pranayama) steps in the Eight Limbs of Yoga. [Read more →]

On Sacred Ground by Chinmaya Dunster

British-born Chinmaya (formerly Stephen) Dunster is a master of the Indian lute known as the sarod. Known for mixing Indian classical raga with the Celtic styles of his native land, he does it again on his stunning new release, Yoga: On Sacred Ground. Keeping the Celtic vibe while going full speed ahead into the Indian mystic, he has created seven breathtaking tracks that are each linked to one of the body’s seven chakras. Each listener will have to decide whether or not this music is suitable for deep meditation or yoga practice, but the album will definitely soothe the soul. [Read more →]

Morning Yoga

Growing up in an East Indian household, I took much of the beauty and the traditions of the Hindu culture for granted. From simple things like my mom’s freshly made naan, to the rich and colorful saris that she wore, to the classic literature of Rabindranath Tagore she enjoyed reading to me as she sipped on her steaming cup of chai — I never fully appreciated all that this rich country had to offer.From practical traditions like using honey instead of constantly seeking out over-the-counter cough relievers to practicing yoga regularly, I didn’t recognize the benefits until I moved away from it all.

Did you know, according to Ayurvedic medicine, honey can be used to improve eyesight, relieve coughs, sore throats, when combined with black pepper powder and ginger juice, it acts to relieve asthma, mixed with garlic – it has been known to reduce high blood pressure, taken with water and lemon juice, it helps to purify the blood and my favorite, [Read more →]

Russell Simmons, the godfather of hip-hop at the helm of Rush Communications, a $300+ million conglomerate reaching beyond music to include clothing companies, arts, nonprofit organizations, and diamonds, who in the past has used street smarts and a bling bling Rolodex to achieve social and political goals ranging from overturning certain restrictive New York State drug laws to encouraging voter registration, has published a new self-help book, Do You!: 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success. In it, he explains how readers can use yoga and Buddhism to find what he calls the “sweet spot”: one’s life’s work and mission. Simmons preaches about the practice of love and encourages readers to listen to their inner voice.

Unlike the image I’m sure you’ve conjured up by way of the title of this piece, Bikini Boot Camp is all about massages and is one of the many offerings at Amansala, the solar-power resort in Tulum, Mexico.

Amansala, (which translates to mean: “tranquil waters”), focuses on mayan clay treatments, power exercise classes that come complete with meditation, stretching and yoga.

The best thing about Amansala…the variety. You can opt to attend every single class, or pick and choose if and when the mood strikes you… Need more to inspire you: Amansala offers body sculpting, sea kayaking, bike rides, and my favorite — tribal dancing. Guests stay in huts that are built of native wood with stone floors and thatched palapa roofs; each complete with its own bathroom.

You’ll leave feeling pampered, relaxed and rejuvenated!