LMU Graduate Yoga Studies | On Saturday, October 26, 2019, LMU’s Graduate Yoga Studies program held its 8th annual Yoga Day. The free, all-day event offered over fifteen individual workshops that focused on the theme “Yoga for Every Body.” The event allowed participants to share in the many facets of yoga with workshops on yoga philosophy, pranayama (breathing techniques), Sana (postural yoga), yoga therapy, meditation and social justice.
Hundreds of Los Angeles yoga-enthusiasts from all walks of life made their way to LMU’s campus to participate. Yoga Day kicked off with a welcome given by the acting director of the Graduate Yoga Studies program, Nirinjan Kaur Khalsa-Baker, who asked for a moment of silence to acknowledge the Tongva/Gabriellino people indigenous to this land and to pray for all life affected by our environmental crisis. She acknowledged the symbiosis between yoga and LMU’s Jesuit mission to educate the whole person, their intellectual, spiritual and emotional selves and their deep commitment to service and the promotion of Justice.
Due to this resonance of mission, in 2013, Professor Christopher Key Chapple created the first and only Graduate Yoga Studies program in the U.S. here at LMU. The Yoga Studies faculty, staff and students are dedicated to this mission – recognizing that the ethics of yoga require a commitment to preparing our minds and bodies to act consciously in the world to serve others. The program consists of classes on Sanskrit, yoga therapy, yoga philosophy, history of modern yoga, comparative mysticism and the four Dharmic traditions (Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Hinduism).
At this Yoga Day, the first session started with a workshop, discussion panel and book launch hosted by author, yogi, and founder of Accessible Yoga, Jivana Heyman (C-IAYT, E-RYT500). Accessible Yoga is about making yoga accessible and inclusive for every body, age, race, gender, religion, culture, language, socio-economic background, and state of health. For Jivana, the purpose is “sharing esoteric and complex teaching in a readily accessible way, and applying the ancient teachings of yoga to our day-to-day lives.” The book launch and class featured a panel discussion with Jivana and other Accessible Yoga teachers as well as a postural class thoughtfully designed so that students of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds could participate.
Participants assembled at the end of the day for one last group gathering for a kirtan performance led by Govind Das and Radha of Santa Monica’s Bhakti Yoga Shala. For those unfamiliar, “kirtan” is the Sanskrit word for “praise,” and a kirtan performance is a yoga practice using mantra and music as an expression of devotion and prayer. While Govind Das and Radha are on stage leading the music with their guitar and harmonium, Govind Das makes it clear that kirtan is not a performance for entertainment. It is intended to be a group activity that joins together everyone in the room in “joyful, open-hearted, meditative, and communal” song and dance (bhaktiyogashala.com). It was a lovely way to end such a beautiful day and left community members feeling a sense of peace and love after such an exciting and transformative day.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for a very successful Yoga Day this year! LMU’s Masters in Yoga Studies program is looking forward to hosting another Yoga Day next year!
For a list of our 2019 teachers and classes, please see our website.
