LMU's Master of Arts in Yoga Studies

Joins us for our first Lunch & Learn of the year!
“White Lotuses and Spring Rains: Nature Imagery and Buddhist Practice in the Poems of Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen” with Annabella Pitkin, Ph.D.
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Monday, September 23, 2024 | 1:45-2:45 PST, in person at LMU University Hall and virtual on Zoom, registration link is in our bio.
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How should a Buddhist cultivate the aspiration to become enlightened for the sake of others? This question has inspired Buddhist writers across centuries and cultures. In 1959-1960, the 20th century Himalayan Buddhist poet-meditator Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen, best known today as a teacher of the 14th Dalai Lama, took up the challenge of writing a poem a day for one year as a response to this question. Written in Tibetan, Khunu Lama’s poems are also deeply shaped by his lifelong study of Sanskrit literature. This talk will explore a selection of his poems, focusing on those that invoke the beauty of the natural world as a metaphor for Buddhist awakening.
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Annabella Pitkin is a scholar of Buddhist literature, culture, and intellectual history with a focus on Tibet and the Himalayan region. She is Associate Professor of Buddhism and East Asian Religions at Lehigh University. Her book Renunciation and Longing: The Life of a Twentieth-Century Himalayan Buddhist Saint (University of Chicago Press, 2022) explores themes of non-attachment, devotion, and memory in the life and work of the great poet-meditator Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen.

Present your work at YOGA DAY 2024 on November 2!
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This year, Yoga Day will amplify current leadership and encourage innovators to share their work with the public as we explore the relationship between the Dharmic traditions, Buddhist philosophies, and the pursuit of worldly justice. Yoga Day will feature a “gallery walk” of posters presenting research findings and scholarly + community building work related to the theme: What Would Green Tārā Do?
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You may be interested in submitting your work if you are . . .
- an Activist and community leader
- a Yoga practitioner
- a Yoga teacher or Yoga Alliance member
- a Dharma Tradition student or scholar
- a Yoga Studies student or scholar
- a Religious or Theological Studies student or faculty
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Applications are due NO LATER than Wednesday October 2nd, 2024 at 12 noon PST. Follow the “Submit” link in our bio for more information regarding submission guidelines, expectations, and important dates. We hope to hear from you soon!

ANNOUNCING Loyola Marymount University’s
13th Annual Yoga Day Think Tank!
What Would Green Tārā Do?
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Co-hosted by BCLA Yoga Studies and Yoga Alliance
Supported by a generous donation from the Frederick P. Lenz Foundation
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Mark our calendars and join us on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024 | 9 AM – 7 PM, In Person at LMU
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Yoga Day at LMU is a yearly celebration of Yoga traditions, experiences, and its many expressions. This year’s Yoga Day is an opportunity for community members to discuss modern yoga within the framework of a think tank and conference including panel sessions, accessible practices, and group discussion. This event is completely free and open to the public. Practitioners and non-practitioners of all levels, backgrounds, and social identies are welcome to join us in community, sangha.
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The Buddhist Goddess, Green Tārā, has many names. . .
She manifests in twenty-one different forms and every color of the rainbow: a Liberator, a Savioress, a Bodhisattva, and a Buddha. Care and concern are the driving forces that compel her desire to liberate all sentient beings from suffering. The Dharmic traditions require that we intentionally pursue truth, justice, goodness, and liberation from different vantage points.
Yoga Day 2024 will amplify current leadership and encourage innovators as we explore the relationship between the Dharmic traditions, Buddhist philosophies, and the pursuit of worldly justice. Research, practice, and action toward the advancement of a more equitable and more just world requires renewed vigor and investigation.
How can we apply the principles Green Tārā represents in our modern society as we explore the integrated hierarchical systems through which suffering manifests presently?

Did you know we offer yoga studies continuing education courses? 12 units will earn you a yoga philosophy certificate! 📚📿📝
Continuing education courses are a great way to get a taste of our graduate program and are open for all to register. (Yoga teachers, this is also an opportunity to earn your Yoga Alliance CE credits!) Check out our offerings for Fall 2024 at the link in our bio.

Mark your calendars! 🌿🦋🌈
Our annual Yoga Day think tank, conference, gathering, & celebration is coming up in November. Ways to participate, more details, and theme announcement 👀 to come very soon . . .

Yoga Day 2024 is hosted by BCLA Yoga Studies in partnership with the Yoga Alliance, sponsored by a generous donation from the Frederick P. Lenz Foundation.

DANCE OF THE DIVINE ENCHANTRESS 🪷🦢🌀🍃🫧
We are so excited to host Vijayalakshmi () on campus! Join us on Saturday September 14th from 1:00 - 2:00 PM for a dance exploration of the body-mind connection. Find the registration link & more information in our bio.

In a powerful one hour workshop on Mohiniyattam, Vijayalakshmi takes us on a journey through the therapeutic, healing and empowering aspects of traditional South Indian classical dance. The characteristic movements of the dance form enable women to connect with their own femininity and promotes self-expression. The movements of the dance flow into a seamless synthesis of grace, physical strength, and balance, besides emotive expression.

Learn more about this art form by watching her in conversation at the Awaken Florida Festival, also linked in our bio.

Bio:
Vijayalakshmi is a world-renowned Indian classical dancer of Mohiniyattam, the graceful South Indian classical dance form. She is also a choreographer, actress, speaker, feminist, writer and singer. A recipient of several coveted awards, including Regents Lecturer at UCLA in 2020, she has performed at the most prestigious venues in India and around the globe, spanning over four decades, including the Bolshoi Theatre, the Edinburgh International Festival and the Lincoln Centre. She has a Bachelors and Masters in English Literature from Delhi University and is the Artistic-Director of the Centre For Mohiniyattam, New Delhi and Founder-Director of The Mohiniyattam Institute, Los Angeles.

What is the myth (or myths) of wellness? CTZNWELL founder, American Detox author, and wellness activist Kerri Kelly sheds light on how yoga can be a vehicle for social justice, why the personal is political, and how to work toward radical acceptance.

A community organizer, wellness activist and author of the book American Detox: The Myth of Wellness and How We Can Truly Heal, Kerri is recognized across communities for her work to bridge transformational practice with social justice. She’s been teaching yoga for over 20 years and is known for making waves in the wellness industry by challenging norms, disrupting systems and mobilizing people to act. Her leadership has inspired CTZNWELL, a movement to democratize wellbeing for all and is committed to creating the conditions where everyone can thrive.

*This episode was recorded in 2022 and published in 2024.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: This year’s yoga day will be a special think tank featuring other women in scholarship and leadership: What would Green Tārā Do? Confronting Systems of Oppression through Women’s Scholarship and Leadership is Saturday, November 2nd at LMU!

Links to RSVP—and tune in to season two of our podcast—are at the links in our bio.

THE ANTI YOGI is back for one night only!
AUGUST 10th, 7:30 PM, with a post show Q&A!
Catch grad in her incredible one woman show featuring the likes of Buddha, Krishna, and Mata Kali herself! Our favorite musical LMU librarian .k.agrawal provides a lush, percussive soundscape that fully immerses you in this powerful story. Congratulations to you both on a powerhouse of a show!

(Photos by )

Jen Pastiloff is a self-help champion, writer, yoga practitioner and mom. In this conversation, we get into some topics from her latest book On Being Human. Join us for a deep conversation on yoga and how you can use it to wake up, live real, and listen hard.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: This year’s Yoga Day will be a special think tank featuring other women in scholarship and leadership: What would Green Tārā Do? Confronting Systems of Oppression through Women’s Scholarship and Leadership is Saturday, November 2nd at LMU! Links to RSVP—and tune in to season two of our podcast—are at the links in our bio.

Back in May we had 16 graduates share their work at our 2024 BCLA Masters in Yoga Studies Graduate Colloquium. Looking at the titles of the projects, you can see the variety and depth of topics presented!
You can now watch all the presentations via our YouTube channel. Head to our linktree for a link to the playlist.
Congratulations graduates, we are eager to see how you will continue to share this wisdom and knowledge of Yoga out in the world! 🙏🕉️🎓

Is there an intersection between social justice and personal practice? Does yoga influence our ethical code beyond the practice? We tackle some of these questions and a few others in our deep dive with Dr. Judith Carlisle, a graduate of the M.A. Yoga Studies program and instructor at LMU.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: This year’s yoga day will be a special think tank featuring other women in scholarship and leadership: What would Green Tārā Do? Confronting Systems of Oppression through Women’s Scholarship and Leadership is Saturday, November 2nd at LMU!

Links to RSVP—and tune in to season two of our podcast—are at the links in our bio.

S2, E2: Cultural Appropriation vs. Cultural Appreciation

In honor of the final show of her award-winning performance, ‘The Anti-Yogi’, this week we are honored to welcome Mayuri Bandari to the Graduate Yoga Studies podcast!

Activist. Yoga teacher and practitioner. Dancer. Poet. Comedian. Mayuri Bandari, a graduate of the M.A. Yoga Studies program, shares her take on yoga, its similarities to dance, how her practice informs her activism, the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation, and so much more in this important conversation.

[SOLD OUT] The final encore performance of ‘The Anti Yogi’ is at the Fringe Theatre tonight! Congrats, 👏❤️🙏

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: This year’s yoga day will be a special think tank featuring other women in scholarship and leadership: What would Green Tārā Do? Confronting Systems of Oppression through Women’s Scholarship and Leadership is Saturday, November 2nd at LMU!

Links to RSVP—and tune in to season two of our podcast—are at the links in our bio.

“We fight back with the creativity of love.” -Rev. James Lawson

Celebrating the life of Reverend James M. Lawson Jr. - Back in 2021, we had the great honor of welcoming him to LMU to award him with the Doshi Bridgebuilder Award. May his legacy of ahiṃsā (nonviolence) live on.

(Watch his speech at LMU Yoga Day 2021 at the link in our bio.)

S2, E1: Is This Yoga?

The first guest on season two of the podcast is Dr. Anya Foxen, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Dr. Foxen authored several key texts from our History of Modern Yoga course, including Is This Yoga? Concepts, Histories, and the Complexities of Modern Practice, which she coauthored with Christa Kuberry. We got the chance to talk with her about collage spirituality, harmonialism, and the theosophical society. Tune in to learn more, and keep an eye out for her upcoming book Keep an eye out for her upcoming text, ‘The Serpent’s Tale: Kundalini and the History of an Experience’ (co-authored w/ Sravana Borkataky-Varma).

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: This year’s yoga day will be a special think tank featuring other women in scholarship and leadership: What would Green Tārā Do? Confronting Systems of Oppression through Women’s Scholarship and Leadership is Saturday, November 2nd at LMU!

Links to RSVP—and tune in to season two of our podcast—are at the links in our bio.

Happy Independence / Interdependence Day!

The past couple months, Dr. Chapple has been busy traveling throughout Europe for various conferences, including:
- European Forum on Religion & Environment in Potsdam, Germany
- Yoga Darśana, Yoga Sādhana in Hamburg, Germany
- Berggruen Planetary Consciousness in Venice, Italy
- Society for Contemplative Research in Padova, Italy

On Monday, we’ll be sending out a newsletter announcing our exciting offerings for Fall 2024! Are you on our newsletter list? If not, you can sign up to receive it at the link in our bio.

Photo taken in Venice by Erica Riray, LMU alumna

After a hiatus, our Graduate Yoga Studies podcast is coming back! Join cohort 8 graduates, Katie Davidson and Laine Wherritt, for season two. We will release the first episode this Friday, then each Wednesday throughout July.

The podcast launched back in 2021 with the intention of challenging the collective understanding of yoga and the field of yoga studies with critical questions about authenticity, race, social justice, appropriation, colonialism, power dynamics, accessibility, and more.

Originally recorded in 2022, the conversation continues with a number of distinguished women in wellness, from best-selling authors to activists to professors. Together, we’ll explore what Yoga is, how it evolves, and why we continue to practice it.

And save the date! This year’s yoga day will be a special think tank featuring other women in scholarship and leadership: What would Green Tārā Do? Confronting Systems of Oppression through Women’s Scholarship and Leadership is Saturday, November 2nd at LMU!

- Actress, Figure Skater, Professional Dancer, Yoga Professor, and BCLA Yoga Studies Alumni - blends her unique experience as an Indian navigating traditionally non-Indian spaces in the world premiere of The Anti “Yogi” which opens THIS WEEKEND, June 8th, at the 2024  festival, at the Zephyr Theatre. Tickets are only $15! Follow the link in our bio to purchase tickets. 

A “yogi” is not a skinny woman in Lululemon, but someone who renounces worldly life in pursuit of truth. Embark on a journey with Mayuri and the Goddess of Death, Kali, through a unique blend of dance, dramedy, and poetry, as they investigate absurdities of Western Yoga culture. This show peels back the yoga mat to reveal the true ethos of Yoga.

Performances are on:
Saturday, June 8, 2024, 4:45 PM
Sunday, June 16, 6:30 PM 
Thursday, June 20, 2024, 7:00 PM

Choreographer/Dramaturg:
Directed by:  and
Produced by: 

Join Sunday, March 24!!

Experience the vigorous and joyful folk music of Prahlad Singh Tipanya and his ensemble as they tour the USA, singing the poetry of Kabir, the great iconoclastic mystic of 15th-century North India.

Follow the link in our BIO for details and to RSVP!

Our next Wednesday Night Lecture is around the corner! We’re thrilled to welcome Nancy Martin, Ph.D., and look forward to her talk, “Seeking Mirabai: Scholarly Engagement and Personal Empowerment.” Join us online or in person (dinner included!) - RSVP here: https://lmu.wufoo.com/forms/pdju76t1azsgs8/

This lecture will introduce the varied portrayals of Mirabai that emerge across the centuries from hagiography to oral song traditions to Subbulakshmi’s film portrayal on the cusp of Indian Independence, as a way to free the saint from persistent nineteenth-century “historical” domestication and demonstrate how she has been and can continue to be a companion to walk with and hers a story to live through even in our time.

Nancy M. Martin is Professor and Chair of Religious Studies at Chapman University and Life Member of Clare Hall, Cambridge University. Her book Mirabai: The Making of a Saint (OUP 2023) is the culmination of three decades of research on the sixteenth-century Indian woman saint Mirabai. It is the first of three volumes, the second focusing on her poetry and the third on post-colonial and global incarnations and invocations of the saint. Prof. Martin’s expertise and publications focus on devotional Hinduism (bhakti), gender and religion, and comparative religious ethics. Her recent and forthcoming publications include articles on “The Gendering of Voice in Hindu Devotional Literature,” “Jesus and Spirituality in Interreligious Perspective,” and “Hinduism for Women: Present and Future Prospects for Socio-Spiritual Emancipation.”

We can’t wait to welcome co-founder James Fox and mindfulness trainer .boys to LMU for a half-day workshop on Saturday, March 16th! This workshop is about utilizing specific yoga and embodied mindfulness practices to build resiliency for ourselves and support the well-being of others. Kelly Boys and James Fox have years of experience working with populations under extreme stress helping them to strengthen emotional stability and resiliency. We’ll explore a clear understanding of the body’s stress response, share various movement and breathing practices, and engage in Taoist routines and Yoga Nidra – all for the purpose of balancing and calming our nervous system. RSVP at the link in our bio!

Yoga Philosophy in Practice: Strengthening Emotional Stability & Resiliency in Challenging Times - LMU Center for Religion and Spirituality These days, we are faced with an onslaught of collective trauma that challenges our ability to maintain emotional stability and a sense of groundedness. The accompanying waves of ongoing stress can often create overwhelm, anxiety, and other major inner disturbances.

Join BCLA Yoga Studies during LMU’s Graduate Programs Spring Open House - TUESDAY, MARCH 12!

Ignite your potential with a graduate degree from LMU’s BCLA Yoga Studies program. You are invited to explore the many benefits of an LMU education at our Graduate Programs Open House on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, from 4 – 6 p.m. PT.  Interact with faculty and staff during the academic session and learn about the robust resources available to graduate students in the student resource sessions from 6 – 7 p.m. PT.
Follow the link in our BIO to register!

Meet our featured faculty of the month, Dr. Zoë Slatoff!

Dr. Slatoff has been practicing yoga since she was 15 and started studying Sanskrit at age 20. Her book, "Yogāvatāraṇam: The Translation of Yoga" has helped countless students across the globe learn Sanskrit too! To learn more about Zoë's favorite yoga practices, classes, and more, read our newsletter's full write-up!

[ID: Zoë is a white woman with dark wavy hair. She sits on a bench outside with a whiteboard and a dry-erase marker, teaching Sanskrit to LMU yoga studies students. The quote next to her is taken from her interview and reads: "I love teaching the Introduction to Sanskrit class - it is a joy to bring students on the journey from learning the alphabet to reading and translating texts on their own ... Teaching yoga has always inspired me as well, because it makes me want to embody the wisdom that I share."]

Meet the featured Yoga Studies Student of the Month, Dana Tarasavage!

Dana is gearing up to graduate in May and is busy at work translating the Yogatārāvalī, "a 29-verse haṭhayoga text written in trishtubh meter dated to somewhere between the 12th-15th centuries" for her thesis. To learn more about Dana's favorite classes and practices, read the full write-up in our newsletter! Link in bio.

[ID: Dana, a smiling white woman with long brown hair wearing black leggings and a black tank top, is in Ṭiṭṭibhāsana with her hands on the ground supporting her and her legs up behind her resting on her shoulders. The quote next to her is from her interview and reads "I applied for the program because after over a decade of teaching and even longer practicing, I had so many lingering questions about the history and wider picture of the yoga traditions. This degree has answered so many of those questions and allowed me to form new ones."]

Wednesday, February 7, 2024 | 7:30-8:30 Pacific Time
University Hall 3999 and on Zoom

Join Yoga Studies for our first-ever Sanskrit Poetry Slam! The evening will begin with an all-levels introduction to Sanskrit verse by Dr. Zoë Slatoff, followed by presentations of original verses and translations from students and faculty.

If you are interested in submitting a Sanskrit verse for consideration, please contact Dr. Slatoff for guidelines at [email protected].

IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING IN PERSON, PLEASE RSVP BY FEBRUARY 2 SO WE CAN ACCOMMODATE YOUR DIETARY NEEDS. RSVP link in bio.

See you there!



[Image ID: The background is a photo of a honeybee on small white flowers. The information above is included in the image text, along with a verse written by Dr. Slatoff in Devanagari, IAST, and the English translation. It reads "The birds and the bees, flowers, fruit, vines, and seeds, If the world is upside-down, See the forest in the trees."]

Join for the final Wednesday Night Lecture of 2023! Wednesday, November 8, 2023 | 7:30-8:30 PST

IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND IN PERSON, PLEASE RSVP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO WE CAN ACCOMMODATE YOUR DIETARY NEEDS.

"An Integral Advaitic Theodicy of Spiritual Evolution: Karma, Rebirth, and Universal Liberation"

This talk will outline and defend a theodicy of spiritual evolution that takes its bearings from the thought of three modern Indian mystics: Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, and Sri Aurobindo. According to their theodicy, God has created this world as an arena for our moral and spiritual evolution in which evil and suffering are as necessary as good. The doctrine of spiritual evolution presupposes karma, rebirth, and universal liberation. The doctrines of karma and rebirth shift moral responsibility for evil from God to His creatures by explaining all instances of evil and suffering as the karmic consequence of their own past deeds, either in this life or in a previous life. The doctrine of universal liberation also has important theodical implications: the various finite evils of this life are outweighed by the infinite good of liberation that awaits us all.

Swami Medhananda is a monk of the Ramakrishna Order, currently serving as Senior Research Fellow in Philosophy at the Vedanta Society of Southern California in Hollywood. He is also the Hindu Chaplain at both UCLA and the University of Southern California. He is Section Editor for the International Journal of Hindu Studies (Springer), overseeing submissions in Hindu and Cross-Cultural Philosophy of Religion. His current research focuses on global philosophy of religion, religious epistemology, cosmopsychism, Indian scriptural hermeneutics, and Vedāntic philosophical traditions, especially the philosophies of Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, and Sri Aurobindo.

is a professional actress, dancer/figure skater, and storyteller. Her performing background lies within both Bollywood & Hollywood; she is a national figure skating champion, an Indian TV star, a Bollywood Fitness Company Founder, and an advocate of activism through the arts. Her short film BINDI has received international recognition and her poetry was featured at the United Nations Women’s Event in Los Angeles.

Mayuri is a graduate of UC Berkeley (B.A. Dance & South Asian Studies) & Loyola Marymount University (M.A. Yoga Studies). She is currently a Yoga and Dance professor at LMU.

Through her work, Mayuri voices an Ahimsic [non-violent] way of life, women’s empowerment, and Brown experience & identity. She is an advocate for environmental activism and indigenous rights. Her comedy and social media shed light on pseudo yoga culture with humor and depth.
Join - The Ecology of Embodiment - on Saturday, November 4, 2023, from 9am – 7pm, and show off your moves when we end the night with special musical experience under the stars at Lawton Plaza!

Follow the link in our BIO for more information!

Jersey born and closely in touch with her South Asian heritage, is an actress of East Indian descent. Her performing background lies within both Bollywood & Hollywood industries; she is a national figure skating champion, an Indian dance star, a Bollywood Fitness Co-Founder, and an advocate of activism through the arts. Mayuri is a graduate of UC Berkeley (B.A. Dance & South Asian Studies) & Loyola Marymount University
(M.A. Yoga Studies). Through her cultural background, poetry, and dance, she creates works with a powerful social message. Mayuri voices an Ahimsa [non-violent] way of life (beyond diet), women’s empowerment, and Brown experience & identity. She is a teacher of Prison Yoga + Meditation at the Twin Towers in DTLA and engages with various communities through movement🌟

Join - The Ecology of Embodiment - on Saturday, November 4, 2023, from 9am – 7pm, and show off your moves when we end the night with special musical experience under the stars at Lawton Plaza!

Dr. Christopher Key Chapple is the Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology, the Director of the Master of Arts in Yoga Studies at LMU, and originally brought Yoga Day to LMU!

A specialist in the religions of India, he has published more than twenty books, including the recent Living Landscapes: Meditations on the Elements in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain Yoga (SUNY Press). He serves as advisor to multiple organizations including the Forum on Religion and Ecology (Yale), the Ahimsa Center (Pomona), the Dharma Academy of North America (Berkeley), the Jain Studies Centre (SOAS, London), the South Asian Studies Association, and
International School for Jain Studies (New Delhi). He teaches through the Center for Religion and Spirituality (LMU) and YogaGlo.

Celebrate the 12th annual LMU Yoga Day with us on campus on Saturday, November 4, 2023, from 9am – 7pm! This year’s theme “The Ecology of Embodiment” invites us to reflect on our relationship with the ecosystems in which we exist.

Follow the link in our BIO for more information!

is a conscious community of people interested in spirituality & meditation. Each club meeting is designed to give you a glimpse into different meditation practices from a myriad of traditions. A typical meeting for us begins with a meditation, followed by a discourse on spirituality and adjacent topics, a musical meditation with live musicians, and a nourishing plant-based meal. This yoga day, graduate students and , club President, will lead walking meditations around the bluff.

Join - The Ecology of Embodiment - on Saturday, November 4, 2023, from 9am – 7pm, for a free day of movement, meditation, discussion, and FUN on the LMU campus!

Experience Music and Meditation with and at 1:30pm🎶🙏🏻

Follow the link in our BIO for more information!