SPIRITUAL RESOURCES
Meditation Apps
Aura
This is my favorite app to date. The options are plentiful, ranging from meditation and breath work to affirmations and sleep programs. You can find sound bathing, prayers, life coaching, and podcasts. There is an annual fee of $60 for Aura, but it is well worth it if you use it every day.
Calm
I continue to use Calm for sleep, and I really like the programs for mental focus and attention. You can get a seven-day free trial, and then it’s $69.99 per year. They also have a lifetime billing for $399.99.
Headspace
https://www.headspace.com/
This is a very popular app offering many types and kinds of meditation and mindfulness. In addition, they have a very good section on sleep with excellent supporting materials like breathing, music, and sleep casts. Subscriptions begin with fourteen days free and $69.99 a year, or seven days free and $12.99 per month.
Insight Timer
This well-known app features some top-ranking teachers, including Russell Brand, Lama Rod Owens, and Matthieu Ricard. The app features live events, ranging from relationship issues to accessible yoga. The staff offers their “picks,” which range from Tara Brach to Dr. Justin Ross. Sleep programs are also featured, as well as calming music and children’s programs.
Yoga
Yoga International
https://yogainternational.com/
The premier yoga resource, YI, offers an extensive array of yoga classes, meditation instruction, breath, and pranayama. In addition, there are featured courses on topics ranging from trauma awareness to prenatal yoga, as well as Ayurveda. The teachers at YI are well known personalities such as Cyndi Lee, Rod Stryker, and Shanna Small. A free seven-day trial is available with membership at $19.99 per month or $169 per year.
Kia Miller
https://www.youtube.com/@KiaMiller
Kia Miller is the founder of Radiant Body Yoga and the wife of Tommy Rosen. Kia teaches on Glo Yoga and has her own YouTube channel. She is masterful, accessible, compassionate, and one of the top twenty teachers in the US. She has numerous event offerings throughout the year, including intensive yoga teacher training. For a deep dive into Kundalini yoga, Kia will bring a wide range of knowledge to your experiences.
Yogaworks
Vinyasa, yin, and restorative yoga are offered on this site, along with Iyengar, Pilates, and YogaWorks’ own style of yoga. Take live classes, access a library of offerings, or take teacher training. They offer a fourteen-day free trial with full sign up.
Sattva Yoga Academy
https://sattvayogaacademy.com/
I had the privilege of staying at Sattva Academy when I was in India, and of attending talks by Anand Mehrotra. If you want an in-person, in India, immersive and completely transformative experience - go! From 200-hour to 500-hour yoga teacher training and from Ayurveda to Jyotish, the quality and rigor of training is unmatched anywhere in the world. Comfortable accommodations and a short drive from Rishikesh this is an affordable and welcoming center.
Sattva Connect
If a trip to India is not possible, you can still receive the extraordinary benefits of Anand Mehrotra’s teachings through his online academy. Courses, yoga teaching, events, live sessions, and daily offerings are all available for a reasonable membership price. Monthly subscription at $21 and annual at $210.
Incense, Candles, and Oils.
Nag Champa Incense
Nag Champa is a fragrance used in Indian incense with a distinctive temple smell. Created by combining sandalwood and champak or frangipani, this is the most familiar smell in many temples, yoga studios, or meditation halls. I began using this scent back in the 1970s and have never used anything else. While I may occasionally try a sample of another type or kind, it never matches the purity and specific call to meditate or do yoga. Nag Champa is also available on Amazon in various sizes and price points. This site offers soap, oil, incense, and solid perfumes, among many other products. I have found them to be highly reliable over the years.
Uma Oils and Candles
https://www.umaoils.com
I discovered Uma Oils and Candles quite a few years ago and became a dedicated fan. You can purchase direct from their website, as well as from Nieman Marcus or Saks Fifth Avenue. Uma is also available on Amazon in limited choices. The smells are clean, and the products are all based on Ayurvedic principles. Unlike many candles that start out smelling lovely and then turn into nothing, Uma aroma lasts down to the last bit of wax. The price is higher than commercial candles, but you are getting a truly impressive product. Try Pure Calm or Equinox to fill your room with peace and tranquility.
Voyage et Cie
This is where haute scent meets haute classe. When you breathe in the scent of any of Voyage et Cie’s products, you will be transported to the Bois de Boulogne, the Tuileries, or any other Parisian parc famous for its whimsy and beauty. Also featured are a range of citrus, floral, wood, and herbal scents. While it is pricey, the value is that you only have to burn a candle for a short while before your entire room is infused with scent.
Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day
For those of us who are not in the market to pay a high price for our in-home scents, I have found that Mrs. Meyer’s candles are as reliable as their household products. Soy-based candles with a twenty-five-hour burn time, Mrs. Meyer’s are high value for an average of $10.99.
Forest Essentials Oils
https://www.forestessentialsindia.com/fragrances.html
Forest Essentials is an authentic, traditional skincare brand with its foundations in the ancient science of Ayurveda. Ancient wisdom is infused with modern aesthetic, Forest Essentials has become the quintessential Indian beauty brand. The fragrances are clean, environmentally conscious, and the prices are very affordable.