Yoga, Animals and Ecology

Friday, May 29 to Sunday, May 31, 2009
Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles, California

The ancient practice and philosophy of Yoga is grounded in a profound understanding of the interconnection between ourselves and the natural world. Yoga developed in the context of a close relationship with the earth and cosmos, and a reverence for animals, plants, soil, water and air.

Why Yoga, animals and ecology? Animals play an important role in the practice of Yoga. Many Yoga postures entail imitation of animals, evoking ancient shamanic practices. By placing one’s body and mind in the space of mammals, fish, reptiles and insects, one’s consciousness and sensitivity become attuned to the larger order of life forms. This expanded awareness of connectivity can serve a healing function, revealing the inter-related nature between humans and non-human animals. This conference will include several offerings of animal-inspired Yoga practice.

This conference is also a requirement for those seeking the Green Yoga Certificate.  Learn more about the program here.

Location Loyola Marymount University (Main Campus) 1 LMU Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90045 View Maps & Directions Parking on Campus

Registration Download Registration Form

 

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CONFERENCE ITINERARY

Friday, May 29 .
7:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.	Welcome and Opening Sadhana .
8:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.	LECTURE: In Defense of Dolphins Thomas White, Ph.D., Loyola Marymount University .
Saturday, May 30 .
9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.	Auditorium Yoga: A Gathering for All .
9:30 a.m.	Update on Green Yoga Association  .
9:35 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.	PLENARY LECTURE: Yoga and Animals Christopher Key Chapple, Ph.D., Loyola Marymount University .
10:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.	PLENARY LECTURE: Moving from Compassion into Action Beth Shaw, YogaFit .
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.	Breakout Sessions Yoga Pamela Bliss Laura Cornell Jasmine Lieb .
	Karma Yoga: What It Really Means Beth Shaw, YogaFit .
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.	Lunch .
2:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.	PLENARY LECTURE: Eating Mercifully Christine Gutleben, The Humane Society of the United States .
2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.	Breakout Sessions Ballona Wetlands Walk .
	LECTURE: Ancupuncture's Five-Element System and its Muscle Organ Relationship T.J. Peng, D.C. .
	LECTURE: Green Yoga in Practice: Healing the Planet by Healing the Spirit Vidya Chaitanya, Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center .
	Yoga Sara Ivanhoe Charlotte Holtzermann - Cat and restorative poses, and pranayama .
4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.	Yogagaia Agi Hasita Nadai .
5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.	Dinner: Consult local food guide .
6:30 p.m.	Update on Green Yoga Sangha .
7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.	PLENARY EVENT: Mohiniyattan Indian Classical Dance, From Shamanism to Yoga .
8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.	Sunset Meditation .
Sunday, May 31 .
8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.	Morning Sangha .
9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.	PLENARY LECTURE: Animals, Earth, and Yoga Body Gillian Comstock, Metta Earth Institute .
9:45 a.m. - 10:30 a.m......	PLENARY LECTURE: Gandhian Principles: Living Realities Swasti Bhattacharyya, Ph.D., Buena Vista University .
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.	Breakout Sessions LECTURE: Life without Petrol: Pedal for Humanity T.J. Peng, D.C. .
	Yoga Charlotte Hotzermann Jasmine Lieb Rajeshwari Michael Ruccolo Paige Wyatt .
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.	Lunch .
2:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.	PLENARY LECTURE: Sea Otters Dennis Eagan .
2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.	Breakout Sessions Ballona Wetlands Walk .
	Yoga Carolyn Brown Denise Kaufman Felicia Tomasko .
4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.	Closing Circle

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ABOUT THE SPEAKERS AND YOGA INSTRUCTORS

Swasti Bhattacharyya, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa. Her areas of concentration are in environmental ethics, comparative religious ethics, peace studies, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, ancient Judaism and early Christianity. She is the author of Magical Progeny, Modern Technology: A Hindu Bioethics of Assisted Reproductive Technology (2006).

Pamela Bliss is founder and director of YogAsylum and the YogAsylum Teacher Training School in Brookfield, Wisc. She holds a Master's of Arts in Transpersonal Psychology with concentration studies in Ecopsychology from Naropa University, a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing from Carroll College, and a certificate degree in Yoga and Ecology from Loyola Marymount University. She has studied Yoga extensively over the past 10 years under several globally renowned master teachers. Pamela was among those blessed to participate in a precious and rare opportunity to receive the teachings on Shantideva's Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life and Kamalashila's Middle Stages of Meditation directly from His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Tensheug ceremony in Madison, Wisc. Pamela received the empowerments and initiations by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She has taken the vows of the Bodhisattva's Way of Life. Pamela was the national moderator for the Green Yoga Association's Studio Pilot Program, teaching 30 U.S. studios to adapt green business practices. Her inspiring work has landed features with numerous publications, radio and news segments. Pamela offers a warm and eclectic style while drawing upon her 10 years of experience as a Registered Nurse to focus on the therapeutic aspects of Yoga practice. Her down-to-earth approach and sense of humor make this ancient healing art readily accessible to everyone.

Carolyn Brown explores the integration of land, movement and language in the spirit of supporting naturally joyful life. She advocates taking Yoga, dance, meditation and all our practices outdoors where we naturally feel our existence within the community of life. Carolyn teaches Anusara-influenced Yoga and practices transformational dance (5Rhythms, Soul Motion, etc.) in Northern California. She has trained intensively with Mick Dodge and is integrating the Walking Mountain "Earth Gym" practices with Yoga postures and philosophy. Her teachers include John Friend, Katchie Ananda, Sianna Sherman, Noah Maze and Zuza Engler. She served Yogi Times as San Francisco editor and established GreenWave Strategies four years ago to provide marketing and communications consulting to environmental organizations and eco-friendly businesses, helping to shift our culture toward sustainability. She holds an A.B. from Princeton University and an M.A. in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University.

Christopher Key Chapple, Ph.D. is the Navin and Pratima Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology at Loyola Marymount University. His research interests have focused on the renouncer religious traditions of India: Yoga, Jainism and Buddhism. He has published several books, including Karma and Creativity (1986), a co-translation of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (1991), Nonviolence to Animals, Earth, and Self in Asian Traditions (1993), Hinduism and Ecology (2000), a co-edited volume, Jainism and Ecology: Nonviolence in the Web of Life (2002), and Reconciling Yogas (2003).
Vidya Chaitanya is a yogini who has lived the last 20 years in ashrams in the U.K. and U.S. She is director of Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center, a registered Green Yoga studio in Marina del Rey.

Gillian Comstock, M.A., co-director of the Metta Earth Institute and Center for Contemplative Ecology, is a holistic psychotherapist, human ecologist, and Yoga guide certified in Kripalu, Jivamukti, and Advanced Interdisciplinary Yoga. She has led Yoga retreats, quests and trainings, and as a mother of three grown sons, has practiced Yoga and meditation for mroe than 35 years, weaving together family, community and ecological sustainability.

Laura Cornell, Ph.D. received her doctorate from the California Institute for Integral Studies in 2006. Her dissertation was on Green Yoga: A Collaborative Inquiry. She is a certified Professional-Level Kripalu Yoga Teacher who has taught Yoga and led regular retreats for more than 10 years. She is also founder of the Green Yoga Association, a nonprofit organization inspired by her dissertation research.

Dennis Eagan began practicing Yoga 20 years ago. He graduated from the Advanced Studies Program at the Piedmont Yoga Studio in 1998 and has been teaching Yoga ever since. His teaching is based on his knowledge of several schools of Yoga. He is co-director of the Advanced Studies Program at the Yoga Movement Center in Walnut Creek, Calif., and directs the AS Programs at The Bo Tree Yoga Studio in Davis and at the Intent Yoga Center in Enum Claw, Wash. He offers workshops, teacher trainings and wilderness retreats throughout the West from Baja to Alaska.

Christine Gutleben is Director of the Animals and Religion program of the Humane Society of the United States. The HSUS' Animals and Religion program is the first of its kind in the animal-protection movement and is a result of Gutleben's passion for the intersection of faith and advocacy. The program seeks to engage religious communities of all denominations and faiths in critical issues related to animal protection. She is also a member of the AAR Animals and Religion Consultation Steering Committee. Gutleben received her master's degree from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, where she studied theology and the interplay between food and faith, and her bachelor's degree in Religious Studies from the University of California at Davis.

Charlotte Holtzermann, M.F.A. has practiced Hatha Yoga with adults and children for 40 years. She specializes in working with private clients in the Alexander Technique, Aquatic exercise and Yoga. She also writes on health and well being.

Sara Elizabeth Ivanhoe began teaching Yoga in 1995 while receiving her B.F.A. from New York University, and holds a Yoga Philosophy degree from Loyola Marymount University. She went on to complete teacher trainings with Erich Schiffmann, Yoga Works and John Friend in the Anusara style. This training is utilized in her monthly column, weekly blog and healthy-living chat room, which she hosts for Health magazine. Sara is the instructor for the Yoga for Dummies series, the Crunch Yoga series, as well as the collaboration with Russell Simmons' Yoga Live, selling more than 4.3 million units worldwide. She is currently on Fit TV’s All Star Workouts and her self-produced Yoga on the Edge runs on Exercise TV. Sara has been a regular on VH1’s Dr. Drew’s Celebrity Rehab and is currently shooting season 3. She has recently been working with USC to create a new wellness program for the student base.

Denise Kaufman has been exploring Yoga, movement, energy flow and community/connectedness for more than 35 years. She loves exploring, getting deeper, quieter and more open with her classes. Her teachers include Robert Nadeau Sensei, Sadao Yoshioka Sensei (aikido/meditation), Gia-Fu Feng (meditation), Yoji Bhajan, Bikram Choudury, Danny Paradise, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois (yoga), Paulie Zink, Paul Grilley (Taoist yoga), Auntie Margaret Machado, Roselle Keli'ihonipua Bailey (hula/mana), Christopher Key Chapple, Vyaas Houston (Sanskrit/Patanjali), Rabbi Mordecai Finley (Kabbalah), Wavy Gravy (heart and community) and the Pacific Ocean (source and juice).

Jasmine Lieb began her love of Yoga at age 18 and has 30 years of teaching experience. She is a Hatha Yoga teacher and a Yoga therapist who is able to integrate therapeutics into her ongoing group Yoga classes at all levels. She is recommended by doctors, chiropractors, acupuncturists and physical therapists throughout the U.S. for both individual Yoga therapy and a Hatha Yoga practice at all levels. Jasmine has practiced and studied extensively for more than 38 years and draws from all her life experiences and all her Yoga studies, which evolve from the original teachings of Krishnamacharya through TKV Desikachar, BKS Iyengar, K. Pattabhi Jois, Srivatsa Ramaswami, A.G. Mohan and the "first lady of Yoga," Indra Devi. For the last 17 years Jasmine has developed and teaches a popular state-funded program for seniors in Santa Monica, and she created and manages a semiprivate therapeutic clinic working to rehabilitate Yoga students who have physical, energetic and emotional challenges, through the practice of Yoga. Jasmine is a 56-year-old Brit with a 31-year-old marriage, a 23-year-old daughter, her family still in England, and her American family members in the northeastern U.S. She enjoys a "regular" life as a yogini living in Venice.

Agi Hasita Nadai is a Professional-Level Kripalu Yoga teacher, a biologist, geologist and deep ecologist. She created Yogagaia, the Yoga of Earth and Kosmic Consciousness.

T.J. Peng, D.C. is a chiropractor working worldwide, in Milan, Taipei and Santa Monica. Graduating from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in Molecular Cellular Development Biology and Psychology, Peng continued his studies at the Southern California University of Health and Science. He has been thoroughly trained in Yoga through YogaWorks, 500-Hour Yoga Alliance certification, therapeutic Yoga with Jasmine Lieb, Vinyasa Yoga with Annie Carpenter, the Iyengar Institute in Pune, India, earned the Yoga and Ecology Certificate from Loyola Marymount University, and completed other various workshops. As a Doctor of Chiropractic, Yoga teacher and assistant language teacher, Peng’s objective is to help people through the healing arts using chiropractic and Yoga.

Rajeshwari has been teaching regularly at the Los Angeles Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center since 1997. She attends retreatsat the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm in Grass Valley (including Meditation, Vedanta, Jyotish and Bhakti Yoga) and took the Advanced Teacher Training Course there last summer. She runs workshops on Kirtan Chanting and Yantra Painting and is currently teaching a five-session course on Bhakti Yoga at the L.A. Center. Most days she arrives on her bicycle. She is very excited about the Transition initiative, edible gardening and the new sense of community that results.

Michael Ruccolo III has been teaching Yoga since 2000. Over the years he has insrtructed professional athletes, children with special needs, and adults suffering from physical and emotional issues. The owner of LYFE Yoga Center, Michael integrates his Iyengar Yoga training into an effective balanced practice bringing a union to body and mind.

Beth Shaw, president and founder of YogaFit, is recognized throughout the country as one of the leading experts in the fitness industry. She also is well-known as an animal advocate and served on the board of directors for many animal-rescue groups including Santa Monica-based Karma Rescue. She also is on the Humane Society's National Leadership Council.

Felicia Marie Tomasko, R.N., E-RYT-500 believes in the transformative power of the deep healing practices of Yoga and Ayurveda to help us find balance, experience joyous vitality and develop a postive relationship with the Earth and all other beings with which we share this environment. As a registered nurse, Ayurvedic practitioner and Yoga therapist, Felicia combines the knowledge and understanding of Western biomedicine with the wisdom traditions of Yoga and Ayurveda. She has been actively practicing the study of Yoga, Ayurveda and meditation since 1986 and teaching nationally and internationally since 1996. Felicia has a degree in environmental biology, worked in cognitive neuroscience research and currently serves on the board of directors of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA) and the California Asosciation of Ayurvedic Medicine (CAAM). She is also on the Green Yoga Council and on the Advisory Board for the Hoilstic Option. For the past seven years she has worked with LA YOGA Ayurveda and Health Magazine and is currently editor in chief.

Vijayalakshmi, daughter and premier disciple of Guru Bharati Shivaji, is acknowledged as one of the most imminent exponents of her dance form today. A unique combination of researcher and performer, Vijayalakshmi has endeavored to take Mohiniyattam to higher levels by constantly exploring uncharted territories and expanding traditional boundaries through innovative choreographies inspired from a pan-Indian and global perspective. A recipient of several prestigious national awards, Vijayalakshmi has carved a distinct niche for herself and has played a significant role in the rejuvenation of the beautiful Indian classical dance form. Her recent productions include Unniarcha, inspired from Kalaripayattu, the ancient martial art form; Swan Lake, inspired by the great Russian composer Tchaikovsky's music; and Paryapti, which draws upon the rich cultural ethos and music of Bengal. Vijayalakshmi has performed at some of the most prestigious venues in India and around the globe including the Lincoln Center, the Bolshoi Theatre, the Cervantino International Festival and the Edinburgh International Festival.

Thomas White, Ph.D. is the Conrad N. Hilton Chair of Business Ethics at Loyola Marymount University. He has been with LMU since 1994 and is an expert in business ethics, gender issues, renaissance humanism, and ethics of human treatment of dolphins in the Fishing and Entertainment Industries. Prior to joining the LMU faculty he taught at Rider University, Upsala College and Western Connecticut State University, and was a consultant for Merrill Lynch, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Mutual Benefit Life, Meridian Productions, Institute of Management Accountants and State Farm Insurance. White is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Wild Dolphin Project.

Paige Wyatt lives and breathes in Santa Cruz. She’s dreaming of big things and taking small steps toward those dreams. She spends a lot of time upside down or wondering when the next time is that she’ll be upside down. She teaches Vinyasa Flow Yoga inspired by Ana Forrest and probably every other big name Yogi out there because, let’s face it, we all inspire each other. AcroYoga  and Slackline Yoga keep her laughing and constantly creating, connecting and playing. A butterfly whisperer, she likes to hang out in meadows and talk to the tall green grass. Connection is her daily focus whether that be to her friends, students, AcroYoga co-teachers or to nature. She has been involved with the Green Yoga Association since attending the first conference in 2005 and falling in love with the concept where she could fuse her passion for the environment with her love of Yoga. She is now on the board of directors for the Association and is involved in many of the projects the Association is working on.