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    • Yoga Behind Bars: Teaching Mindfulness in a Juvenile Detention Center

      HorizonHorizon

      By The Chopra Well

      This week's episode of URBAN YOGIS gives us a rare look at the inside of a youth detention facility, where one dedicated yoga instructor is busy changing the lives of teenagers within its walls. Leslie Booker began her career in the fashion industry and would have never guessed she'd one day exchange the runway for a juvenile detention center in the Bronx. But then again, Leslie certainly wouldn't be the first to see her life transformed by the practice of yoga.

      Leslie teaches yoga and meditation practices to youth in detention facilities in New York City through Lineage Project. Lineage places yoga instructors in prisons, public schools and other community sites where young people can most benefit from the calming and therapeutic techniques of the practice. In their own words, Lineage's mission is to "use mindfulness practices to break the cycle of poverty, violence and incarceration in New York City." Their students range from ages ten to 24 and

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    • Orgasmic Meditation: An Interview with Sexpert Nicole Daedone

      Screen Shot 2012-10-22 at 12.23.31 PMScreen Shot 2012-10-22 at 12.23.31 PM

      By The Chopra Well

      The latest episode of 30 DAYS OF INTENT on The Chopra Well YouTube channel may be the most "radical" of all. You are in for a treat! As part of their 30-day transformation journey, Natalie and Iman meet with author and speaker Nicole Daedone for an introduction to Orgasmic Meditation.

      Watch the episode here!

      This wellness practice brings two people together for a 15-minute session of clitoral stimulation. (Do we have your attention?) We interviewed Nicole on the meaning and importance of orgasmic meditation. Hear why she thinks believe OM will be the next yoga or meditation in the wellness toolkit!

      The Chopra Well: What is OM and where does it fit in a holistic wellness program for personal development?

      Nicole Daedone: OM stands for Orgasmic Meditation. It's a practice that is a gateway to more vitality, connection and Turn On. It's deliberate and structured with repeatable results. It's a meditation, equally powerful for both

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    • How a Celeb Photographer Found Yoga and Never Looked Back

      Screen Shot 2012-10-23 at 12.42.14 PMScreen Shot 2012-10-23 at 12.42.14 PMBy The Chopra Well

      It's no secret that yoga is a popular pastime among celebrities and socialites. Being mindful and living a healthy lifestyle has perhaps never been so celebrated as it is today. But what about when a big shot photographer - who has captured the likes of Andy Warhol, Billy Idol, and The Rolling Stones - turns away from his glamorous life in pursuit of a very different path?

      Check it out in the latest episode of URBAN YOGIS on The Chopra Well.

      Michael Halsband made his entry into the art world at the height of rock'n'roll photography. The list of people and bands he has photographed, collaborated with, and even traveled with is remarkable. The beauty and richness of celebrity life captured Michael's imagination and aesthetic sensibility, and that passion comes across in his exquisite photographs. But glamor fades and stars age, and Michael began to look around ask himself, "What now?"

      In URBAN YOGIS Michael describes an encounter with Coldplay's

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    • How Yoga Messed with My Mind

      love your body - 2

      By Angela Jamison

      Santa Monica in 2001 felt like the crux of Kali Yuga. The dark age of the spirit. That's where I got in to yoga.

      I went to UCLA for a Sociology PhD. I would train in what C. Wright Mills called seeing the familiar in the strange, and the strange in the familiar. Statistics, archival research, and ethnography. Science.

      The second month of graduate school, a car got in the way of that plan. It hit and nearly killed me in a crosswalk just off Santa Monica Boulevard. When I came to, an EMT was inserting a needle into my forearm, and-shell shocked-I began to fight. She told me that my neck was broken, and that if I didn't stop struggling, I'd be paralyzed. Voila. This well-timed suggestion took my body offline from the neck down until early the following morning.

      For 24 years I had identified as the weakest, most physically awkward, least flexible kid in the class: my body had been a problem whose cravings and failings delayed my intellectual

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    • Thoughts on Hair, Beauty, and Race

      By Mona Opubor


      Nigeria is the Promised Land

      I'm an Indian woman, and you know what? I have BEAUTIFUL HAIR. It's shiny and lustrous. I have the kind of hair you see in hair commercials.

      I married a Nigerian man. When I met him, he had dreadlocks. Now he shaves his head once a week, almost to the scalp.

      We have three children whose hair is unlike their parents… or one another's. And you know what? They have BEAUTIFUL HAIR.

      There seems to be universal agreement that my hair is great. But not everyone agrees with me about my kids. I know the politics are complex but I don't believe that the more African your hair is, the less attractive it is.

      Radha has soft, thick hair. It tangles easily. When it is long and she wears it down-i.e., not now-I have to detangle it for forty-five minutes before we can leave the house. She has tight curls. Her hair grows up into the sky, not down to her shoulders. It grows very fast. It is hard to give her a good haircut but it

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    • Do You Need a Body to Do Yoga?

      Yuko during treatmentYuko during treatmentBy The Chopra Well

      From the confines of a hospital bed, what options do you have to move around?
      Wires, tubes, sheets, and monitors all conspire to keep the body still and safe, but the inactivity can be agonizing. Many of us take our freedom of motion for granted, and the painful lack only hits home when we are seriously ill or injured and unable to move.

      Artist Yuko Kodama found herself in this predicament when she learned she had a rare and aggressive form of cancer in her mouth. The latest episode of The Chopra Well show, Urban Yogis, features Yuko's story and the role yoga played her recovery. A yogini for over sixteen years, Yuko lay in her hospital bed, desperate to move and stretch her body. In an amazing moment of inspiration, Yuko closed her eyes and began doing her Ashtanga yoga practice in her head. "This is great - I don't even need a body to do yoga!"

      In addition to her other treatments, this imagined yoga practice helped Yuko develop the strength and confidence

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    • Life, Loss, and the Healing Power of Horses

      By The Chopra Well

      In today's episode on The Chopra Well's 30 DAYS OF INTENT, Iman and Natalie visit Silver Horse Healing Ranch. Sara Fancy practices horse therapy at her therapeutic and educational facility, and she leads Iman and Natalie each through a session. We interviewed Sara on her former body building career and why horse therapy is such a powerful healing practice.

      Watch the episode here!

      11061_1256140436165_3986584_n11061_1256140436165_3986584_nThe Chopra Well: We have to ask…It says in your intro card that you are a former body builder! Can you tell us about that?

      Sara Fancy: I quit competitive bodybuilding in 1996 after focusing on it for ten years. I came to the realization that a professional bodybuilding career for women did not really exist, meaning there was no potential for making any money even though I was competing for my pro card. Bodybuilding takes a tremendous amount of discipline and focus. After quitting I was at a loss as to what to do with my life. I started boxing and had a trainer but when

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    • Surrendering to Healing...In The Arms of a Stranger

      NatalieNatalieBy Bristol Baughan

      I spent most of my life thinking that being tough, requiring little sleep, working 24/7 and being unemotional were bad-ass signs of being evolved. Until, of course, that way of thinking stopped working and my will and ambition-flavored energy dried up. I have had to dig deep through a ton of layers of conditioning to re-frame the idea of nurturing as fundamental to thriving.

      It is pretty incredible how "nurturing" ourselves as adults, as opposed to nurturing someone else or a child, is considered self-indulgent or selfish, as we grow older. Watsu massage was one of the first experiences I had on my healing journey that helped me experience the value of self-nurturing. The third episode of 30 DAYS OF INTENT, on The Chopra Well, surprises Natalie and Iman with their own Watsu sessions, and it was my hope that Natalie and Iman would have a similar experience as I did. All they were told was to bring a swimsuit, nothing more.

      Watsu massage was created by

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    • Go on a Spiritual Journey This Fall with Deepak Chopra and Friends

      Screen Shot from Screen Shot from The Chopra Well, is proud to announce the launch of three new shows this Fall! 30 DAYS OF INTENT, URBAN YOGIS, and THE RABBIT HOLE are unprecedented shows targeted to engage the critical mass on a journey of exploration, transformation, wellness, and growth. Our unique position as a YouTube channel allows us to harness the communicative power of technology to share uplifting, inspiring stories - entirely free of cost, as they should be!

      Deepak's thoughts on technology and social media…

      Social Media is a powerful tool that connects people from around the world, and gives them practical ways to improve their lives. Technology allows us to build a critical mass of people dedicated to personal transformation for global transformation.

      The channel draws on Deepak, Gotham and Mallika's collective experiences, inter-generational wisdom and life journeys to help fulfill their mission to inspire 100 million people to change the world, one personal transformation at a

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    • What Gets in the Way of Your Fitness Routine?

      By The Chopra Well

      Natalie at the end of her hike with Iman, Holly and JessNatalie at the end of her hike with Iman, Holly and Jess

      To kick off their journey on 30 DAYS OF INTENT, Natalie and Iman visit celebrity trainer Holly Perkins for a lesson on fitness. They're joined by YouTube star ExoticJess, and the whole gang goes for a hike in the Topanga Canyon. We interviewed Holly on her favorite fitness techniques and ways of maintaining an exercise routine.

      The Chopra Well: It looks like you, Natalie, Iman, and Jess had a lot of fun hiking! What do you think usually gets in the way for people regarding exercise?

      Holly Perkins: I find the number one reason why people don't exercise is lack of time. In truth, no one has the time to exercise; you have to make the time. Interestingly, I believe that a person's motivation goes even deeper than scheduling. I believe that many people perceive a workout as something that will be tiring and therefore, don't feel they have the energy for it. In some ways, that person doesn't really want to workout.

      Therefore, a tight schedule

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