Yoga Stories: Ashoka

This week Monica and Matt speak with Ashoka Mody, an economics professor at Princeton. Born and raised in India, Ashoka's first asana practice began between graduating from High School and going to University. The Ashram providing the classes was just opposite his school. A great believer in chance/coincidence/conjuncture, his journey led him to begin transcendental meditation and then on to study with Swami Akhandanandji in Vrindavan, the town where Lord Krishna grew up.

After moving to the USA, he continued a dual track - also studying at the Himalayan Institute. His has been a lifelong spiritual practice - of yoga asana, meditation and study of the Vedic Scriptures. Study and practice is best when you keep bringing it into your practical and daily life - something taught to Ashoka that we can all live by. 

Ashoka gives us his recommendations for starting a spiritual reading practice and he recommends that over looking for, or recommending a guru. A good place for those of us in the West to start is with the translations of the Yoga Sutra and the Bhagavad-Gita by Christopher Isherwood. 

We found this interview to be warm and inspiring and we hope you do too!