Live Life to the Fullest: Thriving in The Third Stage of Life
How can our later years be the most vital time of life? Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian shares how Yoga philosophy and practice light the path for healthy, vital, and purposeful living at every stage of life. Learn how these spiritual teachings can inspire your life journey and help you prepare for and navigate your later years.
Yogacharya O’Brian is a western woman who teaches the riches of Indian philosophy in a fully accessible and inspiring way for newcomers and longtime practitioners alike. Ordained by Roy Eugene Davis, a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda, she has been teaching Kriya Yoga philosophy and practice, and leading meditation retreats for more than four decades. On her author website EllenGraceOBrian.com she offers many online learning programs. You will also find many inspirational blog posts and other resources for your study. She is also the founder and spiritual director of The Center for Spiritual Enlightenment, a meditation center in the Kriya Yoga tradition.
The Third Stage of Life Retreat Online or In-Person October 6 through 8, 2022.
THE YOGA HOUR TEAM COMMENTS: I thoroughly enjoyed the program and learned so much from Yogacharya about the stages of life as described in the Vedas and especially the third stage, that can be described in English as the retirement stage. She shared that these stages in life are related to archetypes that are within us all—at all times we have some level of all these stages within; the student stage, the householder stage, the retirement/hermit stage and the renunciant stage. All these stages are related to dharmic living, living our lives in the highest way with the higher purpose of Self- and God-realization. Yogacharya said that despite what our culture tells us about getting older, she sees it as an exciting time. It is a time to simplify and discover what is important in life; a time to let go and discover what connects me with my soul's joy and do that. This topic is so important to not only those of us in that third stage of life, but to everyone, no matter what age and stage they are in.
DR. TRUJILLO’S COMMENTS: It was wonderful to have Yogacharya O’Brian as a guest on The Yoga Hour to discuss the four Vedic stages of life, and how to thrive in the third stage. She says that the anchor of all four stages is living a dharmic life, living with higher purpose. I appreciated her comments that the four Asramas can also be viewed as separate life paths as well as sequential stages of life: student, householder, hermit or forest dweller, and renunciate. Our conversation about how these four stages of life tie-in with the four life goals was illuminating: student with dharma(living with higher purpose), householder with artha (prosperity), forest dweller with kama (pleasure) and renunciate with moksha (liberation). Her final advice to listeners, that it is imperative to fall in love with your life, regardless of the stage, was inspiring.