Here are the experiences I’m pulling from in my online yoga classes. I spent a while meditating in the Dalai Lama’s school, Tushita. Months of silence passed in Thailand practicing Vipassana, the technique that the Buddha practiced. I spent a season studying Traditional Hatha Yoga in Thailand and earned a 200-Hour Yoga Alliance Kundalini Yoga TTC Certification in Rishikesh, the birthplace of yoga. The yoga section of YonaUnbound recounts many of those experiences and can help you if you plan on heading to Asia for yoga or meditation. Along with all of these courses and retreats, I spent a quite a while living in the yoga hubs of Thailand, India and Bali while writing my book, Panorama.

Author of Panorama, a Coming-of-Age Novel on Evolution and Global Adventure

Panorama is a creative reflection of the personalities, cultures, and challenges I witnessed over two years of travel around the world. If you liked The Alchemist, you can expect to like Panorama. But don’t take my word for it. See for yourself.

Two years of backpacking around the world and I had paint and canvas on me the whole time. While I have a collection of works from all over the world, I was a bit more prolific before starting the global gallivanting. There are strong themes of nature and the cosmos in my works from Colorado and Alaska and I have been back to the canvas since settling in San Francisco. Check out my virtual art gallery and follow me on Instagram to see when I release new pieces.

Vedic Astrologer – Same Signs, Older System

I get that not everyone is into astrology. I think we should use a combination of reason, science, and our careful personal observation to determine reality. While astrology doesn’t yet fit into the mainstream Western understanding of reality, it fits pretty snuggly into the traditional Eastern understanding of reality. I feel so lucky to be alive at a time when we can juggle both realities and parse out the wisdom in each.

My experiences studying yoga philosophy and reading charts for years inspires me to continue studying astrology. I have simply witnessed too much accuracy to write it off as coincidence, specifically in the Vedic system. If nothing else, it is a tool to look into ourselves.

You may be wondering at this point what Vedic philosophy is. If you don’t want to nerd out on history for a second, skip to the next paragraph. But if you do, let’s go!

Alexander the Great went on a culture tour of India 2000ish years ago. He discovered astrology, which has been around for 5000ish years and brought it back home. Astrology blossomed in the West but there was one little problem: the Europeans had an inaccurate calculation of the day. Thus the leap year in our modern lives. This created a miscalculation that still exists today as most Westerners still use Western astrology. The Indians who invented the system always had an accurate time of day though, which is why I follow their system, the Vedic system. It’s pretty much the same, just a bit more precise, allowing for more specific prediction.

A few of you may be wondering…

Yona, Could You do a Vedic Astrology Reading for Me?

Yep. I have been studying Vedic astrology since 2015 and have read hundreds of charts. I offer phone and online readings or if you happen to be in San Francisco (or wherever I might be at any given time), we can arrange an in-person reading. You can visit this page to learn more about setting an appointment with me or message me through Instagram @YonaUnbound.