"By contentment, supreme joy is gained." sutra 2.42 "Niyama consists of purity, contentment, accepting but not causing pain, study, and self-surrender. sutra 2.32 Santosha is Sanskrit for contentment. The word contentment/santosha is first mentioned in The Yoga Sutras among the list of five niyamas (sutra 2.32). Side note: My take on the niyamas is they guide our internal compass. They're ethical principles (or observances) that strengthen our character and guide us to live life in the … [Read more...]
Yoga’s Little Secret: Pranayama
"...the movements of inhalation and exhalation should be controlled. This is pranayama." sutra 2.49 "Or that calm is retained by the controlled exhalation or retention of the breath." sutra 1.34 Pranayama is yoga's little secret. Outside of the yoga world, no one talks about fully dedicating attention to your breath unless you're hyperventilating or experience some other health issue like pneumonia or asthma. Even then, in my limited experience, the medical world rarely knows what the … [Read more...]
Are You a REAL Yoga Teacher?
As part of the 2012 Arts Festival Day at an elementary school in Alexandria, VA, my yoga teacher-friend Brittanie DeChino and I volunteered to do a few yoga demonstrations to third, fourth and fifth-graders. We taught them sound breathing (a breathing technique we learned from our teacher Sri Dharma Mittra), sun salutations, balancing poses, partner yoga and a few other fun things. It was a nice change from my daily office yoga gigs. At the end of each 20-minute presentation, we opened it up … [Read more...]
Stumped by sutra 4.19
The mind-stuff is not self-luminous because it is an object of perception by the Purusha. sutra 4.19 (Purusha is known as the individual soul, divine Self in all beings) I knew there would come a time during my 2012 yoga sutra journey/writing when I would be completely stumped. Well that day is here. The truth is the day actually happened a couple of weeks ago. I kept thinking if I held off on this posting something inspiring would show up in my life that could help me relate to sutra … [Read more...]
Happy Mind, Happy Life (sutra 1.33)
I opened my last post the exact same way...yoga studios in the Northern Virginia/DC area these days are showing up on every corner, becoming as commonplace as Starbucks. Overall it's an awesome trend. I love seeing more people sharing yoga and creating a positive impact in the community. I believe those teachers and studios who "practice what they preach" will succeed. I also believe it will be rough for those opening the doors with expectations of high financial returns (particularly since … [Read more...]
Attachment (sutra 2.7)
Attachment is that which follows identification with pleasurable experiences. sutra 2.7 Pretty straightforward sutra, right? The tricky part of attachment is how sneaky it is in our lives. The action/object/tendency we're attached to starts out as a simple moment of joy. And then we repeat the action seeking the same positive experience it originally created. Next thing you know, we become attached to the experience triggered by the object/action/tendency. And then the attachment … [Read more...]
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