One of the goals of yoga is deep meditation. You’ll benefit most from deep meditation if you can sharpen your mind so you can focus and concentrate. Of course, meditation is not the only activity you need a sharp mind for. There are many times throughout your day when you need to focus. In Patanjali’s […]
Yoga offers so many wonderful tools. There are poses, breathing exercises, meditation techniques, and mantras. Another set of tools to add to the list are yoga mudras. Mudra means seal, and yoga mudras are symbolic gestures intended to facilitate the flow of energy in a direction that helps us connect with an intention we have […]
Yogis, like all people who try to live well, practice the golden rule. In fact, the yoga of kindness is the very first step on Patanjali’s eight-limb path. Kindness, or ahimsa, is referred to as non-harming or nonviolence in the Yoga Sutras. Practicing the Yoga of Kindness I won’t spend time making a case for […]
A common image on yoga clothing, jewelry and mats is the yin/yang symbol. It’s a popular image with yogis because it represents finding balance, something we strive for on and off the mat. The first limb of Patanjali’s Yoga—the five yamas—is in part about finding balance. The yamas teach us to be content with what […]
You know there is a strong connection between the mind and the body. Notice how you feel physically after a great yoga class. And think about how much stronger, more flexible, and leaner you are now than you were when you started practicing. (If you don’t notice changes like this, stick with it; you will!) […]
The last few verses of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras remind us what we need to be free from affliction. In short, we need to continue a practice of discriminative discernment. When we catch ourselves clinging to worldly success, craving attention, or worrying about our image (among other things), we can return to our yoga practice to […]
The goal of yoga is to still the mind. Stillness gives us a clear view of our true Self and shows us our connection to all that is. The Yoga Sutras teach us how to get there and offer many tools for dealing with distraction. So, once we’ve practiced with commitment, our minds will be […]
In the third section of the Yoga Sutras, we see that human being struggle with the goal of yoga, which is samadhi, or union. For me, this is encouraging. Knowing that samadhi is a state we may only glimpse in this lifetime means I don’t have to give up when distractions turn my attention from […]
Yoga means “yoke.” We practice yoga to connect with our higher selves. One benefit of this is that our yoga practice can help us function better on a daily basis. For example, we can practice yoga to improve memory and concentration. Being more alert in turn helps us us to look inward as well as […]
A yogi’s ability to achieve union with the source of consciousness goes hand-in-hand with developing nirodha. Nirodha, as we learned in the previous post, is both the practice of withdrawing the senses and the state of being in union with the divine. There are three verses in the third section of the Yoga Sutras that […]