Category: Yoga Discussion

Posted on

2020 & the Tyranny of Should

Here, in the thick of resolution season, the "shoulds" and "should nots" arise to constrict habits and behavior. By the end of the month many of those resolutions fail. We adhere to the "should", maybe even more strongly than our original standard, then we feel like we "should" stay there or "do better". Then, if we fail to meet the increasingly unsustainable standards, we punish ourselves with guilt. A build up of guilt often flips to defiance and we abandon the resolution completely. So how do we navigate this?

Posted on

Five Whirlpools: Yoga Sutra 1.6

Again and again in the literature, the mind is compared to a lake reflecting reality. The smoother the surface is, the more pure the reflection. By analogy, the vritti ruffle the surface with eddies, making it harder to understand ourselves and our place in the universe at any given moment in our brief lives.

Posted on

Fiery Breathing

If you've been attending yoga classes for a while, you may have been exposed to several types of pranayama, or breathing exercises. With the sanskrit names and the various translations, it might be hard to keep some of them straight. Throw in the fact that even some yoga teachers use the various titles interchangeably, and the …

Continue reading "Fiery Breathing"

Posted on

Abide: Yoga Sutra 1.3

Tada drastuh svarupe avasthanam Tada = "then", drastuh = "the Seer", svarupe = in one's own nature/form (sva--in one's own, rupe--form/nature) avasthanam = "abides/resides" "Then the seer [Self] abides in its own true nature" Aaaand... we get to our first verb: abides. [Who can hear the word "abide" and not think of the Big Lebowski? Anyone? Dating myself here?] With "abide", …

Continue reading "Abide: Yoga Sutra 1.3"