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?
Letting go the Autumn Leaf of Approval Seeking
As autumn colors the world with leafy vibrance, it’s the perfect time to reflect on surrender. As natural beings, our bodies and minds move eagerly to the rhythm of the seasons. In the natural world, the trees break down the chlorophyll to free up nutrients. Once that's complete, plant hormones send messages each leaf stem …
Continue reading "Letting go the Autumn Leaf of Approval Seeking"
Autumnal Equinox: Transitioning with Curiosity and Joy
Everything moves to a rhythm. From the revolution of galaxies and stars to the vibration of atoms. The equinoxes and solstices offer us a chance to reflect on the rhythm of the seasons. You might have noticed that yoga instructors tend to bring up these seasonal events, as well as the monthly pulse of the …
Continue reading "Autumnal Equinox: Transitioning with Curiosity and Joy"
Quick Yoga-Break
Physical Exercise beyond Pain/Gain Myth
No Pain, No Gain. You've heard it. Heck, you've probably grown up with it. The steady stream of Nike ads and fashion magazines tells you over and over: "If you don't go hard, go home." Extremism is built into a capitalist society because it depends on people not ever having or being enough. This is …
The Heart of the Phoenix
There is alchemy in the season, an alchemy we kindle in our hearts, burning away the dross of our own limiting beliefs to let our genuine selves radiate outward.
Fluctuations of the Mind: Sutra 1.5
Vrttayah Panchatayyah Klishta Aklishtah "There are five kinds of fluctuations in the mind and they can be painful or painless." Vrittayah = modifications/fluctuations (of the mind-stuff); Panchatayyah = five kinds; klishta = painful; aklishta = painless. The precise list of the "five kinds" comes up in Sutra 1.6. For now, though we get the two categories of pain …
Journey into the Hips
We tend to hold our awareness up in the head, and not even the whole head: we hang out right behind the eyes. And yet, our nervous system extends through every last part of our bodies. We don't normally pay our bodies much attention unless there's something wrong with it. Yoga asks us to inhabit …
Not Abiding: Yoga Sutra 1.4
Continuing from the sutra 1.3, in which the writer sums up the whole goal of yoga (to abide in one's true nature), we come to 1.4: Vritti Sarupyam Itaratra "At other times, [the Self seems to] identify with the mind's fluctuations" Vritti = "modifications" (of the chitti, mind-stuff, mentioned in sutra 1.2), sarupyam = "assumes the forms …
Yoga Sutra 1.2
[This is a series of commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, a classical text compiling yogic wisdom. The author may be a single figure (the sage Patanjali), or may be various sages using the same title. Claims date the writing anywhere from 5000 BCE to 300 CE. It is often regarded as a core …