One of my favorite images is of the Hindu deity Hanuman embracing Lord Rama. The devotion of Hanuman is a powerful legend. As the story goes, Hanuman, son of a monkey (his mom) and Vayu, the Lord of the Winds (his dad), had an impressive skill. As a boy, he could lift the hills and toss … [Read more…]
On Inauguration Day, just as the new president was about to take the oath of office, I switched off my car radio and entered a wonderful new healing center down the road from my new home. I visited the center this day because my dear yoga teacher, Marla, had invited me to experience her unique … [Read more…]
Among the many ways yoga can change your life is it teaches you to get grounded when life tries to topple you over. Like anything worth achieving, it takes trial and error, failure and practice to hone this skill. Why is it important to get grounded? Things change all the time. Every day, the unexpected happens … [Read more…]
Recently, my yoga teacher gave me a book titled The Universe Has Your Back. It came at a particularly interesting time—a time when I felt the Universe might be conspiring to make me miserable. I wanted to trust the Universe, but sometimes it’s just so difficult! A few days before I received the book, which appeared … [Read more…]
Paramahansa Yogananda, whose life is chronicled in the yoga classic Autobiography of a Yogi, said, “To be fit for self-realization, man must be fearless.” Yoga can make you fearless. It can also give you personal power. Fearlessness often comes up in yoga, particularly when students are learning challenging poses. But what does it mean to be … [Read more…]
You cannot be anyone you want to be. I read that sentence recently in a book about finding your dharma and it surprised me. The Great Work of Your Life, by Stephen Cope begins with an inspiring pep talk for anyone not quite sure what he or she is meant to do in this life. It’s also … [Read more…]
A central purpose of yoga is to yoke the mind, to control it rather than let it control us. Before we can do this, we need to understand how the mind works. Once we understand what the yoga sutras call the five modifications of the mind, we’ll know how to approach working with our minds. … [Read more…]