Topics from the Yoga Circles book
Last weekend, I attended an Advent yoga class. When I began my yoga practice decades ago, I wouldn’t have expected to find such a thing. I can’t say for sure how I landed at the class this year, but it may have had something to do with reminiscing about childhood traditions—something my husband and I … [Read more…]
Spiritual seekers face many obstacles. In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali names roadblocks to enlightenment and tells us how to get around them. These obstacles are listed in sutra 1.30. According to a translation by Reverend Jaganath Carrera, roadblocks to enlightenment include disease, dullness, doubt, carelessness, laziness, sensuality, false perception, failure to reach firm ground, and … [Read more…]
Chanting mantras is a powerful way to turn inward and quiet the mind. While there are many mantras, few are as well-known as the sound of OM. But what does OM mean? In Yoga Sutra 1.28, Patanjali reminds us that chanting the mantra and reflecting on its meaning are keys to enlightenment. Maybe you’ve heard … [Read more…]
There’s sometimes a misconception that yogis transcend all the messiness of life. Early in our practice, we’re often taught to let it go, as one of my teachers pointed out recently. But she wasn’t pointing that out to encourage it necessarily. She was pointing it out to dispel the myth that it’s always a simple … [Read more…]
A while back, I had an interesting though unsettling experience. I’d posted a question online asking yoga teachers and practitioners to help me tease out the difference between the sixth and seventh limbs of yoga. One of the teachers who responded led me to think in more depth about yoga in the West. If you’re … [Read more…]
As we tap into the fire of tapas and learn more about ourselves through the practice of self-study, we begin to strip away layers of ego. Eventually, we reach a point beyond our intellect. At that point, we need faith in a higher power to go further. Faith in a higher power is the fifth … [Read more…]
Since it is winter in the northern hemisphere, I’m thinking about heat. And that reminds me of the third niyama — tapas — and the idea of (figuratively speaking) lighting a fire that can transform us. As we begin a new year, it’s an especially appropriate time to focus on the third niyama. Tapas seems … [Read more…]
In yoga philosophy, non-attachment is a key concept that runs counter to human nature in a lot of ways. The principle refers to putting forth effort without attachment to the results of that effort. The practice of non-attachment gives us more freedom and opportunity to use our gifts, because it allows us to focus on … [Read more…]
As we move into the month of March and transition from winter to spring, we may begin to think of spring cleaning. In yoga, the first of the five niyamas — guidelines for how we interact with the world and those around us — is purity, or saucha. Think about the first niyama for a … [Read more…]
Adhering to the yogic principle of non-possessiveness—the fifth yama—is a challenge. But its power cannot be denied. When I’m able to replace possessiveness with gratitude, my life improves dramatically! How does this work? If you’re familiar with the yamas and niyamas, you know they are guidelines for living. I sometimes think of them as the … [Read more…]