Topics from the Yoga Circles book
Most of us in the West have heard of the Ten Commandments. If you’re a yogi, you probably also know about the five yamas and the five niyamas. If you don’t, they are the principles the yogic sage Patanjali gave yogis as a guide for right living; think of them as the ten commandments for … [Read more…]
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are full of wisdom. The goal of Patanjali’s yoga is Self-realization, but we can use the wisdom of the sutras in everyday life. While we’d love to be enlightened beings all the time, we’re human. One way the sutras help us is by teaching us how to deal with people. … [Read more…]
Is yoga a religion? You may already have an answer to this question, but your answer probably depends on how you define religion. Whether you think of yoga as a religion or not, it’s hard to deny that yoga practiced with deep devotion has a lot in common with religion. If you practice classical yoga, … [Read more…]
Recently, I had the opportunity to learn the basics of Buddhism at the beautiful Dharmakaya Center For Wellbeing in Cragsmoor, New York. Like any good yogi, I’ve explored Buddhism before, but what I knew about it was mostly some vocabulary words (like Nirvana, liberation, Noble Truths, and Eightfold Path) and meditation practices and philosophical ideas … [Read more…]
My first yoga class was in a library, not a gym or a yoga studio. It was a community school class held at the high school I’d graduated from five years earlier. I remember that class well, even though it was decades ago. Even though I fell in love with yoga quickly, I only practiced … [Read more…]
For Christians, Lent is traditionally a time to fast and repent. It’s a time to make a conscious effort to put aside obstacles to our relationship with God. If you’re Christian, or if you know Christians, you may associate Lent with giving up chocolate or alcohol, for example. For yogis who are also Christian, there … [Read more…]
Love is a noun. It’s also a verb. So, when you say you love (fill in the blank), what do you mean? I’ll bet you mean something different almost every time you say it, because you’re defining love by what you do (or feel or think). Many people believe in the concept of unconditional love. … [Read more…]
Have you ever left a yoga class feeling like you’re floating on a cloud? Even if the feeling isn’t so dramatic, I’m sure you’ve experienced a shift after a yoga class that makes you wonder how yoga and the nervous system are connected. Maybe you go into class feeling anxious and you leave feeling calm. … [Read more…]
You won’t escape people asking about New Year’s resolutions or intentions for the new year. If you’re like me (I haven’t made New Year’s resolutions in nearly a decade) you may cringe when everyone starts talking about all the ways their lives will be different after January first. You’ve probably noticed most resolutions or intentions … [Read more…]
It would seem at first that being authentic, while a valuable concept, isn’t really a yoga topic. But it’s come up in my yoga classes more than once recently—and I think I know why. I wrote a while ago about one of my teacher’s dharma talks about vulnerability, and how being authentic isn’t possible unless we … [Read more…]