Do you ever wonder what your yoga practice is really about? Of course, we know that we’re instructed to go into a series of poses, but why? What do the poses do? How does yoga actually affect the body and the mind, as it purports to do? It turns out that there is a long history of yoga philosophy that
Well, it’s officially here: The start of the holiday season! While some people eagerly wait for 365 entire days to finally break out the Mariah Carey Christmas album, the holiday season can be complicated for many. While it can inspire a spirit of charity and kinship with other human beings, it can simultaneously magnify any perceived deficiencies in our lives: Our loneliness
“If not now, when?” -Eckhart Tolle There are a million things in life that we put off. Some are obvious choices – boring chores, returning a call to someone you don’t really want to talk to (admit it, you’ve been there!) – but others are things we actually want to do, but we justify delaying them for some reason or another. We may
Here at last! ÂToday we are exploring the last of the 8 limbs of yoga -Âsamadhi, or oneness with the absolute. To putÂsamadhi into context, let’s revisit Limb 7 -Âdhyana, or meditation. ÂDhyana allows us to maintain continuous focus on an object, mantra, action, etc. – without interruption from unrelatedÂthoughts or outside influences. ÂEventually, asÂdhyanaÂcontinues, we reach a state of
Almost to the end of the 8 limbs! Today we will discuss Limb 7 – dhyana, or meditation. This limb may be a little more familiar to those interested in yoga. You almost can’t go a day anymore without hearing about the benefits of meditation! Dhyana occurs when we have focused our concentration on something – an action, object, mantra, the present
Today we will talk about Limb 6 – dharana, or concentration. Recall that the last limb discussed (Limb 5) was pratyahara, or withdrawing the senses from the outside world and bringing them toward the internal world. In a way, Limb 5 marks the transition from the physical world to the inner spiritual world. Limb 6 continues that path toward inner stillness. Once
Onward to Limb 5 – pratyahara! Pratyahara is the practice of withdrawing the senses from the outside world. So…what in the world does that mean? To get our bearings, let’s revisit the previous 4 limbs. Recall Limb 1 – the yamas, which represent the ethical rules by which we live our lives. Limb 2 is the niyamas, or the spiritual observances that guide
The fourth limb of yoga isÂpranayama, or control of breath. Why is breath control important to mind-body balance? We all know the feeling – when we feel anxious or panicked, all we can think about is the stressful situation. ÂOur heart rate goes up, our muscles become tense, and in most cases, our breathing speeds up. ÂIn essence, our stressful
Ahhhhh, we’ve finally come to Limb 3: Asana. ÂAHHHHH-sana. Â(Did you see what I did there?) Asana is the part of a yoga practice that we typically think of when we tell a friend, “OMG come to yoga with me!” ÂWe are usually talking about the physical practice of getting into poses and breathing as you flow from one pose
The second of the eight limbs is the niyamas, or spiritual observances. The niyamas are recommended practices for day-to-day living that contribute to balance within mind, body, and spirit. There are 5 niyamas, which are as follows: 1. Saucha, or cleanliness/purification. Based on saucha, we are encouraged to remove impurities from both our external and internal environments. This means nourishing our bodies with pure, clean food