Practice

Since yoga is, first and foremost, a practice, it is worth taking a look at two words from the yoga lexicon which are regularly translated as “practice”: abhyasa and sadhana.

Devi was woman who reinvented herself numerous times over the course of her life, who was present at many of history’s most important moments and who studied with some of the spiritual world’s most important teachers.

It’s possible to use illusion to create a different reality for oneself, and sometimes even for entire groups of people.

Astrology concurs that the manifest personality can be altered according to time and place as well. We are not as fixed as we may have thought…

The physical, mental, and spiritual ideals of yoga require more than asana practice alone. Ours is a culture on the move, and we find ourselves frequently traveling across the globe, commuting on mass transit, and navigating endless confrontations with socio-political chaos.

There is an eloquent order to this philosophical work that is thrilling even when it is esoteric and mysterious.

What do you tell yourself while you practice? Would you be embarrassed if your thoughts were suddenly to be piped through speakers to the rest of the class?

The Ayurvedic view of life is more inclusive than some yogic paths. It’s not just about salvation, and it’s not even just about following a righteous path. Ayurveda wants you to be happy!

In a culture in which the imperative to do (to achieve, to be productive) is palpable to the point of driving daily life, we would do well to remember the other side of the practice.

When Hanuman was just a little monkey god, he was completely enamored by the sun, because he thought the sun was, in fact, a giant mango. He dreamed of his opportunity to suck the sweet juice out of that King of mangos.

Attributed to Patanjali, the Yoga Sutras were compiled a few hundred years before the Common Era and are essentially the bible of yoga.

This practice of reflection has created a space between the emotion caused by a stimulus and the action that follows that emotion.

Abhyasa is difficult, but vairagya is a bitch.