Category: Yoga Texts
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Lecture Summary of Samkhya Philosophy
I came across this PDF which is someone’s lecture notes on Samkhya. I don’t know who wrote it, I found it here, I found it good enough to read through and store in my own archives. I am still looking for a more integrative experience of Samkhya, something less bullet-list, more whole story.
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Pranayama Before Kriya
There is too much evidence that Kriya practices have, like many other Yoga practices, devolved into a fashion based on superficial information. This includes practices like Neti (cleansing of the nasal passages for which you can find “instructional” videos on YouTube or accessories in Yoga shops) and Vasti (enemas) which (though thankfully not yet represented…
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Yoga Sutra – Chapter 2 Sutra 29
I’ve been dancing around Sutra 2.29 in two recent articles. The first was “Tapas & Relationships” and just yesterday as I was exploring Sutra 2.31. I didn’t have any intention to write about it until a recent debate began between myself and Bob Weisenberg on the comment thread of one of his Gita Talks posts.…
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Yoga Sutra – Chapter 2 Sutra 31
An article I recently published on Tapas & Relationships continued to reverberate within me for days after I published it. I was particularly caught up with Sutra 2.31 which seems to describes a relationship between the first two practices on the ashtanga list – Yama & Niyama. Ashtanga: Eight Limbs of Yoga Sutra 2.29 (second…
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Yoga Sutra – Chapter 4 Sutra 34
A couple of days ago I had a conversation with a caring relative who was worried about me / for me. She was referring to an unpleasant period I had gone through recently. She asked if I considered seeking professional/medical help and suggested that medication may be helpful. I replied that I did not consider…
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Tapas and Relationships
This post was inspired by a post titled “Let Them Eat Harmony” by Joe Gerstandt. What I liked about it and caught my attention was this: “… tension is a catalyst for learning, for change, and for evolution … “ Friction Joe’s post is focused on relationships between people and the idea of “tension” is…
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Jihva Bandha – Tongue Lock
Bandhas seem like a very popular topic amongst western Yoga practitioners. Bandhas are “locks” that are used to effect the flow of energy in the body. Energetically, bandhas are effective and relevant when there is already a good flow of energy. But bandhas have another quality which can be useful for almos all practices and…
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Yoga Sutra – Chapter 1 Sutra 1
atha yoga-anusanam “Now begin the authoritative teachings of Yoga” Translation by TKV Desikachar This sutra has been on my mind for a few weeks now until a recent conversation with my teacher brought clarity to my thoughts. This is the sutra that opens the Yoga Sutra – a text that is well known for it’s…
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Yoga Rahasya
During my years of Yoga training I heard numerous times mention of a text called “Yoga Rahasya”. It came to me only in the past year. It arrived on the day Andreea left to Romania as if it waited for a space to open up. Yoga Rahasya (“Secrets of Yoga”) is said to have been…
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Yoga Sutra – Chapter 2 Sutra 46
Have you ever watched someone thread a needle using funny and useless facial expressions – as if that would help to get the thread into the small hole? In a way that’s what this sutra is about sthira sukham asanam “Asana must have the dual qualities of alertness and relaxation” Translation by TKV Desikachar This…
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Yoga Sutra – Chapter 3 Sutra 6
This post started with an intent to share a chant, one of the first I learned. When I began to prepare it, I found a new link, one I was given many years ago, but only now did it shimmer for me and I took the time to assimilate it. This chant (see below) is…
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The Morning After
The morning after I decided not to push myself began with a special quality of practice. Seated postures (forward bends) had a long and soft quality which I usually manage only in evening practices; so was the Pranayama – I was able to practice a soft and refined Nadi Sodhana (which is usually not available…
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Low Down Yoga Sutra – Chapter1: Clarity
What is Yoga? Now begins the teaching of how everything comes together It’s all about the ability to focus steadily on one thing without any distractions Then that thing appears for what it truly is Instead of what you want to make it out to be Activities of the Mind There are five activities through…
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Energy – Prana
This was a difficult post for me to write – I couldn’t find a clear way to express my experience of Prana. Prana is one of the Vedic concepts that I internalized (and continue to clarify) through years of practice. My initial attempts to collect my thoughts and express them in writing fell short of…
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I Should Have
During my morning Yoga practice, a thought came to me about a change I should make in it (something about it’s energetic qualities). It was a special moment – a new, fresh and subtle perspective – a crystallization. It happened in an instant and then, within a few seconds, a second thought appeared in my…
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A Place for Yoga
A few years ago I taught for a few months at a very fashionable Yoga studio. It was located on a boardwalk facing the ocean. There was also a power station emitting toxins into the air near by. A student once asked me if it wasn’t potentially unhealthy to practice Yoga and especially breathing practices…