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More and more frequently I hear these days when I encounter new students the words “spiritual” and “non-spiritual practice”. Recently I had a conversation with a new coming student about his preference for spiritual yoga classes rather than classes with too many and “difficult” asanas. When I asked him to
Asteya(non-stealing) is the third from the five yamas(self-restrictions) that are mentioned in the text Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. It says “to not steal or desire something that is not yours, to not borrow something without the permission of the owner, to not take others’ ideas”. As to the rest of
The Buddha was born in Southern Nepal, he was a prince and lived in a way that all of his worldly needs were satisfied. He had abundance, luxury, pleasure & power. But the Buddha was a normal person not so different from any of us; later in his life when
Mindfulness functions in an atmosphere of detachment and aspires towards pure objectivity, an awareness which reflects the nature of the object exactly as they are, without adding to them, without elaborating upon them, without interpreting them through the screens of subjective evaluation and commentary. – Bhikkhu Bodhi Mindfulness is the
The second of the Yamas is called Satya, the word means truth and in the yogic tradition, it refers to the quality of staying true in thought, speech, and action. To not exaggerate and not speak for things you don’t know. The word sat means “that which is, that which
Halloween provides a time to put on masks and costumes. We can pretend to be someone else. However, after Halloween, we take the masks and the costumes off. But what happens with the invisible masks or armor that we wear in order to protect ourselves. Things like: … I am
Chanting and mantra recitation have accompanied yoga practice for thousands of years. Chanting is of course both the in-toning of the rich vibratory sounds and the simultaneous listening to them. The concentrated in-toning of sound vibrates all along the axis of the body from the perineum up through the head,
Yoga philosophy is ancient and at the same time it is timeless. This is the reason why in our times it is one of the most effective tools that the modern man has in his disposal who looks for a balanced and a better everyday life that allows him to
For pranayama practitioners, Kapalabhati is the most important kriya. It should be mastered before any pranayama is commenced (unless it is very, very basic pranayama) and it should prelude any immediate individual pranayama session (unless the practitioner is very advanced). Benefits of Kapalabhati The Hatha Yoga Pradipika states that
For every person, yoga means something else, for one person it may be physical activity, for someone else maybe it is meditation, or maybe chanting, but definitely the word yoga which means “unity” is something more than a 60-minute class, it is something more than the ability to stand on
