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Why I love my yoga teacher
Last week I attended a week-long yoga retreat led by Patricia Walden. Now, in the glow of my return, I’m pondering the qualities that draw me back week after week to this special teacher. Here’s the countdown of my reasons. You … Continue reading
Duhkha and Sukha: A Rhyme and Whales at the Heart
Patanjali put a neat rhyme in the middle of the Sutras about the klesas. Sukha anusayi ragah Duhkha anusayi dvesah Pleasure may invite desire; Aversion lights pain on fire – The Yoga Sutras II The mirror-words for pain and pleasure, duhkha and sukha, at the root of … Continue reading
Flat Tire: Can Yoga repair a Deflated Heart?
Source: ehow.com Recently I asked someone I’m close to for help with a challenging and persistent problem. She thought about it for a few weeks and then turned me down. You know, I had been riding along OK up this … Continue reading
If Shakespeare had been a yogi he wouldn’t have written Hamlet
“To be and not to be, that is the question. Shanti, shanti, om. – Bill S.” (inscribed on monastery cell wall outside London, c 1600 C.E.) The literary critics tell us Shakespeare was the father of modern western consciousness. They … Continue reading
Don’t let your Anger Boil Over
Do things go better when you put your attention elsewhere? That’s what I learned growing up. Water boils faster when you don’t look at the pot, things are more visible in the dark if you look off to the side; … Continue reading
Why Yogis Breathe through the Nose
Oh, NO! Photo: allahabadbandb.com Want to know some of the science behind all the breathing-through-the-nose business in yoga? The answer is no! Yes, it’s nitric oxide (NO), a wonder-chemical your sinuses produce during nasal breathing, breath retention, and humming. Say “ommmmm;” the buzzing … Continue reading
Finally, a (great) book on the yamas and niyamas
For me most of the classical commentaries on the yamas and niyamas read like a shot of vodka. They’re pure and quick, and when I’m done I’m not sure what hit me. Then there’s the Shirley Temple experience of reading … Continue reading
This is your brain on yoga
Source: iStockphoto BKS Iyengar wasn’t the last giant to throw light onyoga. Western science does it almost every day, and yoga reflects light back in the other direction. In this two-way outburst of light, we can see new landmarks in the territories … Continue reading
How to do asanas with the power of a horse
Amy H. Kay Chewing my cud in the world religions section of the library a couple of decades ago, I stopped and tasted a poem that said the cosmos was really a horse of infinite size. I’ve never forgotten it, … Continue reading
