Community
Not Stealing
As a kid I once pocketed the change and bills I saw on the tables in a restaurant. I thought the world inexplicably kind that day, and I didn’t think to ask whether the money belonged to someone. If I … Continue reading
Non-harming
Non-harming is the first practice on the list, a sign at the outer perimeter of the territory of the first ten practices of yoga. “Entering Non-harming Population: TBD” The countryside is initially familiar, with little to distinguish it from the … Continue reading
Having Fiery Energy
I prefer not to define this principle in the conventional way as zeal or discipline, mainly because I don’t aspire to be a zealot or disciplinarian. I like the term “fiery energy”; it is close to the Sanskrit roots and … Continue reading
Devotion
Last year I studied a book containing a dozen side-by-side translations of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, looking for differences and common threads. Among the scores of verses I studied in this way, the one on devotion had the most diverse translations. … Continue reading
Self Study
When I was a young man I had the recurring feeling of being dissociated from my body. Everything around me had a sense of unreality; I felt as though my Self was the only thing that truly existed. This was … Continue reading
Truthfulness
To a fault, it has always come more or less naturally to me to tell the truth. Earlier in my career I nearly lost my job by guilelessly telling the truth in a delicate political situation. My friends called this … Continue reading
Self Restraint
Brahmacharya is traditionally translated as “sexual continence” or “abstinence.” The word also refers to adolescence – in the culture where the ten practices originated, it was traditional for people to enter school and undertake religious studies during the period of … Continue reading
Letting Go
When my sons were young one of my favorite recreations was to go indoor rock-climbing with them. We went to a reconditioned warehouse where climbers had looped ropes over the rafters and fitted the walls with a system of rock-like … Continue reading
Being Content
Like many of the Sanskrit terms of yoga, the word for contentment has a sound that embodies its meaning. Santosha. It is like the calming sound of ocean, resting between sand and air. This also is its position among the … Continue reading
The touch of beauty
Here are two beautiful posts about sowing seeds – important to remember at this time of year, especially in the soil of our yoga mats. We have the seed of anger in our consciousness. We have the seed of despair, … Continue reading
