Yoga practices

A Sutra a Day: II-2 – Mental Soother

A Sutra a Day: II-2 – Mental Soother

by | Jul 16, 2012 | Wisdom, XSutras, Yoga practices, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

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One of the main things that gets me out to the Yoga Shed early each morning is the fact that doing practice helps soothe my mind.
The mental benefits of practice never interested me in the beginning. I thought yoga was going to help with weight loss and build muscles. And, I admit, the show-off in me liked the fact that even from my first class, I could do some advanced poses.
Soothing the eddies of the mind – citta vrtti nirodha – seems much more important as I’ve gotten older. […]

A Sutra a Day: II-1 (Part 3) Whole and Complete

by | Jul 14, 2012 | Philosophy, Wisdom, XSutras, Yoga practices, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Yoga teaching 

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I had an opportunity to teach a group of boys a number of years ago who attended Sydney Grammar School. The boys’ music department teacher was a student of mine, and he felt that these boys who were music students would benefit from some sessions.
I prepared my lessons for a group of 14 boys, but only 11 of them came along for yoga. […]

A Sutra a Day: II-1 (Part 2) Self-Perception

A Sutra a Day: II-1 (Part 2) Self-Perception

by | Jul 13, 2012 | XSutras, Yoga practices, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

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If you want to put your spiritual progress or personal development to the test, just wait for the people closest to you (and usually the ones you love the most) to annoy you. It won’t happen in the honeymoon period as with newborn children or newlyweds, but just give it time.
This morning my dear husband informed me (as Dame Edna would say, ‘in the most caring way’) that he thought “my fuse was getting shorter”. […]

A Sutra a Day: II-1 – Yoga Passion

A Sutra a Day: II-1 – Yoga Passion

by | Jul 12, 2012 | Philosophy, Wisdom, XSutras, Yoga practices, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

My desk is covered with books. It looks disorganised but I can put my finger on any one of them in a moment. The six sutra scholars who have been sitting on the desk advising me for the last seven weeks have been joined now by Donna Farhi and Godfrey Devereux. They are making special appearances for today’s post.
Why? Because these authors are so accessible.
Are you an action person? Well, then Chapter Two of Patanjali’s Sutra is for you.
Yogis travel the yoga path through action (kriya in Sanskrit). […]

A Sutra a Day: I-47 – Body Awareness

A Sutra a Day: I-47 – Body Awareness

by | Jul 6, 2012 | Wisdom, XSutras, Yoga practices, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Perhaps this is too serious a topic for a Friday night, but, hey, we’re up to it! The subject relates to the sutra of the day – how we know ourselves.
Here’s a lovely video that I think illustrates an idea from Goethe: “being a wheel rolling from its own centre.” This is a simple, accessible video class from a series by American, John McConnell, and it’s called “Knowing Yourself Through Awareness.”

I learned yoga with a great deal of emphasis on the physical; this is the way Iyengar yoga presents itself to the untrained. […]

A Sutra a Day: I-45 – Forces of Nature

by | Jul 4, 2012 | XSutras, Yoga practices, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

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With the southerly gale forces blowing up from Antarctica this week (or so it seems), have you started putting on some weight? A small fat layer to insulate from the perverse winter winds. It’s allowed, isn’t it? After all, we’ll just cover up with skivvies, fleecies, and beanies anyway.
In yoga we can make adjustments to our diets by considering the gunas – the three qualities of nature that contribute to how we show up in the world. They are called sattwa, rajas and tamas. […]

A Sutra a Day: I-44 – Letting Go of Posturing

A Sutra a Day: I-44 – Letting Go of Posturing

by | Jul 3, 2012 | Healing, XSutras, Yoga practices, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

There are many yoga practices: mental, physical, emotional, physical. One sort of yoga practice I do is letting go of certain ideas I believe to be true, for instance the notion that I’m not any good at speak off the cuff in front of a camera.
Here’s an example from today:
We spent a little time this afternoon making some videos that will probably find their way onto one of my websites. The purpose is to educate people and perhaps sell things.
I don’t feel comfortable in front of cameras. […]

A Sutra a Day: I-41 Polishing the Jewel

A Sutra a Day: I-41 Polishing the Jewel

by | Jun 29, 2012 | XSutras, Yoga practices, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

(If you are irritated by every rub, how will you get polished? – Rumi)
I’m trying on being philosophical about having lost a post that took me the better part of an hour to compose. Hey, I’m slow at this, even after 2.5 yrs. on “Yoga Suits Her”.
So, the gist of what I want to say is: I’ve been resisting like crazy writing about the next few Sutra. They relate to experiences I have never had. Fortunately, Chapter One is almost complete, and Chapter Two is more the realm of mere mortals like me.
Fortunately T.K.V. […]

A Sutra a Day: I-40 – Are Devices Vices?

A Sutra a Day: I-40 – Are Devices Vices?

by | Jun 28, 2012 | XSutras, Yoga practices, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

I love my iPhone. I was an early adopter. Not because of any nifty apps I could get, of which there were few and far between back then. But I just loved the way the iPhone could display photos, and, lord knows, I have a lot of images.
I am not a luddite. I wonder, though, whether all the screens we view all through the day are serving our health. […]