Each year on ‘ru ok’ day I find myself thinking of Dad, thinking of all the people out there struggling, thinking of myself and my ongoing battles with life. From the outside most of us paint such a pretty picture of happiness, but this is an impossibility to maintain throughout our entire lives. As humans we are just not built
Yoga sutra 2.45 samadhi siddhih ishvarapranidhana ‘From an attitude of letting go into one’s source (ishvarapranidhana), the state of perfected concentration (samadhi) is attained.’ Swami Jnaneshvara The 5th and final Niyama, Ishvara Pranidhana or surrender to the Divine. We, in the west, tend to find this difficult to grasp as for many of us religion is an uncomfortable concept and
Getting to the pointy end of the Niyama’s, the second limb of 8 limbs of Yoga, we find ourselves at Svadhyaya – self study. Yoga Sutra 2.44 svadhyayat ishta devata samprayogah From self-study and reflection on sacred words (svadhyaya), one attains contact, communion, or concert with that underlying natural reality or force. The study of the self, whether it be
brahmacharya pratisthayam virya labhah Sutra 2.38 – ‘When walking in the awareness of the highest reality (brahmacharya) is firmly established, then a great strength, capacity, or vitality (virya) is acquired.’ Swami Sri Vidya With these posts I am trying to bring a little simplicity into Yoga Philosophy, it is not an easy task, however the teachings of Yoga are very
There most regular comment I get in regards to meditation is “I just cannot stop thinking.” You are not alone! And you do not need to stop thinking to be meditating, you just need the discipline to sit your butt down, every day, and do it! For me meditation began by doing just that, just sitting. From here I began
These two pull us in different directions day after day, week after week, throughout most of our lives until we give in or give up. We all crave pleasurable sensations, a rich creamy piece of chocolate or a cosy bed in the middle of winter. We all avoid things that hurt or annoy us. But that which feels good not
