My first yoga classes fresh out of high school were in the Sivananda style. Sivananda Yoga is a classical and holistic approach to Hatha Yoga that has not been modified or watered down and is still taught the same way as Swami Sivananda taught in...
An interesting fact from ancient Hindu texts that you probably are not aware of is that Patanjali used to teach from behind a screen. We discover this in a story from the Puranas, which tells us that Patanjali would place a large screen between himself...
I have recently been practicing an amazing and very effective technique of yoga for the brain. Practicing this technique increases oxygen and blood flow to the brain. This causes an increase in brain function.It is a very old technique that is still nowadays practiced in...
Hasta mudras mean hand gestures adopted during asana, pranayama and meditation that directs flow of energy into our body. According to the Tantras these mudra yoga techniques stimulate different areas of the brain. “(Sanskrit: , lit. "seal") is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and...
I come across articles from time-to-time on social media describing the reasons why people stop practicing yoga, or simply criticizing some different aspects of yoga. It seems to me that many yoga practitioners do not have the correct understanding of what yoga truly means. Yoga...
Your outer world of form and experience is a reflection of your inner world of thoughts and feelings. As above, so below. As within, so without. That is the Law. The greater your awareness of the Presence of God within you, the more that Presence fills...
I have been living in Asia for almost twenty years and every time I go back to the west, as a yoga therapist, I am concerned by the number of people who have health problems due to weight issues. I once read that in the...
Yoga therapy aims at cleansing and purifying the body and mind but more importantly at connecting us with our higher self. Yoga therapy teaches us to regard the experience of illness as a challenge not to be feared and as an important teacher for the...
by Linda Madani The body is our greatest teacher and sometimes pain is necessary to put us on the right track. We need to listen to our body by paying attention to the areas that are sore or stiff, without judgment. The practice below is designed to...
The city of Rishikesh has always sparked my imagination ever since I started practicing yoga. So finally, this year while in India I decided to make a detour and spend a couple of weeks in this holy city which is located on the banks of...
New students to yoga are often surprised or even alarmed when strong emotions arise either during, or after, a yoga class. However, as we become more experienced we start to understand that this is the gift that yoga offers us. Yoga is often presented as a...
Many people have a limited understanding of yoga, thinking that it is restricted to the asana practice of increasing flexibility, toning up muscles, relaxing the body, increasing strength, improving balance and finding stress relief. While yoga does all of the above that is a limited...
Chanting has been a part of my daily practice for several years now and I have received so many blessings from it. I truly feel that chanting the Vedas has allowed doors to be opened in the depths of my consciousness and has also been...
śraddhā-vīrya-smṛti samādhi-prajñā-pūrvaka itareṣām Practice must be pursued with trust, confidence, vigour, keen memory and power of absorption to break this spiritual complacency. Yoga Sutra I-20 The other day someone posted a ‘scientific’ article on Facebook stating that it’s a proven fact that yoga isn’t effective in the...
Michelangelo wrote at the mature age of 87: I am still learning I am currently in India studying Vedic chants. I love being a student and I thrive at learning new knowledge. I get excited and enjoy the novelty. Of course sometimes learning something new makes one...
[caption id="attachment_1313" align="alignleft" width="288"] Balinese ceremony of Potong Gigi "tooth filing" for self-awareness and mastering of the Shadripu (sadripu), the six enemies.[/caption] We are spiritual beings having a human experience. Unfortunately our mind pollutes our whole being. In order to remain the spiritual being we truly...
Yoga Nidra is a practice that is widely taught in many yoga studios around the world these days. The yoga nidra that we know now was adapted and popularized in the 1960’s by Swami Satyananda Saraswati (1923-2009) from the Bihar School of Yoga. It originates...
Many people live pretty stressful life-styles these days, never taking the time to stop. Every one is running all the time. Everyone is busy. They take very little time to truly relax and just cannot stop being busy. When they do stop, it is for...
When we are children, it is necessary for us to have some kind of framework or discipline within our lives. This helps to make us feel safe and creates a strong foundation for the future. And as we grow into adults, we realize that we...
We all know how certain sounds can be soothing, such as the voice of a mother comforting her baby, and how certain noises can be frightening and make us feel ill at ease, such as thunder and lightning. The sounds of Mantra Chanting are definitely...
Allow the asana to create bandhas in the four part breathing cycle, the intelligent cooperation of muscle groups in the polarity of above/ below, inhale/exhale, strength/receptivity” ~Teachings of Mark Whitwell An important component of yoga, the bandhas are primarily meant to serve our yogic practice. They are often misunderstood. If...
For many of my students the best part of my yoga class is the practice of Yoga Nidra or psychic sleep. Yoga Nidra a very deep relaxation. At the beginning of this practice, yogis and yoginis are given the opportunity to make a resolve. A...
The discipline of yoga is very wide and has a large number of practices but they all have communality. In the end, they all lead back to the source, which is our ultimate teacher. The goal of yoga is union of the individual consciousness with...
Aum Bhur Bhuva Svaha, Tat Savitur Varenyam, Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi, Dhiyo Yo Naha Prachodayat My assistant, Ngurah was recovering from brain surgery when he started chanting the Gayatri mantra 108 times every night in our studio, Intuitive Flow. I would hear him at night from my...
“As the moon derives its light from the sun, so other holy places shall derive their sanctity from Arunachala. This is the only place where I [Shiva] have taken this form for the benefit of those who wish to worship me and obtain illumination. Arunachala...
Greetings from India! This is the time of the year when I go to India and resource myself and take my exploration of yoga a little deeper. There is a vast ocean of yogic knowledge that is inexhaustible and available to us and I love swimming...
As we get ready to begin another new year, let us take a moment to ponder on how balanced our life has been in 2012. Have we been able to commit sufficient energy to both work and personal life? Do we have special memories of...
It is true that if you have never experienced pregnancy and given birth, you can not really understand the journey of motherhood… Nevertheless, even if have never given birth I still feel compelled to reach out to you, the women out there, who are in...
Chakra Subtle Anatomy We all aspire to grow as Yogis, and as we do, we go beyond ‘Asana,’ and take the time to become more interested in exploring our inner selves, or the ‘space within.’ We are privileged to have been left by the ancient Yogis with...
Dear Yoga Student, Before you decide how to inspire others through the mastery of yoga at our acclaimed 22-day program let me take you on a wonderful journey of those that have walked the path before you. Remember these new yogis were new just like you, they...
I had once the visit at my studio of an Indonesian woman, originally from Flores, who was the wife of a Balinese man. She had a Christian background, and was having difficulties adjusting to Balinese Hinduism and culture. When she entered my yoga studio, she...
Many of you probably know that when I was in my mid-thirties, I was found to have a cyst on my ovary, and this prompted me to embark on my own healing journey. On that journey, I discovered many things about myself; including my own...
We all know the purpose of yoga is aligning "mind, body, and spirit” but how do we attain and maintain this balance? Ancient yogic texts tell us that secret for balancing the different bodies is conscious breathing and that breath is the link between our material...
Dear all, I am currently in the middle of leading a Teacher Training “Yoga Pranala Intensive 2012” and I feel so honored to witness the transformative process of the teacher trainees unfolding, each one at their own pace, according the to divine timing for the good...
We all have been wounded emotionally at one point or another and most of us hold the memory of our past wound in our body. Theses wounds are imprinted in our emotional body and cause us to repeat the same patterns over and over. If...
Most people upon being diagnosed with a Herniated Disc are dreadfully concerned because the prospects of recovery are known to be infamously slim. They think: "Oh! I am in for a long haul of discomfort and suffering." They often believe they are condemned to a...
Surrendering your pain is an excellent exercise however; it is pain that teach us to be compassionate. What is important is to not hold onto past experiences. Living in the present sometimes means to feel our pain deeply and to stay connected to it in order to...
Dear all, It’s a very delighted Linda that his writing to you. On the 26 of this month (February) I am going back to India for one whole month. I am planning go to Varanasi and also spend two weeks at Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Chennai. What!...
Broken heart I can help, heart broken go to the hospital. ~Tjokorda Gede Rai Many years ago, when I got diagnosed with a cyst on my ovary, the doctor recommended that have surgery. I was fortunate to have consulted an open-minded doctor because when I told him...
When I review the last 25 years of my life, I mostly remember blissful years. I must admit that until now I have had an amazing life. I have done everything I always wanted to do. Nevertheless, they were episodes, now and then, that were...