“ahimsa pratishthayam tatsamnidhau vairatyagah” “around one who is solidly established in non violence, hostility disappears” Yoga Sutra 2:35 Ahimsa is the first of five specific ethical precepts, in Yoga we call these precepts ‘yamas’. The [...]
While it can take a lifetime (or 3!) to understand, absorb and integrate the teachings of the Sutras, the core essence can be found in just the first four Sutras. Patanjali lays out the aim [...]
Having focused on each of the 8 Limbs in previous newsletters, we are now going to delve deeper into the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. In future newsletters we plan to explore the various translations of [...]
Before we look at the essence of this, the last of the niyamas, let’s just deal with the ‘God’ word. Yoga does not promote any religion. There is no requirement to believe in God, or [...]
For most of us, Svadhyaya starts on the mat. We begin to study ourselves as we practice asana: our thoughts, our emotions, our reactions, our habits and our intentions. Then we see how this is [...]
The most common translation of Tapas is ‘self discipline’. For the yogi the heart of this is the self-discipline to practice, ideally every day. We come back to the mat day after day despite what [...]
“Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” – Lao Tzu We continue our journey through the 8 [...]
“As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world as in being able to remake ourselves.” – Mahatma Gandhi As our journey through the 8 limbs of yoga [...]
Written by Dana Burrows Meditation is no longer just the practice of yogis or monks. People from all walks of life are taking up meditation to cure a multitude of ills, with the practice helping [...]
Written by Brook McCarthy Vastu Shastra (vāstu śāstra) is the Vedic science of architecture and design of temples, homes and buildings. While the yoga asanas and pranayama breathing techniques apply to our interior environment, similarly, [...]
