Your right is to work only, but never to the fruit thereof. Never consider yourself to be bringing about the results of your actions, nor be attached to inaction. (Bhagavad Gita 2.47) This is one of the most famous verses of the Bhagavad Gita and captures the essence of karma yoga, or the path of action. … Continue reading How, then, should we act?
Category: Blog
It’s All About Shavasana
One of the things that makes yoga is special is the way it ends. Most, if not all sessions close with a few minutes of total rest, lying on our backs with the arms and legs out, in the posture known as shavasana. I happily confess that it is one of my favourite poses. But … Continue reading It’s All About Shavasana
The Path of Life
By Charu Ramesh धर्मे चार्थे च कामे च मोक्षे च भरतर्षभ । यदि इहस्ति तदन्यत्र यन नेहस्ति न तद् क्वचित् ॥ O King, that which is found here [in The Mahabharata] on dharma (righteousness), artha (wealth), kama (desire) and moksha (salvation), can be found elsewhere; but if it is not here, it cannot be found anywhere … Continue reading The Path of Life
Dharana & Dhyana: A Somatic Perspective
by Vaishali Iyer The eight limbs of yoga described in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are often taught as a step-by-step ascent, or a process of deepening interiorization which culminates with samadhi in formal sitting meditation. Many times we approach this framework sequentially, beginning with our action in the world, moving through asana and pranayama and only … Continue reading Dharana & Dhyana: A Somatic Perspective
On Listening
By Charu Ramesh When I ask you to listen and you start giving advice, you have not done what I have asked. When I ask you to listen and you start telling me why I shouldn't feel the way I do, you are invalidating my feelings. When I ask you to listen and you start trying … Continue reading On Listening
Yoga Stories
By Charu Ramesh Have you ever wondered why Yoga poses have such esoteric names? Why should it be Hanumanasana and not just the splits? What is the value addition in calling a low lunge Anjaneyasana? And why can’t it be a simple forward bend rather than Paschimottanasana? It all comes back to the purpose of … Continue reading Yoga Stories
Why Yin? (Part III)
by Vaishali Iyer This is the third and final in my series of posts on yin yoga. In this last post, I want to talk about how yin yoga helps us access the body’s natural healing capabilities. We have already seen how yin yoga is a way of consciously re-entering the natural cycles of life; … Continue reading Why Yin? (Part III)
Why Yin? (Part II)
BY VAISHALI IYER This is the second in a series of posts about the magic of yin yoga. In my first post, I spoke of the way yin practice helps us slow down and enter a different sense of time as we feel the body more and more deeply. Giving ourselves this ‘yin time’ clears … Continue reading Why Yin? (Part II)
Why Yin?
by Vaishali Iyer Lately I’ve been teaching more yin yoga – and reflecting on the amazing benefits that a regular yin practice can bring. While most of us are probably familiar with active (“yang”) forms of yoga, yin yoga is still somewhat unknown, somewhat in the shadows of the yoga world. The world of yin … Continue reading Why Yin?
The Wisdom of Death
by Charu Ramesh Mulla Nasrudin is with his friends drinking coffee. They are discussing death: "When you are in your casket and friends and family are mourning you, what you would like to hear them say about you?" One man says, "I would like to hear them say that I was a great doctor of my … Continue reading The Wisdom of Death
