An interesting intersection occurred last week as I completed the lecture portion of the course I was taking on the topic of Strī Roga (Women’s Reproductive Health). We were discussing how the Prarabdha Karmas प्रारब्धमखिलं, the sancita karmas (collection of actions) gathered from previous births, come to fruition in this particular incarnation (ie as you, […]
Yoga + Āyurveda There is a particular angle to this course that I wanted to share here. One of the reasons we began yesterday studying the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali is to ensure this is a Yoga Course. To do this, we have to remember the darśan (the philosophy) that is supporting us via Yoga. […]
The Nuanced Mixing of Ha + Ṭha Because Yoga is multi-layered, the engagement of the practitioner also needs to be multi-layered. However, with layers comes complication and the opportunity to mix things up and end up off track. A main feature of what we will discuss in the 30h Āyurvedic Immersion is sūtra 1.16 from […]
The details of any posture will not be found in external alignment after a point. These nuances arrive when the posture is born from the inside. In the Vedic paradigm, the external forms because the energy existed without form first. Form comes from the need to support the energy – ie. form comes from the […]
I just got back from 4 days in the backcountry of Ojai, California in the Sespe Wilderness. It was the first time I ever backpacked without the backup of someone with more experience than me. A dear friend and I went alone and it was hard and amazing. We hiked almost 40 miles in 3 […]
The Flow of Prāṇa Prāṇa flows through channels called the nadīs. Nadī translates to river. This gives us some insight into the qualities of Prāṇa, since that which flows in the river is…water. So, from an Āyurvedic perspective, it is the guṇas (qualities) of water which are close to those of Prāṇa. This is an […]
The Door Becomes a Wall One of the topics we covered was how so often what brings us to the practice becomes an obstruction if we never observe and adapt it. So often, those of us who came to yoga through āsana find we need to layer meaning on top of the practice once we […]
Ahamkara – Identity When we look at the Samkhya Darśana (Philosophy), we see that Ahamkara, aka the ego, develops right after Buddhi, who is the Director of Discernment. In the Yoga Darśans, we are working to clarify our actions so that we experience our inner wisdom or Buddhi guiding our choices and preventing us from […]
Remember last week? How I mentioned that it was so intense? It is not better, yet. It took me until Saturday to begin to process the stress that had mounted during all the preceding time. It’s quicker than it used to be for me. I used to force myself to martyr myself to whatever suffering […]
Swept Up by the Circus When I was in college, I was truly considering getting swept up in the actual circus. Unfortunately, my fear of heights combined with my inability to keep pointed toes while engaging in super muscular feats deflated that prospect. So, I stuck with Mime and acting. But, I digress… This week […]
