“The beatings will continue until morale improves.” –– Unknown

Greetings friends and followers,

I hope the past two weeks of deepening your connection with your true self by cultivating your inner witness have offered you some new insights into your beingness. Perhaps you have even begun to notice a pattern to your vrttis (mental disturbances) of which Patanjali teaches us there are five sources (see footnote). 

These categories offer a foundation for self-analysis for those who want to dig deep into yoga philosophy. What I find to be more accessible though, is to look at how these vrttis show up in our lives.

So beginning this week, we'll start to look at some common mental disturbances and explore how our yoga practice helps us to restore our inner peace. We'll start with one I know well –– our inner critic.

As always, class time and format will guide how deeply we go in each practice with Thursday offering the most light-hearted, and Saturday offering the deepest experience.

Click here for class information.

Footnote : In yoga sutras 1.6-1.11, Patanjali teaches us about the five sources of vrttis : 
Pramana (correct or right knowledge)
Viparyaya (misconception / incorrect knowledge)
Vikalpa (verbal delusion / imagination)
Nidra (sleep)
Smrti (memory, including dreams)

“Unity. It starts with you. If not you, then who?” –– Unknown

Greetings friends and followers,
​
​This week in our yoga practice, we continue to focus on developing our inner witness with a deeper dive into the sources of the vrttis (modifications) of the citta (mind).

As we explored last week, Patanjali teaches us in yoga sutra 1.3 that our true self (drastuh) is that part of ourselves that is uninvolved in our thoughts, emotions and actions. In sutras 1.4-1.11, he goes on to explain in detail, the sources of the mental modifications that disturb us, and how practicing non-attachment (sutra 1.12) cultivates our inner witness and helps to restore our inner peace. 

Sri Swami Satchidananda explains in his translation of Sutra 1.4, “if we could calm our minds and get to the root of all of these mental modifications, we would be able to find unity in everything.”

We'll explore these concepts in more detail in this week's yoga offerings. 

Click here for class information.

“Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better.” –– Albert Einstein

Greetings friends and followers,

I'm back! Thank you for your patience and support through my break. 😊

For almost three weeks in October, Jim and I explored Nevada, Utah, Colorado and California in Mitzi, our vanagon camper. Our escape into the wilderness was liberating, rejuvenating and empowering. It also created space for me to think through the yoga teachings that I want to share with you beyond our physical pose (asana) practice, as well as how to create a more connected experience via Zoom.

For those who are not keen on change, don't worry, you'll see little difference in our asana practice. For those who are keen on personal growth and unification, I hope you will enjoy what I think are some fun new additions!

Here's a sneak preview...

If you've been practicing with me for awhile (or otherwise practicing embodiment), you may have already become adept at listening to your body and observing the thoughts and emotions that come up in a neutral way. In yoga, we refer to this as "developing the inner witness," which Patanjali introduces to us as "drastuh" (sanskrit for "the seer") in Sutra 1.3* of the The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Our inner witness is the part of ourselves that observes our thoughts and emotions without judgement.

There is a very good reason the inner witness is introduced to us right after the welcome and goal of yoga.* Because it is the most important skill we can develop if we want to unattach from troubling thoughts and emotions and fully experience life for what it is and not what we think it should be.

Want to learn more? Please join me for any or all of the following offerings this week as I begin to take you on a deeper journey into the what, why and how of developing (or honing) your inner witness. Class time and format will guide how deeply we go in each practice with Thursday offering the most light-hearted, and Saturday offering the deepest experience.

Also, to enhance an overall feeling of connectedness, I'll begin inviting you, if you wish, to OM with me at the beginning and end of each practice. (I'll also explain why and how).

And finally, a word about practicing with music. This is a highly personal and, in some circles, even a controversial choice. I myself sometimes practice with music, and sometimes I don't. If you find that music helps you to connect more deeply with your inner witness, by all means, please add a playlist to your practice! (And of course, please put yourself on mute if you do.)

I look forward to seeing you!

​Click here for class information.

* Yoga Sutra translations by Sri Swami Satchidananda (and my understanding in simpler terms)
1.1 Atha Yoganusasanam : Now the exposition of yoga is being made. (Let the study of yoga begin.)
1.2 Yogas citta vrtti nirodhah : The restraint of the modifications of mind-stuff is Yoga (The goal of yoga is to calm the fluctuations of the monkey mind.)
1.3 Tada drashtuh svarupe avasthanam : Then the Seer (self) abides in Its own true nature. (The ultimate gift of yoga is an ability to abide in one’s true nature. Or, if you want to have a little fun, "the dude abides.")