Category Archives: Yoga Psychology

Raja Yoga: Exit Strategy for Suffering

Everyone wants to be happy, but the happiness we seek is elusive. Our lives are spent seeking happiness through possessions, positions, relationships; even our addictions are a misguided search for happiness. And what do we find? Generally, we get a … Full Story

Be Unaffected

Emotions are part of the mind and are one part of its functioning. According to Raja Yoga, there are several different ways the mind functions: the analytic mind, the feeling mind, the thinking mind and the desiring mind.

Some people … Full Story

An Introduction to Yoga Psychology

One of the more beautifully developed sciences of spiritual-based psychology is Yoga psychology, the study of human psyche in relation to life and the larger dimensions of existence. This science, matriculated from the ancient tradition of Yoga, seeks to explain … Full Story

“As You Think, So You Become”

There is a Sanskrit saying Sri Gurudev often quoted: “Mana eva manushyanam karanam bandha mokshayoho.” It means: “As the mind, so the individual. Bondage or liberation are in the mind.” In other words, “As you think, so you become.” If … Full Story

The Integral Yoga Approach to Balancing the Emotions

Swami Vidyananda’s workshops on Yoga and the emotions explore Integral Yoga techniques that bring greater harmony within oneself and to one’s relationships. These workshops use Hatha Yoga and meditation, as well as sacred imagery, cognitive restructuring through Raja Yoga and … Full Story

Emotional Regulation in the Yoga Sutras

Although Yoga is formally a system of liberation, it can be employed to teach skills of emotional regulation. In this article, Dr. Richard Panico bridges the gap between Yoga-based psychology and western science that offers a four-part system of emotional … Full Story