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IY eMagazine 59 – Yoga, Yamas/Niyamas & World Vegan Day
Helpful Hints for the Practice of Yama and Niyama
The first two limbs of Raja Yoga are called yama and niyama. They consist of five precepts each and constitute the ethical foundation of Yoga. Sri Swami Satchidananda said: “All spiritual life should be based on these principles. They are the foundation stones without...
IY eMagazine 58
Mind Over Matter
“Remember: Mind over matter. If strength is lost, the body becomes susceptible to any influence. A weak mind creates a weak body. A tranquil mind is like a beautiful mirror, it reflects the image of the divine in you. Have heaven in your mind, and you will see heaven everywhere.
What Yoga Teaches Us About Emotional Pain
One of Patanjali’s sutras buried in the Second Pada is: "Pain that has not yet come is avoidable" (2.16). This is very similar to, I would even say, exactly, what the Buddha taught: that suffering can end—as stated in the Third Noble Truth—though we hardly seem to get...
Yoga for Diabetes
In her book, Yoga for Diabetes: How to Manage Your Health with Yoga and Ayurveda, Yoga teacher Rachel Zinman presents a highly motivational and personalized guide that will enable readers to incorporate Yoga into their daily diabetes management plan. Rachel was...
Manifesting Divine Consciousness in Daily Life
In this interview, Brother Chidananda, a long time Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) monk (who now is president of SRF), discusses what it means to be successful on one’s spiritual path. Integral Yoga Magazine (IYM): How would you define success? Brother Chidananda...
The Fulfillment of Yoga
An Interview with Nischala Devi | For over 35 years, Nischala Devi has been highly respected internationally for her innovative way of expressing Yoga and its subtle uses for spiritual growth and complete healing. In this interview, she reflects upon her Yoga journey...
The Path of Modern Yoga
By Elliott Goldberg | In his book, The Path of Modern Yoga, Elliott Goldberg shows how Yoga was transformed from a sacred practice into a health and fitness regime for middle-class Indians in the early 20th century and then gradually transformed over the...
Hope for Our Future
By Mala Cunningham, Ph.D. Tonight I was walking on the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville, Virginia to meet some friends. It was a beautiful night in Cville [that's how locals refer to their beloved city!]—the weather was warm and soft. I was strolling along feeling...
Bliss: It’s Not Getting What you Want, It’s Wanting What You Get
The Saturday my husband, died was a perfect fall day. The sky was a clear, deep blue and it was warm enough for just a sweater. After coffee and our morning NPR, Tattwan and I decided to put off the normal weekend house cleaning and chores and instead walked into...
Ways to Foster Jnana Yoga Consciousness
• Remember the Truth — above all, the spiritual path is about remembering, since all the problems originate with forgetting Who You Are! • According to Sri Swami Satchidananda, the best way to overcome the bondage of delusion is to “Always remember and din into your...
Taking the Witness Stand: Cultivating Neutral Observer Mind
Witnessing, a key spiritual practice in Jnana Yoga, involves taking the position of a neutral observer to the whole range of our experience: physical sensations, perceptions, thoughts and emotions. It can be practiced as a meditation technique in which one...
Spiritual Hints for Daily Life: Karma Yoga
Depending on our temperament, we can pursue the journey of awakening in various ways: Karma Yoga, Raja Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Jnana Yoga, or Japa Yoga. Whatever approach we choose, we can transform our daily lives into spiritual practice, preparing us for the...
Practice, Study, or Devotion: Which Path to Take?
In an another article, (Inside the Yoga Sutras: What Do You Believe) we explored the five different types of thought whirlwinds, vritti, that were categorized as either painful or painless. This examination of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (sutras 5-11) in the first Pada...
Hints for Daily Practice of Bhakti Yoga
Bhakti Yoga is the path of love and devotion. Bhakti Yogis look upon everyone and everything as a manifestation of the divine and feel that in serving them, they are serving God. They accept all that happens in life as coming directly from God for their highest good....
Spiritual Hints for Daily Life: Jnana Yoga
Depending on our temperament, we can pursue the journey of awakening in various ways. If we wish to develop the will and gain mastery over the mind, we can take a Raja Yoga approach. If we tend to be analytical and intellectual, there is the path of Jnana Yoga. If we...
Students, the Brain, and Stress: Why Yoga in Schools is Critical
By Juliet Kaluzniacki, Founder of Planet Namaste The notion that schools are a safe environment is eroding quickly. Schools are supposed to be havens for students, a place where they learn, grow and thrive. Unfortunately, over the last several years we have witnessed...
My Yoga Journey to India
Integral Yoga teacher Djahariah Mitra traveled to India to deepen her practice of Yoga and Dancing in the Bamboo Forest: A Travel Memoir emerged from deep within her as one fruit of her travels. She shares an excerpt here. I braved the thought of attending my first...
Vrittis: A Dive into the Yoga Sutras
If there is one thing we start to see with Yoga practice, it is that thoughts constantly bombard our minds. Remember being in Paschtimottanasana for what felt like forever with a tornado of swirling thoughts, from that embarrassing event 20 years ago to what’s for...
How To Have a Successful Meditation Practice
You may be an experienced meditator. Even so I wouldn’t be surprised if many of you go through periods of a few days, weeks, or months, when for one reason or another you don’t get up in time to have a formal sitting. This is not unusual. And, you are not alone if you...
Spiritual Hints for Daily Life — Raja Yoga
Depending on our temperament, we can pursue the journey of awakening in various ways. If we wish to develop the will and gain mastery over the mind, we can take a Raja Yoga approach. If we tend to be analytical and intellectual, there is the path of Jnana Yoga. If we...
The Meaning of Sivaratri
Question: Can you please tell us about the meaning and the significance of Sivaratri? Sri Swami Satchidananda: Like any other spiritual practices or observances, the Hindus have one night-long vigil remembering Lord Siva. They divide the night into four parts and four...
Food & Subtle Energy
Sage Uddalaka instructed his son Svetaketu: “Food when consumed, becomes threefold. The gross particles become the excrement, the middling ones flesh, and the fine ones the mind.” My child, when curd is churned, its fine particles which rise upwards form butter. Thus,...
Asana: Steps to Personal Transformation
Robert Butera, Ph.D. studied at the Yoga Institute in Mumbai, India, where Yoga is viewed as a spiritual practice and a total lifestyle. A contributor to Integral Yoga Magazine and presenter at Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville, Dr. Butera explains how asana is part of...
Yoga for Veterans
According to Newsweek (April 27, 2009), “Some 8 million Americans have the disorder [PTSD] in a given year and the military is at even greater risk.” Now, Integral Yoga teacher Anuradha Bhagwati, a former Marine Captain, is teaching Yoga to veterans. In this...