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Visualizations with Animals for Kids
With our magic wings we fly to an old farmhouse. We smell freshly cut grass…going over the barn; we smell the fragrance of dry hay. We are a little tired and make ourselves a nest in the hay. We see the dust dance in the sun rays…A cat comes and sits down next to us,...
Yoga Nidra, Sankalpa & Hypnosis
Yoga Nidra is a highly powerful ancient meditation technique originated from the Tantras. It is the scientific way to eliminate the root cause of all the negativities. Yoga Nidra comprises of the secrets of total transformation which give a real positive direction to...
Christians Practicing Yoga: An Integrated Approach
Can Yoga be practiced from a Christian perspective? Amy Russell explains how a group of people—writers and teachers, pastors and soccer moms, musicians and artists, medical doctors and community activists came together as “Christians practicing Yoga.” They were...
Yoga is Not Another Religion
Yoga is not another religion or new philosophy to be added to the many that are there already. Instead, the teaching of Yoga is the essence of them all. What Moses gave us as the Ten Commandments, what the Buddhists call the Dasa Sila or Ten Virtuous Practices, and...
Yoga and Buddhism: An Integration?
When we talk about integrating Yoga and Buddhism, we must first be clear about what we mean. In the modern world, Yoga is often reduced to asana or its physical side. Buddhism is reduced to meditation, which many Buddhist groups emphasize. Yet Yoga has its meditation...
Torah and the Yoga Sutras
In his Yoga Sutras, Patanjali says: “Tapah Svadhyayesvara Pranidhanani Kriyah Yogah.” Sri Gurudev Swami Satchidananda translates this as: “Accepting pain as help for purification, study of spiritual books, and surrender to the Supreme Being constitute Yoga in...
The Realization of Oneness
Behind the names and forms, there is the universal life or immanent God. Try to feel the reality underneath the forms. Scorn not the tiny creatures or the undeveloped beings. The same life that throbs or pulsates in you is throbbing in all creatures. Realize your...
Swami Vivekananda’s Message of Unity: 1893
Swami Vivekananda gave at talk at the World Parliament of Religion's opening session on September 11, 1893. His participation at the Parliament was considered an historic occasion in the history of Yoga in America. In this famous speech, Swami Vivekananda spoke of his...
My Journey in Yoga and Zen
Padma Wick, one of Swami Satchidananda most senior students, reveals the innermost yearnings that took her deep into Zen Buddhism as part of her Integral Yoga path. In this article, she shares her journey through personal stories, conversations with Sri Gurudev, Swami...
Awakening of the Heart: Sufism and Yoga
Devi Tide (pictured behind Pir Vilayat, far right), one of Pir Vilayat Khan's—the great Sufi Master who founded Sufi Order International)—closest students, talks about the teachings she received from Swami Satchidananda and Pir Vilayat and how she has integrated these...
The Entire World is My Family
In essence we are one. We are all related to each other. All we have to do is to understand that and to experience it. We are related in spirit. If we see the spirit in ourselves, we will realize we are all one. Your true nature is that of a spiritual and divine...
The Secret Power of Yoga: A Woman’s Guide
Nischala Devi’s teachings reflect a heart-centered perspective on spirituality and scripture. Her message that we are born divine is never more evident than in her book, The Secret Power of Yoga: A Woman’s Guide to the Heart and Spirit of the Yoga Sutras. In this...
Integral Yoga, Raja Yoga & the Yoga Sutras
When the word Yoga is mentioned, most people immediately think of some physical postures for relaxing and limbering up the body. This is one aspect of the Yogic science, but actually only a very small part and relatively recent in development. The physical Yoga, or...
The Eight Limbs of Yoga in Ayurvedic and Yogic Therapy
Dr. David Frawley (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri) is regarded as one of the world’s foremost experts on Ayurveda, Yoga and Vedic Studies. This article offers a preview of the Teacher Training program that Dr. Frawley developed based on how the eight limbs of Yoga can be...
Ashtanga: The Eight Limbs in the Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita
According to Dr. Graham Schweig, there is an intimate relationship between the Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita. With his guidance, our readers are given insight into how to perceive the flowering of the Ashtanga or eight-limbed Raja Yoga system in the Bhagavad Gita....
Inside the Yoga Sutras: Introduction
Integral Yoga master teacher Rev. Jaganath Carrera, the author of the book Inside the Yoga Sutras, shares his reflections on the first two sutras that are foundational to understanding the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the textbook on Raja Yoga. Rev. Jaganath's deep...
Yoga is Union
Yoga is a Sanskrit word that comes from the root, “yuj” which means “to join together.” Simply put, Yoga means “union.” In many ways the term Yoga is similar to the English term, “communion.” It refers to the state of union or communion with God, one’s true Self, or...
A Practical Guide for Life
The teachings of Raja Yoga are a golden key to unlock all health, happiness, peace, and joy. Everyone, everything, in the creation wants to be happy. If you put a plant in the shade, its leaves will turn toward the sun, because the plant wants to be happy. Place a...
Principles of Karma Yoga
"Karma Yoga is the selfless devotion of all inner as well as the outer activities as a Sacrifice to the Lord of all works, offered to the eternal as Master of all the soul’s energies and austerities." —Bhagavad Gita Right Attitude It’s not what you do that counts,...
Learn About Yourself Through Karma Yoga
You quickly learn your weaknesses while serving others. The world is like a big mirror, it shows you your ugly spots. You see your limitations and drawbacks; you test yourself in the field. You understand your attitudes and moods better than when you're alone. Through...
The Yogi’s Karma Yoga
Both a renowned Sanskrit scholar and yogi, Swami Venkatesananda—like his master, Swami Sivananda—can be regarded as a sage of practical wisdom. You can also listen to these talks at swamivenkatesananda.org. We are about to investigate Karma Yoga. The word "karma"...
Karma Yoga: The Greatest Yoga
There is no greater Yoga than Karma Yoga. From morning to evening you are doing some action, so everything can be Karma Yoga. Everything should be yogic, from the minute you start brushing your teeth to the minute you go to bed. For Karma Yoga there is no time limit,...
Dedicate Your Life
Real joy comes by leading a dedicated life. That is what we see in nature. The entire nature exists to serve others. We don’t need teachings for all the other species in life because they already live to serve others. So let your motto be, “I am living to serve...
Jnana Yoga: The Path of Wisdom
Jnana Yoga is the path of wisdom. It is suitable for people of an intellectual nature. A Jnani Yogi acts with the feeling, “I am not the doer; Nature is doing everything. The body and mind are moving among the objects. I am the silent witness of all that is happening....
Jnana Yoga: Science of Self
The identity of the Supreme Self and the jiva or reflected self is established through the statement of the Upanishad “Tat Tvam Asi”—“That Thou Art.” Self-realization or direct intuitive perception of the Supreme Self is necessary for attaining freedom and perfection....