Explore Latest Posts
Explore Sadhana Videos
More Articles
The Essential Quality for Spiritual Growth
A few years ago, I read an article titled “Humility, The Virtue No One Wants.” It was a good title, I thought, because humility is maybe just a little too close to the word humiliation for comfort, a bit like shame, the sort of thing we think we’d like to get away...
Integral Yoga San Francisco Announces Ongoing Personal Retreat Offerings
Experience a profound rejuvenation of body, mind and spirit by immersing yourself in a personal retreat at Integral Yoga Institute. Relax and unwind at our urban Ashram, where you will find space for self-reflection and intentional self-care, in the heart of San...
The Secret of Spiritual Practice
The secret of spiritual practice is not what you do but how you do—that is more important. Sometimes a newcomer who gets into spiritual practice will make a big list of resolutions, “I will practice half an hour every day in the morning, pranayama, three malas every...
A Yogic Approach to Spring Cleaning
In North America, the Spring season will soon be behind us giving way to the Summer Solstice in June. Spring has long been a time of transition, when the dark and barren days of winter give way to light, warmth and new growth. Before summer is upon us, this month’s...
Working with Self-Judgment
In this episode, host Avi Gordon (director of the Integral Yoga Teachers Association) and his guest, Swami Asokananda, talk about how each works with self-judgment, resistances to daily sadhana (spiritual practice), pratipaksha bhavana, and other topics regarding...
Rethinking Spiritual Practice: Do We Walk the Inner or Outer Path?
Is the spiritual path an inner one? Do we have to leave the world behind to find ourselves? If not, how can we integrate our relationship with the world? Is there an outer path to freedom? I think it is time for us to rethink our relationship with what we are taught...
Self-Effort and Grace
You begin the spiritual path with self-effort. You begin with your own force, with your own will. As you begin to practice concentration and meditation, the mind becomes more one-pointed; it comes to a very calm condition. In that calmness, you are able to perceive...
Six Qualities to Cultivate in Sadhana
It may seem that some people are natural born yogis and that spiritual practice comes easily to them. Are there certain qualities that we see in people who have a well-grounded sadhana? The answer is yes, but they rarely appear full blown in anyone. They need to be...
Self-Reflection as a Spiritual Practice
As the daylight hours shorten in the northern hemisphere this time of year, it’s natural to spend more time indoors. Plant and animal life alike pause from growing and withdraw from activity. We too benefit from periods of rest and reflection as a preparation for the...
The Art of Sleeping like a Yogi
For a yogi, sleep is a sacred moment. Yogic deep sleep has no dreams. Time condenses, requiring shorter times of needed sleep. Upon awakening from a yogic sleep, we should feel a brand new moment filled with optimism, a supercharged mind, a healed body, and each...