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...
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...
Emotional Regulation Utilizing 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 regulation,...
Building Emotional Strength with Yoga
In this article, Srinivasan, a senior disciple of Sri Swami Vishnu-devananda (who was a brother monk of Sri Swami Satchidananda), gives us a beautiful overview of the subject matter of our special section from the yogic perspective. Through our study and sincere...
Emotional Self-Mastery
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 think if you are a big yogi, you...
“As You Think, So You Become”
There is a Sanskrit saying that Swami Satchidananda 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 you think well, you...
The 12-Step Yogi
Yoga, combined with 12-Step principles, enhances the recovery process, as both systems complement one another. The additional benefits of a Yoga practice include philosophical and physical components to help guide the practitioner to lifestyle changes that ultimately...
Vegetarianism and the Yoga Sutras
In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali lays out an eight-limbed plan for liberation called Raja Yoga. The first limb is called yama, which means restraint and includes five ethical restrictions: ahimsa (non-harming), satya (truthfulness), asteya (nonstealing), brahmacharya...
We Are Healthy By Nature
We are gathered here to find ways and means to be healthy, holistically healthy. We don’t need to do anything to be healthy. By nature we are healthy. We were born healthy. We don’t need to be doing anything to bring in positive vibrations. Instead, we should know how...
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 little happiness...
The Eight Limbs of Raja Yoga in Ayurvedic and Yogic Therapy
Dr. David Frawley is regarded as one of the world's foremost experts on Ayurveda, Yoga. and Vedic Studies. In this article, he discusses how the eight limbs of Yoga can be used for healing both body and mind in a complete and integrated Yoga and Ayurveda Therapy...