In this short, self-directed, free online course, "Introduction to The Essential Teachings of Swami Satchidananda," you will be able to watch Swami Satchidananda sharing some of his core teachings in his fun, loving, and inspirational manner. He also reflects on how...
We should all remember that a main aim of Yoga practice is self-mastery. When we follow the Yoga precepts and practices this leads to more self-mastery—the body and mind become more relaxed and sattvic so we can more easily recognize and abide in our True Nature....
Have you ever seen your own face? No. What you see in a mirror is not your face. It’s a reflection. If, to your great surprise, your face looks horrible and distorted in the mirror, do you jump up and run to the hospital? No, you get another mirror. You know that the...
As March 2022 begins, it feels like our world is in a state of upheaval. The seasons are changing and many places in the world are lifting COVID restrictions, trying to transition back to a more “normal” way of life. But the seasons and the pandemic are overshadowed...
When you are caught in feelings, thoughts, frustration and trying to figure out what to do, thoughts may arise like: What can I do? How can I be more spiritual? How can I be more surrendered? This is the mind just doing what it does—angling for advantage. The key here...
Spirituality means feeling the Spirit, knowing the real you. If you want to feel the Spirit, you have to put your focus there, more than on the body and senses. The foods we eat won’t help us to experience our essential nature. Thinking often about what to eat, where...
Prevention is better than cure and that is where Yoga comes in. You are not trying to simply nibble away at the symptoms. We go to the very root cause of a disease. For example, if you get a headache you immediately take an aspirin. The headache is gone and you are...
During the Apollo 13 space mission to the moon, I was asked what I thought about going to the moon and the significance of such a mission. My immediate response was: I would like to go if they would take me! These explorations signify the restlessness and curiosity of...
Unless we achieve complete mastery over the mind, we won’t achieve anything. To achieve this mastery, we need self-discipline. Human beings have been given the capacity to have good control over our minds and to do good, useful things with our minds—things that are...
Question: Why do Yoga practices appear as disciplines when they are the source of joy? Yoga practices don’t appear as discipline—they are discipline. And who said that a disciplined life is an unhappy life? This seems to imply that discipline doesn’t make us joyful....