We all probably struggle sometimes to make wise choices when deciding between taking care of others and taking care of ourselves. Many of us were raised with a strong work ethic that is reinforced by the “gotta get ahead” mentality of American culture, the value...
Ahimsa As a Gift
Ahimsa is a Sanskrit word that translates as “without injury” or “nonviolence” in English. It’s a principle in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jainist philosophy that involves causing the least amount of harm possible to all beings. It’s the first ethical principle given as a...
Practice and Non-Attachment: A Two Pronged Approach to Liberation
If you want to see well through a window, you have to clean both sides. Practice (abhyasa) and non-attachment (vairagya) work much the same way. They are the complimentary practices given in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras as a means to quiet the movement of thought in the...
Santosha – Making Peace with the Present
Contentment is a deceptively simple concept that offers tremendous benefit if we fully embrace its practice. It is referred to as santosha in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and is not so easy to master because the habit of wanting and achieving is so deeply ingrained in...
Humility: Access to Deeper Wisdom
While humility is the hallmark of a sincere spiritual aspirant, we may rarely think of practicing it. In an age where self-empowerment is synonymous with personal growth, the idea of humbling oneself is decidedly unpopular. It can easily be dismissed as a sign of...
The Swami & The Rabbi: Jewish Mysticism Meets Integral Yoga
Hosted by the Integral Yoga Ministry and inspired by the annual "Swami & Rabbi" programs with Swami Satchidananda and Rabbi Joseph Gelberman, now Swami Ramananda, a senior monastic student of Swami Satchidananda, and Rabbi David Igber, a senior student of Reb...
Seeing Through the Illusion of “Normal”
Do we still believe that the sun travels across the sky while we stand stationary on a flat piece of earth? No, these once held beliefs were dispelled long ago. But how many other things do we accept as true simply because our limited senses tell us so, or that is...
The Unchanging Amid the Changing
It seems like any birthday that ushers us into a new decade brings with it a whole spectrum of feelings, and that is what happened for me recently. Turning 70 gave rise to that culturally influenced feeling, “OMG! I’m getting old.” But I’m grateful that I also...
Forgiveness: Freeing the Heart from the Past
The month of September contains two of the most important holy days in the Jewish tradition, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah begins a 10 day period of introspection and repentance that culminates in Yom Kippur, known as the Day of Atonement. These holy...
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...
Living On Purpose
As we enter a new year, we can make good use of this landmark in time to reflect on the way we make decisions and choices in our lives. Is there an overarching purpose behind the way we use our time and energy, or are we “going with the flow?” Are we acting on the...
How to Practice Loving-Kindness
Loving-kindness is probably known to many as the Buddhist practice of metta, The formal practice of metta begins beautifully, by directing kindness toward ourselves or to someone to whom we can easily feel goodwill. Once we take a moment to actually feel that energy...
Healing the Dis-ease of Busyness
I know so many people, that when I ask how they are doing, respond with something about how busy they are. It has become the status quo for our lives to be filled to the maximum and beyond so that we’re not really aware of how driven we are, how stressed our lives...
Spiritual Independence
Independence implies a freedom from being controlled or unduly influenced by an outside source. Spiritual independence suggests the freedom to live in harmony with the spiritual truth at the heart of our being. It implies freedom from depending on any outside source...
Compassionate Communication
If we pay attention to the world news, I think we can agree that our world is in dire need of more mindfulness, justice, and compassion. On an individual level, a deeply- entrenched sense of separation—and the resulting insecurity—has given rise to so much mistrust...
Unearthing the Roots of Suffering
Many of us live in a culture that resists a quiet inward orientation. Our senses are constantly lured outward with flashy images, sound bites and all manner of entertainment, expressly designed to capture and keep our attention. It’s intoxicating and another example...