Beyond Asana Blog

My weekly blog is a forum for contemplative inquiry into the intersection of yoga practice, traditional teachings, and real life.

Zooming Out Sep 22, 2021

 

 

It’s Pitru Paksha, the two-week period in the Hindu calendar (September 21-October 5 this year) dedicated to honoring one’s ancestors.

This traditionally includes your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. It can also be extended to include teachers, friends, mentors, and even pets that have departed.

It’s a great time to acknowledge with gratitude the legacy of wisdom or protection that you've received from loved ones or trusted elders who have passed. You might consider how you continue to benefit from their guidance and love in your life.

What if the blessings of your ancestors were in a box that you could open and release into...

Continue Reading...
Fresh Brew Sep 15, 2021

 

It might be more efficient to make your morning coffee the night before and microwave it when you wake up. But most of us don’t do that because, well, it’s just not the same.
 
Like your morning beverage, yoga is so much more potent and powerful when it’s served up fresh.
 
What good is all the information that´s in all those wonderful books you’ve read and notes you've taken if you can’t apply it to your life?
 
My experience is that yogic knowledge is never a one-and-done affair. It needs to be refreshed, remembered, and re-enlivened so it’s not just something I understood once upon a time but living wisdom...

Continue Reading...
Imagine Living Like That Sep 08, 2021

 

Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is.

- Albert Camus, French philosopher

We've turned the corner into September and there's no looking back. As you head into the rhythm of Autumn, it’s a perfect time to renew your sense of purpose. What fuels you? What keeps you focused, motivated, and enthusiastic? What helps you maintain a healthy perspective?

I contemplated these questions over the Labor Day weekend. I sat in my favorite spot, on a large rock in the middle of a mountain stream and considered my purpose for my work and practice this season. A lot came to me, including this: 

Dharma, sacred purpose, is everywhere in nature. 

The dharma of...

Continue Reading...
The Wisdom of Not Knowing Sep 01, 2021

 

"May I not be limited by what I think I know."

This is a prayer I often make at the start of my yoga practice.

It expresses my desire to be open, to receive, and to grow beyond (and sometimes despite) my assumptions, biases, and expectations.

A willingness to learn, question, and try things out are part of fulfilling this intention. Ultimately, I think the seasoned student approaches everything about yoga not as a subject to be mastered in a given number of classes or training hours, but as a lifelong path of growth and self-discovery. This is what keeps your studentship and your practice vibrant.

In over 25 years of sharing yoga,...

Continue Reading...
Resetting Routine Aug 25, 2021

 

Truth be told, I'm looking forward to next Tuesday. This is the day when my daughter goes back to school and our family schedule will return to, well, being more scheduled. This week, we’re in that liminal time all parents of school age children know well: post-summer activities, pre-academic year.
 
Still, I stick to my morning routine as best I can. For what it’s worth, I've broken down the most successful version of it, in case you too are ready to reset your schedule: 

1. Grounding (sitting quietly, looking out the window from my favorite spot on the couch, sipping my morning coffee)
2. Connecting to the sacred (meditating, contemplating)
3. Recommitting to my...

Continue Reading...
The Savasana Solution Aug 18, 2021

It’s the a-ha that answers the question we have been asking ourselves.

It’s the bright idea that floats effortlessly to the surface of our awareness.

It’s the creative solution to a problem that arises seemingly out of nowhere.

How many times have we heard or experienced this? The answers we seek come after we have let go of all effort.

Psychologists might give one explanation for this, productivity specialists another. But yoga has a particular take on how this phenomenon works.

In yoga, our mind is seen not only as our faculties of questioning, thinking, analyzing, reasoning, ruminating, and so on. Yoga recognizes there is also an aspect of our mind that's a...

Continue Reading...
What is it about light? Aug 04, 2021

 

There’s something about sunlight.

I don’t pretend to understand exactly what. But somewhere in me I know. Somewhere in all of us, I think we all know.

We know when we watch the way sunlight dances across the surface of a lake, or shimmers on a wet leaf, or casts golden shadows on the urban landscape. We know when we watch the sun rise and set.

We know that there’s magic there, undeniable beauty, and power.

Light heals, repairs, and nourishes.

It’s in high summer here in the Northern hemisphere, but wherever you live, it’s a great day to receive the power of light, even for just a moment.

Allow it to soften the hard edges, to soothe you, and...

Continue Reading...
Hatha Yoga, Schmata Yoga Jul 28, 2021

 

A meditation master once taught:

Hatha Yoga, Schmata* Yoga. Even an elephant can stand on his front legs, but is your inner courtyard filled with the fragrance of your own love?

(*Schmata is the Yiddish word for a rag or old, ragged clothing)

It’s a question I come back to again and again: What makes postural practice more than physical exercise, even when done with mindful awareness, conscious breathing, and good alignment?

And the answer keeps coming back: it’s the context we give it, the intention behind it, and the inner trajectory it moves us in that brings asana into the realm of spiritual practice and part of a larger path of personal growth.

All...

Continue Reading...
You are What You Integrate Jul 21, 2021

 

According to Ayurveda, you aren’t what you eat, you’re what you digest.

It’s true with food and it’s also true with yoga.


Like digesting a meal, assimilation in yoga is about extracting the nourishment you receive from your practices. Assimilation allows the imprint and impact of the practices to settle into the fabric of your being - mind, body, and spirit - and become part of you. It's how integration happens.
 

Among the possibilities for assimilating the effects of your practice are:

- Resting in Savasana or another supported, fully relaxing pose

- Articulating your experiences through writing, drawing, or another...

Continue Reading...
Getting Aligned Jul 14, 2021

 

Much of the conversation about postural alignment in yoga revolves around cues, biomechanics, evidence-based theories of movement, and evolving perceptions of healthy movement patterns that could apply to many different physical disciplines.

But of course, what makes yoga, yoga, is the understanding that the physical body is only one part of who we are. And that’s what’s missing from many of these discussions in my view. When we treat alignment as purely biomechanical, we overlook the fundamental yogic understanding that we are more than just the body.

There are different models of the human being in the yoga tradition. What they all have in common is the...

Continue Reading...