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How The Mind Creates Distraction and The Simple Way Yoga Gets Us Back
After describing the roadblocks to enlightenment in the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali invites us to consider their presence in our lives. He invites us to explore how the mind creates distraction. A few...
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What is Samadhi? Exploring Classical Yoga’s Ultimate Goal
Near the end of the first chapter of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras describes the goal of yoga—samadhi. So, what is samadhi? You may have heard it defined in a few ways. Samadhi is a state of oneness with...
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Niyama Practice: Firing Up Our Desire to Know Who We Are As One
In chapter 2 of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, we learn about practicing yoga. More specifically, how to practice. The first sutra in this section introduces three important disciplines that can help us...
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Our True Nature is Peace: How to Remove The Five Afflictions
I remember my first yoga experience, a beginners hatha yoga class in my hometown. In every class, the teacher would remind us, “Our true nature is peace.” I felt it every time, for a while at least....
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Yogic Wisdom Uncovers Four Ways We Are Veiled By Ignorance
It makes sense that ignorance is an obstacle to enlightenment. But how do we know what we don’t know? In sutra 2.5, Patanjali sheds light on this issue. Specifically, the sutra describes four...
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Egoism and Yoga: Do We Really Need to Eliminate The Self?
You don’t have to be a yogi to understand the trouble egoism can cause. Ego, the individual self, tends to seek attention and see itself as separate from others. In a recent post, I described the ways...
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Search and You Will Find, But You’ll Need to Use More Than Your Mind
A few weeks ago, I enrolled in wisdom school. Among the texts we’re exploring are the 114 verses — called logions — of the Gospel of Thomas. Each logion is a saying or quote attributed to Jesus. And...
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Attachment and Aversion: The Secret to Loosening Suffering’s Grip
As a younger yogi, I craved enlightenment (yes, I see the problem there). Like many people, I was drawn to yoga because I was suffering. When I first learned about attachment and aversion in yogic...
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Self in Spirituality: What’s the Truth About Who We Are?
I’ve always been curious about different spiritual points of view. Even though there are many, they seek similar things, like liberation from suffering, salvation or enlightenment, and choosing the...
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Karma Yoga Can Transform Us In Unexpected Ways
In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna teaches Arjuna yoga. If you’re not familiar with the epic tale, check it out. One of the great things about Krishna’s yoga lessons is there’s a practice for everyone....
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