The root chakra (Muladhara) is located in the pelvic floor at the base of the spine in the perineum. It is associated with our physical identity and the colour red. Security, stability, and structure are the key qualities of this chakra. It is our connection to the earth, foundation, preservation... Read More »

Samadhi is the last of the 8 limbs of yoga. When I began what I could call my spiritual journey, I thought that enlightenment was something to get, something to attain with the right effort. Something that's meant to make you whole and complete. But the more you try to be some perfect person, the... Read More »

Dhyana is the 7th limb, and is about the continuous flow of inward experience. Meditation is the maintaining of an undistracted mind by being aware of the flow of being. It is a steady contemplation where the focus to bring the mind into one pointed attention of the previous limb now becomes a no... Read More »

Dharana is the sixth limb of the eightfold path. This one is about concentration. We now move away from the external components of yoga practice and more into the internal experience, the essence of who we are. This one is a good one for me to write today because I am a multi tasker and I can som... Read More »

Pratyahara is the fifth limb of the eightfold path. This one is about sensory withdrawl. Sensory pleasures can hypnotise a person, and pull them towards stimulus, towards the external experience, and that is how we engage with our lives, But this specific practice is about temporarily disengaging... Read More »

The third limb of the eightfold path is Asana. This is the physical practice where we can learn to steady the body/mind connection. Asana should be practiced with a steady and firm endurance in the body, a kind attention in the mind, and delight in the heart. Asana should be illuminating, not to ... Read More »

Pranayama is the fourth limb of yoga. This is about breath regulation and retention. I personally have barely scratched the surface of this fine art. I like to learn about a few techniques here and there, but to me it seems like a whole other branch of yoga involving the lungs and nervous system ... Read More »

The fifth and last niyama is called Isvara Pranidhana. This one is about surrender and devotion to the Supreme Being. This is where yoga philosophy might lose people and they think this stuff is religious, but this is just the spiritual practice regardless of religious ideas, or perhaps underneat... Read More »

This forth niyama is called Swadyaya, which is self study. This niyama meant to study the Divine through scriptures and reciting mantras. Mantras are a repetitive phrase that can turn scattered attention into focused clarity. But times have changed a bit, and we can do self study through reading,... Read More »

The second niyama is called santosha, which is contentment. This is not about adapting an "it's all good" mentality in the type of way where you are trying to avoid discomfort or pain so just put on some optimism to not feel that which is confronting. This might be a fake it til you make it appro... Read More »

The next five posts will be on the niyamas, which are like the "to-do's" as opposed to the yamas which are like the "to-don'ts". They are also called observances of self, and our inner duties. This first niyama; Saucha, has to do with purification, cleanliness, and simplicity. Simplicity reveals... Read More »

The 3rd niyama is tapas, which is discipline. Some other words to describe the type of discipline intended are diligence, passion, commitment, persistence, practice, effort, zeal, willpower, and service. Discipline might have a "punishment" type of feel to it that many of us humans know as this s... Read More »

Brahmacharya is the 4th yama and is translated as celibacy. Most of us in the modern world who are not devoted to a monastery are not celibate. So this one can also be considered to be self-control. With a moderate and balanced lifestyle, prana (life force, breath, energy) becomes boundless. Pran... Read More »

The third yama is called Asteya, which translates as non-stealing. Maybe we can also consider this to be generosity or availability. An obvious example is to not steal what doesn't belong to you or not taking what is not needed, which we are probably all guilty of in our culture of consumerism a... Read More »

Aparigraha is the last yama, and is translated as non-greedy or non-coveting. When a person is not greedy of any possessions or needing worldly aspirations, then they can be happy and satisfied. This reminds me of a movie we just put on this evening called "The God's must be Crazy". It is a film ... Read More »

The second of the yamas is Satya, which is non-lying. When we are dedicated to truth, our thoughts and words manifest effortlessly. The ego doesn't need to make up stories up because truth is casual and authentic. Truth is whole-hearted. Not lying and being honest is an obvious standard to live b... Read More »

The first five blog posts of the series I will do about the 8 limbs of yoga will be about the Yamas, which are moral behaviours and attitudes, or sometimes called the "to-don'ts". In contrast, the next 5 afterwards are the Niyamas, which are more like the "to-do's". It has a ten commandment feel ... Read More »

My first yoga class was about 15 or 16 years ago (at the time of writing this). It is a bit hard to remember it all, but I do remember being bored. I was a mega gym junkie at the time and in the Beginning or denial phase of my eating disorder. I was all about having control over my body and my di... Read More »

This hour long video here is one of many(ish) videos up on my youtube channel that I filmed for the COVID lockdown situation. I quite enjoy doing these videos. This one is nice and basic and just gets you moving around in your body. I hope to do more filming soon. Its been a few weeks now! Someti... Read More »