All About Yoga

Sukhasana: The Easy (or not-so-easy) Seated Pose

You might consider sukhasana one of those poses whose name is a misnomer… While asana is the second half of the posture’s name and is defined as pose or seat, sukha translates to easy, comfortable, or even sweet. However, it’s the sweetness that’s often missing from the pose for many of us. In fact, dukkha, a word that we can translate as suffering, is oftentimes much closer to our experience of the posture! Let’s explore this pose in a little more depth.

The Third Limb of Yoga: Asana

“Asana practice stimulates healing on many levels. Yes, it can help to heal injuries and bring strength and flexibility to muscles and joints, but, spiritually, the practice of asana can release us from avidya, which means ignorance of who we really are.” ~... Read More

Mindfulness Meditation

Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. ~ Viktor E. Frankl Many of us live our lives as if on autopilot, constantly being destabilized and reacting to what we... Read More

The Eighth Limb of Yoga: Samadhi

The eighth limb of yoga is what we refer to as samadhi. Following dhyana, or meditation, in which concentration is maintained for longer periods of time, samadhi involves the union of the meditator with the object of meditation. It unites the seer with the seen. As... Read More

The Seventh Limb of Yoga: Dhyana

Dhyana builds on the previous limb, dharana (one-pointed concentration). Dhyana is meditation. Think of dhyana as the maintenance of dharana for longer periods of time. When the mind is focused on one object, or activity, without interruption, this is dhyana. Says... Read More

The Sixth Limb of Yoga: Dharana

Dharana is the state of one-pointed concentration, when the mind is able to continuously focus on one object without distraction. The limbs leading up to dharana serve to build up to it: asana builds strength, making the body more comfortable; pranayama helps to build... Read More