STAYING TRUE: The Book Backlash
This past week-end at the Academy Awards, we were pulling for the The ABCs of Book Banning to win first prize in the Short Documentary category. As a one time graduate of English Literature (long live the Humanities!) I know reading to be instrumental to opening people’s eyes, hearts and minds to a …
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Same Difference
One of the most powerful yoga teachings I know is short and sweet – only two words – bheda-abheda. You will notice that the words are identical except for one small “a” that begins the second word. This is not some clever linguistic trick, but points to the heart of wisdom and best describes …
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The Fruit of the Practice
In the wisdom traditions of yoga and meditation, the experience of yoga samadhi is likened to the moment when fruit drops off the vine. Like the cultivation of a plum or a peach, fruition happens in time, spontaneously, “of its own accord.” After years maturing the essential ingredients of yoga—insight, …
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All is Accomplished
One of the oldest teachings in yoga proclaims that the world is complete just as it is. You may be familiar with the well known verse to purnam, “the entire,” that begins the Isha Upanishad. The notion that nothing is ever left out, that nothing is missing, has always baffled me. How …
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Full of Wonder
The experience of wonder opens us to realms unimaginable. Wonder holds its own kind of magic as it eludes calculation, upturns reason, and brings us one step closer to God. Wonder ushers in the heart of the child, neither to judge nor to lay blame, but to live by the question, “What …
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The Union of Opposites
This world is full of opposition. Democrats vs Republicans, Arabs vs. Jews, Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice, Ravens vs. Chiefs, Roadrunner vs. Wile E. Coyote. Today, people’s minds and hearts crack and splinter and consequently there is much suffering. But this is nothing new. In fact in the graphic arts of yoga, this split is …
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Slow Dilation Devotion
To be real, being devoted these days is a challenge. I wonder myself how to embody devotion when the world changes so fast, people and circumstances are unpredictable and so many untruths scatter all about. None of us wants to believe in anyone or anything blindly. Worshipping false idols is …
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First Things First
When you get up in the morning, take a pee and go straight to your practice space. The early hour of the day is precious and you deserve to keep it for yourself, in order to care for your soul, and open to the day ahead. But typically, people get …
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Go at the Speed of Your Own Curiosity
In this time of high speed interconnectivity, it is easy to rush forward like a running back, darting through the holes of your life. The true art of yoga requires slowing way down and moving at the pace of trees, snails, and salamanders. Follow the way of the deer who …
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Drop by Drop
Keep it flowing. Your life, your breath, your longing for a better world. Be like a river flowing downhill to the sea. Know that your body and mind are designed to flow. Fascia flows. Spinal fluid flows. Tears flow. The key is not to let sadness calcify in you, not to …
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