Finding or being drawn to an excellent teacher, no less a true guru, is a great boon and often life-changing. Whether you are following the footprints of a teacher no longer on the earth plane or basking in the physical presence or a living guru, you have likely reached a turning point in your growth and development as a human being, as a yogi, as a soul.

Nevertheless, travelers on the spiritual path, especially relative new-comers, sometimes puzzle over whether they are missing out if they haven’t arrived at the feet of a physically living teacher. Even in my own family, there is disagreement about which is preferable; my sister, an accomplished alternative healer, has consistently sought out an exemplar she can touch and speak to, while I have never seen my guru in the flesh.

Pros and Cons of Living Teachers

Like everything else in the kingdom of maya (our commonly perceived and dualistic world), there are pros and cons to consider. There is a certain logic in the fact that a student of physical phenomena and techniques, such as my sister, would want to witness the physical example provided by a teacher who shares the same three dimensions that she does.

Is there a better way to learn yoga asanas than to have them dynamically demonstrated before one’s eyes? Hard to imagine! Not only are the nuances of positioning—lowered shoulders, expanded rib cage—easily perceived, but there is a natural inclination to generalize from the example of the teacher to oneself. As the old adage goes, seeing is believing and the incontrovertible evidence in front of you leads to the conclusion, “If he can do it, I can do it”.

One frequently experienced negative of following a leader incarnate in a human body is the fact that they can be just as much heir to the ills of the flesh as you are. While they may have reached adepthood in mastery of their own body or have an uncanny ability to convey spiritual principles to their students, development in other areas may lag or at least clash with your ideals. Sexual peccadilloes, a penchant for luxury cars, or a tender ego can be a cold wake-up call and hard to integrate with the benefit you have received.

Following Masters of the Past

In discussing the pros and cons of a guru not currently available in physical form, I suspect I will part company with folks who set reason and the evidence of the senses as their standard of truth. In fact, they also part company with traditional yogic philosophy; in the classic example of a rope mistaken in the gloom for a snake, the Sutras of Patanjali teach us that the senses are unreliable. There is another mode of perception, an inner eye whose light is essential life force and whose object may be a guru not present to the physical eye. To meet one’s teacher in this classroom is in itself a powerful lesson in the scope of reality. With a graciousness that exceeds understanding, a guru whose time on earth will quickly pass leaves breadcrumbs for his future devotees to follow: these may be writings, devotional practices, or disciples who outlive the master and embody his or her teachings.

Unfortunately, it is far easier to over-idealize a teacher who is not standing right in front of you. Imagination is sometimes the enemy of genuine spiritual experience. A true guru is not seeking to be idolized, but emulated, does not desire to see his individualized reflection in others but is fiercely dedicated to liberating his chelas from obsessive attachment to their own ego-image. Most of us have a tendency to put our heroes on a pedestal and there is only room for one up there. This is not following; it is abrogating one’s responsibility to become.

In weighing the pros and cons, we can rest easy in the thought that all great teachers and gurus, “living or dead”, hold one thing in common. Their gift to us is bringing our concentration and consciousness firmly into the present moment: this posture, this breath. All temporal disadvantages of how or who we follow are outweighed by this power to introduce us to the eternal now

Yogasync Me!  Move towards the yogis or yogini’s ultimate goal, of resting fully and lovingly in this one and only present moment.

Fierce Grace Yoga

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Yoga is a spiritual discipline that encompasses the man as a whole. If you want to strengthen and control your body, then you would probably be interested in hatha yoga. However, yoga is much more than asanas that make your body strong and your mind focused. Hatha yoga teaches you to face yourself and establish balance, harmony, and control over your senses, body and mind.

Modern yoga centers tend to simplify the practice to hatha yoga without using its full potential. If the practitioner is solely concerned with the physical aspect of his being, he will experience results on other levels too, but they will be minimal and he will probably go pass the subtle changes without noticing them. The different types of yoga have one common goal: to make the practitioner more conscious about what he is as a being and as part of the Universe.

What is Yoga of Synthesis?

Yoga is a spiritual discipline that unites all aspects of the being: the body, mind, energy, psyche, and spirit. Swami Sivananda intended to harmonize all these aspects through a synthetic approach that integrates karma, bhakti, jnana, and raja yoga, along with kirtan, hatha yoga and few other sub-types. The yoga of synthesis is focused on all components of the human nature.

Although everything sounds too complicated when you read about it, this practice comes naturally and there is absolutely no need to start reading about the different types and aspects of yoga when you start practicing. One of the biggest mistakes people do before attending yoga classes is reading too much and filling their minds with prejudices about what yoga is supposed to do and how the practice is supposed to look like. They expect to sit and meditate for hours on the first session they attend. A good instructor will guide you through the systemized program in a way that will seem effortless to you, but you have to “empty your cup of tea” (see Zen Story below) and start practicing without expectations.

It’s not accidental that these four types of yoga are presented with a specific order. It would be best for the practitioner to start with the practice of karma yoga and establish discipline over his actions; then continue with our emotional side as spiritual beings (bhakti yoga); then start reading and studying jnana yoga; and finally come on the path of raja yoga.

Conclusion: The Purpose of Yoga Practice

The purpose of this synthesis is to activate all elements of the human structure and free the practitioner from all obstacles on physical, emotional, energetic, and mental level. Everyone comes to yoga classes for different reasons. Some want to lose weight, others are looking for a way to deal with stressful situations, and others are guided from an inner call. The reasons why you came to yoga are not important; it’s important why you keep practicing. Yoga comes to our lives to re-establish the union and neutralize the blockades that separate us from our true essence.

In Swami Sivananda’s words – “one-sided development is not commendable.” The different paths of yoga should be united to improve all aspects of the human being: “his heart, intellect and hand.”

*Zen Story – A Cup of Tea

A Cup of Tea
Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring.
The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. “It is overfull. No more will go in!”

“Like this cup,” Nan-in said, “you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”

Yogasync Me!  Want to try traditional hatha Yoga at home?  Try this sequence,  inspired by the Traditional Rishikesh Series:

Yes, Show Me Hatha Yoga at Home

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In English with Spanish transcript below.

With everything going on in the world I thought putting the intention out there of peace is going to help.  Sending good intention to others can help .

Listen along with the video below it will also help you be more a peace with yourself.

Sarsha at Sacred Movement and Nadi Wellness created the guided meditation and I made the positive visualisations video below for it .  It is relaxing give it ago.

You can also view the World Peace Meditation here on YT

Spanish TranslationKindly provided by Marivi

WORLD PEACE MEDITATION (MEDITACION POR LA PAZ MUNDIAL)

PAZ MUNDIAL

TRABAJEMOS  JUNTOS PARA HACER UN MUNDO MEJOR

Empecemos por colocarnos en posición de  meditación, crucemos las piernas, coloquemos nuestras palmas hacia arriba sobre las rodillas, sentados sobre una sabana doblada o un apoyo, con la columna recta. Si esto es incomodo para usted, puede sentarse en una silla o en el suelo, siempre con la espalda recta.   Concéntrese en su respiración, haciendo cada inhalación despacio y profunda, trate que sus inhalaciones sean silenciosas y las exhalaciones también. Ahora se enfoca en su respiración y su mente se empresa a maravillar. Usted está en meditación, ahora retome su respiración.  Ahora concéntrese en el centro de su corazón, no en el corazón físico sino en el chacra, en el centro del pecho. Ahora imagine un botón de rosa color rosada en él, el botón empieza a abrirse lentamente, a lo largo de cada respiración el botón se va abriendo e irradia su belleza al mundo. Esta rosa simboliza AMOR, PAZ Y ESPERANZA. Así con cada respiración, usted empieza a sentir su pecho lleno con los sentimientos de AMOR, PAZ Y ESPERANZA.

AMOR, PAZ Y ESPERANZA, sentimientos que usted irradia desde su corazón hacia cada parte de su cuerpo, su cabeza, su cuerpo, piernas y pies. Ahora su ser completo está lleno de los sentimientos de AMOR, PAZ Y ESPERANZA, que irradia desde el centro de su corazón. Ahora usted empieza a irradiar esos sentimientos hacia el exterior de su cuerpo, la habitación donde se encuentra. Luego esos sentimientos que parten del centro de su corazón: AMOR, PAZ Y ESPERANZA, son irradiados hacia todos los espacios de la casa o edificio donde se encuentra. Luego usted siente que puede expandir esos sentimientos hacia la comunidad en que vive, luego irradia los sentimientos de AMOR, PAZ Y ESPERANZA, hacia su ciudad completa. Luego irradia los sentimientos de AMOR, PAZ Y ESPERANZA, a su alrededor, su comunidad, su ciudad y después a todo su país.   Imagine que ve con su tercer ojo su ciudad completa llena de los sentimientos de AMOR, PAZ Y ESPERANZA, luego imagine que ve con su tercer ojo su país completo lleno de los sentimientos de AMOR, PAZ Y ESPERANZA. Ahora imagine el hemisferio norte o sur (dependiendo su ubicación) lleno de los sentimientos de AMOR, PAZ Y ESPERANZA, irradiados desde el centro de su corazón, su alrededor, su casa, su comunidad, su ciudad, su país, su hemisferio, su continente. Ahora imagine que ve con su tercer ojo que irradia esos sentimientos de AMOR, PAZ Y ESPERANZA al mundo entero. Imagínese usted en el espacio exterior viendo a la Tierra, véala repleta de AMOR, PAZ Y ESPERANZA, los cuales provienen desde el centro de su corazón.

Ahora despacio empieza a regresar esa energía desde la Tierra, al hemisferio, a su país, a la ciudad donde vive, a la comunidad, retornando a su casa, a la habitación o espacio en que se encuentra, a la energía del centro de su corazón, los sentimientos de AMOR, PAZ Y ESPERANZA regresan a su cuerpo y regresan al centro de su corazón. Regresan a la bella rosa que simboliza AMOR, PAZ Y ESPERANZA.  Sabiendo que esta rosa simboliza e irradia los sentimientos de AMOR, PAZ Y ESPERANZA a cada ser, a cada país y al mundo entero.  Retorne a su respiración ahora, concéntrese en sus inhalaciones, ahora abra lentamente sus ojos y sienta esos sentimientos.  Sabiendo que usted puede tener los sentimientos de AMOR, PAZ Y ESPERANZA en su vida.

POR FAVOR COMPARTA ESTA PRESENTACION CON SUS AMIGOS Y FAMILIARES PARA QUE JUNTOS HAGAMOS UN MUNDO MEJOR, LLENO DE AMOR, PAZ Y ESPERANZA.

NAMASTE

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Would someone please put the ‘light’ back into enlightenment? The road to tranquillity has become a very serious business indeed! We have to follow the 7 steps to abundance, the 12 and a half steps to making a slice of toast that looks like Jesus and the 23 steps to turning your dog into an angel-unicorn. All this advice can make us feel laden-down and busy. The more rules and instructions there are guiding us to the big prize, the more we can fail, the more wrongs we feel we are doing instead of rights, the more sticks to beat ourselves over the head. Is not the road to enlightenment supposed to be simple and fun?

What if Buddha said ‘Fart’

Last night my husband, who was born enlightened while I have to read a zillion books to achieve a morsel of peace, made a very profound statement in response to my meandering hokey-pokey, ‘universe-speak’. He let me proceed with my “the universe this and the universe that”, faking interest and nodding in concurrence. When I finished he stated, “Buddha said that if you fart too much you’ll turn into a fart.”
I laughed heartily, “No, he didn’t!”
To which he responded, half-seriously, “How do you know?”
So it got me to thinking – he is right. The Dalai Lama, during a recent interview, joked about farting on an airplane trip. He demonstrated how he looks around carefully and, when the coast seems clear, he casually leans to one side and let’s one rip. Buddha may have, among millions of other things, made a statement about farting. In fact, I am pretty sure that Buddha, Jesus and all the other messiahs and prophets could, with a captivated audience, crack a pretty decent ‘knock-knock’ joke.

Let Laughter take Centre-Stage

Humor appears to be one of the indicators that you have ‘got it’- that deep-peace is within grasp. You no longer get bogged down by life. You look at the positive, light-hearted side of most situations. This does not mean you have eradicated pain from your life. It implies, perhaps, that you can sit with it, witness it and not run for the hills. As Charlie Chaplin said, “To truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain and play with it.” Laughter may not be the dominant instrument in your orchestra but you can play it centre-stage every now and again. And if you ever fall on your rear-end and laugh, be assured that the state of Nirvana is very close indeed.

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5. Archana – Worshipping the Almighty

If you go by the word, Archana, the fifth aspect of Bhakti Yoga, means worshipping the lord as nothing can be a better way to connect with the Almighty. According to the enlightened ones, worshipping is the path to attaining Moksha. But is it that simple? Well, let us think about it from a different perspective. Chanting mantras help one connects with the inner self and develop a better consciousness without questioning anything using one’s own intellect or experience. Faith is a major word in this aspect of Bhakti Yoga. And once we develop unquestioned faith on a subject or object, we tend to remember it without putting any effort. Same rule is applicable here. Remembrance comes following faith. And this remembrance and faith together pave the way of connection with the Supreme entity. So Mantra here works like a middleman on behalf of remembrance between the outer self or lower self and inner self or higher self. Why is it important to bridge the gap between these two selves?

Let’s understand it with an example. Why do we feel happy when someone says something good or nice about us? And why we feel just the opposite when somebody speaks bad about us? Because in both situations, we associate ourself with that particular “good” or “bad” word and that instantly triggers our emotions. So, we have developed this habit of seeing ourselves through the eyes of everybody else around us, except our own self. But if we are aware of who we are actually, we will not seek judgement from others. And that will solve most of the problems we face throughout our lives.

6. Vandana – Prostration and prayer

Vandana or prostration, the sixth of the nine aspects of Bhakti Yoga is about showing your respect to the God as well as everything in the nature that’s a form of God by touching the mother earth in the Sashtanga Namaskara pose i.e. touching the ground with all your body parts. It is your duty and you should do it in an appropriate and graceful way. If we ponder a little bit, we will understand that this duty is not only the duty of offering prayers to the Divine, but fulfilling your duties as a human being. Touching the ground with all of your body parts symbolizes showing modesty by ignoring your ego and self-pride. It’s bowing your head in front of everything in a graceful manner. Most often, we do not lead a restrained life, spiritually I mean. So, all our efforts go to nowhere. But when your life is controlled by modesty, a sense of duty and a greater purpose, your soul uplifts itself to a higher level.

7. Dasya – Being His servant

It’s not only about serving the idols in the temples, serving the saints or sages or serving the god-like objects. Dasya Bhakti or this servant attitude is about serving everything believing the God is present among all of us, even inside the tiniest insect. You serve them, you serve the God. We make it a habit to serve only the people we know or we love. We ignore everything else. But, in that way, we actually distance ourselves from the Lord.

8. Sakhya – Being His friend

Being His friend is not as easy as it may sound. We are normally god-fearing people. We do EVERYTHING either to please God or to bribe him or to not make him angry with our tasks. Do you have to do any of these things with your friends to maintain the friendship? Then why God? Once you perceive the Lord as your dearest friend, you will not go to him with a baggage full of complaints, desires, gains and grudges. You will share your pain and joy with Him without expecting any gain in return. You may fight with Him, but you cannot blame him for everything that happens to affect your life in a negative way.

9. Atmanivedana – Surrendering yourself to the Almighty

The ninth and last aspect of the Bhakti Yoga asks you to surrender yourself completely to Him. Just like you surrender yourself in front of the person you love the most, your lover. You surrender your ego, your insecurities, fears, troubles, everything. Like that you empty yourself in front of the Divine power without holding anything back and with the same trust you have in your lover that he/she will take care of everything. Likewise, once you empty yourself and let Him take care of you, He loves you all the more.

Gradually, follow the nine aspects of Bhakti Yoga one at a time and free yourself from fear, pride and every barrier that’s holding you back from connecting with the Almighty, and become one with the Lord.

Yogasync me! Follow the nine aspects of Bhakti Yoga and finally surrender yourself to the Almighty with this extended meditative sequence:

Heaven

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Let us explore the 9 modes or aspects of Bhakti Yoga:

1. Sravana – Hearing the Lord’s virtues, glories and stories

Although, literally, this Sravana means listening to spiritual conversations of saints, holy stories or scriptures, but the core meaning is something different and more deep than just using your ears. It’s about listening to your inner self and coming face to face with the truth. We all wear different masks time to time while interacting with different people. The mask changes with the person. And, in due course, we lose all contact with that true self and become a difficult blend of all the masks. So, the first step towards getting close to God is – knowing yourself, listening to your true self and understanding what it is.

2. Kirtana – Singing of the Lord’s Glories

Kirtana means singing or chanting the Almighty’s glories. If we go by the core meaning, it means identifying the good and praising the goodness of mankind, of the nature at large. They say, God is there in each of our hearts. So what is God? It is the Godly nature and positive qualities that make a mere human being a God. If you fail to appreciate what is good and if you fail to nurture those good qualities in you and in others, no Yoga can ever take you an inch closer to the Almighty. 

3. Smarana – Remembrance of the Lord at all times

Smarana literally means remembering the Supreme Being all the time. If you think deep, you will understand what the ancient sages tried to point at. Adhere to the teachings your spiritual teacher has given you without altering a single bit of it. We often change what we are being taught to accommodate ourselves to the way this world wants us to be. That actually makes the lessons irrelevant because it’s the tough times which require you to stand by your principles and moral values.

4. Padasevana – Serving His feet

In East, touching someone’s feet means showing respect to that person and accepting that the person is either elder or in a higher position than you, most often by age or experience. Here, you need to accept that the nature is more powerful than you, both in terms of age and experience. If you cannot analyze how the nature works, it’s absolutely normal. But by defying nature and its laws, you are just proving your immaturity. So, once you start accepting that everything happens in this nature for a reason, you will feel less bothered and more at peace with your own self.

to be continued (…)

 Yogasync me! Part of Padasevana is accepting the fact that everything happens for a reason. Channel this acceptance in this 20-minute meditation:

Meditation For Acceptance

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He Loves You, Yeah-Yeah-Yeah

In Western society, we normally think of love as strictly spontaneous, stimulated by family members, friends or romantic partners. More often than not, even when we extend love to another, we are actually reaching out in the hope or expectation of that significant other meeting our own need for love and affection. Fidelity and betrayal are frequent themes in our love stories, indicating our tendency to think of love as a possession, rather than something to be given and received freely.

Beyond “I, Me, Mine”

In the “greatest of all commandments”, the predominant religion of the west, Christianity, encourages going beyond this strictly “I, me, mine” scope of love. Christians are to love God with all their hearts, minds and souls, and their neighbors as themselves. That is, rather than living with the passive expectation that love should be given to them, they are to actively wield love as a means of spiritual communion and a force for good in the world.

Sraddah: Cultivating the Natural State of the Heart

What does yoga say about love? Love for the yogi is the native energetic tendency of the human heart that requires cultivation to reach an optimal, stable condition. “Sraddah” is the Sanskrit term for the act of cultivating the heart’s natural love. Sraddah not only results in ideal physical equilibrium, writes Swami Sri Yukteswar*, it is “the principal requisite to attain a holy life . . . When this love becomes developed in man it makes him able to understand the real position of his own Self as well as of others surrounding him.”

Where East and West Meet

Taking as the object of concentration in meditation a “divine personage” or image that stimulates your spiritual yearnings not only gives the mind a single point of focus, it is also sraddah. In meditation, the heartbeat is slowed, the body quieted and the mind stilled; when spiritual devotion guides its focus, it becomes a means of loving with all one’s heart, mind and soul. The heart’s yearning for its Own is the beginning of a love that can satisfy more deeply and completely than the never-quite-enough of worldly love. Paramahansa Yogananda’s chant “Where is There Love?” poignantly describes the first stirrings of this devotional love:

In this world, Mother
No one can love me.
In this world they do not know how to love me.
Where is there pure loving love?
Where is there truly loving me?
There my soul longs to be.
There my soul longs to be.

*Sri Yukteswar, S. (1990). The Procedure. In The Holy Science (Eighth ed., pp. 56-57). Self-Realization Fellowship (Yogoda Satsanga Society of India).

Yogasync me! Love and devotion go hand in hand. This sequence will guide you to your heart home where you send messages of love out into the world.  

Messages of Love

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Bhakti Yoga, or “the Yoga of Devotion,” is that yogic path which connects the practitioner or Bhakta with the Superior Being. Often considered to be the straightest way to put your mind, body and soul in sync, Bhakti Yoga is about transcending your physical and mental boundaries to establish the bond between the Creator and the creation. While the other three yoga forms i.e. Hatha Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Raja Yoga focus on body flexibility, intellect and a focused mind respectively, it’s only Bhakti yoga that emphasizes the power of heart in establishing the divine connection, a devoted heart. You may ask why only a heart, why not a mind and a body or a mind, body and soul together?

Shree Krishna explains that a mind with acute intellect comes with a hindrance of doubting everything that it sees, every bit of information it comes across. Moreover, we tend to believe in what we see. But what about the things which cannot be seen, which are intangible, unmanifested? We hesitate to believe as we have more faith in our eyes than our heart. So when you will tread the path of divine wisdom, your aware mind will question your every move, will doubt every possibility and, thus, will eventually stand as a barrier in your spiritual path of awakening. Therefore, it is important to undo your intellect while disembodying your soul to attain that level of ultimate devotion. Unless you disintegrate your heart from your soul and the five primary elements of nature which bind you to this earth and the never-ending circle of Karma, you will be stuck in the spiral wave of seeking the divine as a conscious effort.

Solution? Let the Creator drive you while all you have to do is sit on his bus, says the Lord. Why so? It’s the Ego that plays the spoilsport in showing complete devotion. The “Me” clouds our thinking and winning becomes our aim. And, soon, we drift away from our path of spiritual attainment. So how to teach your heart to unteach everything it has learned over the years?

Practice the 9 principles of Bhakti Yoga:

1. Shravana (listening)

2. Kirtana (singing)

3. Smarana (remembering)

4. Padasevana (serving at the feet)

5. Archana (worshipping)

6. Vandana (the act of prostration)

7. Dasya (unquestioning submission)

8. Sakhya (Friendship)

9. Atmanivedana (offering yourself to the Divine)

And how this practice of Bhakti Yoga can help your soul to rise above every mortal craving? Let us read it in Swami Sivananda’s words:

“Bhakti softens the heart and removes jealousy, hatred, lust, anger, egoism, pride and arrogance. It infuses joy, divine ecstasy, bliss, peace and knowledge. All cares, worries and anxieties, fears, mental torments and tribulations entirely vanish. The devotee is freed from the Samsaric wheel of births and deaths. He attains the immortal abode of everlasting peace, bliss and knowledge.”

Yogasync me! The first step to honoring the Divine is by quieting the mind. One way to do this is through restorative yoga, like in this quick sync:

Rapid Results 12 – Relaxing Restoration

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And yoga is practicing your way to perfection. A perfect body, a perfect mind, a perfect soul and…a perfect life? Yes!

The philosophy of yoga, like other ancient Indian philosophical practices, stands for the doctrine of changing life for a better You. Unlike other world philosophies which focus on a better future, better world etc., yoga promises a better you, as the old and wise sages knew that a better you is synonymous to a better future, a better world, and a better universe at large.

So how does yoga make a better you? To answer this question, let me tell you:

The story of a man and his master.

Once, a man was dying to find out the meaning of life. He searched everywhere for the answer, but in vain. He enrolled in spiritual courses, joined different workshops, but still could not find the meaning. Then, one day, he heard a master speaking. He waited for the speech to end and then put his question forward to that Master,

“Please explain the meaning of life.”

The audience present giggled to hearing such a bad, repetitive and cliché question, but not the master. Rather, the master picked up a tiny little mirror from his bag, caught a ray of sun with it and directed the reflected light back on the face of this man.

Then the Master asked the man,

“Can you see me catching light and channeling it to your face?”

The man nodded.

“That’s the meaning of life,”

said the Master. As the man looked flabbergasted, the Master explained,

“Life is to collect light and to direct it where you need it the most. Hence your purpose of life is to catch the sunshine and channel it to those dark areas of you and the world.”

So when you are embracing yoga as a lifestyle, you are exposing yourself to two possibilities – cleaning the mirror where you will catch the sunshine and directing the light to the right places. Here, the mirror is your body and mind. Unless they are clean, you will not be able to catch the light as a hazy mirror is of no use in catching sunlight. So a yogic lifestyle is about cleaning the impurities from your body while purifying your mind so as to prepare you as a receiver of light.

To attain the highest level of purification, you do not have to live the life of a monk, eat less or sleep on a mattress. All you need to do is following 5 basic rules of social conduct of yoga:

The 5 Yamas

Ahimsa (non-violence): To other living beings, to the world, to ourselves, and to our thoughts.

Satya (truthfulness): To ensure that no one is hurt or harmed in this process. If that means speaking truth diplomatically, let it be.

Asteya (non-stealing): Take only what you need, give or leave the rest for others.

Brahmacharya (faithfulness): Not celibacy, which is a common misconception. It means being faithful in your every relationship with persons or with the world.

Aparigraha (non-greed): Practicing simplicity and non-hoarding. Minimalism is the core principle of yoga and yogic lifestyle. And in this age of consumerism, this can save you from falling for the greed of luxury and consumerist illusions.

Practicing these 5 basic principles of yoga can minimize these worldly distractions and noise reaching your mind and prepare it for enlightenment, for inner peace, and for happiness.

Let us conclude with a line from the Bhagavad Gita:

Yogaha karmasu kaushalam…

“Perfection in your every action is Yoga.”

Yogasync me!  Choose the yoga lifestyle by doing a short practice for each day of the week, and do them every day that you possibly can:

Rise and Shine Series

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