by Holly McKibben I began my yoga journey five years ago, taking classes at a local hot yoga studio. I went for the sweat, but something else brought me back, something bigger, something I did not yet understand. I came back to my mat, over and over again, and through...
Yoga: Beyond the Asana Practice
by Bre'ann Rupp “How liberating it is: to pursue wholeness instead of perfection.” -Morgan Harper Nichols. “Enlightenment is when a wave realizes it is the ocean.” -Thich Nhat Hanh. On the first day of a yoga teacher training, one of my mentors invited the group to introduce ourselves, share a...
Yoga Heart
Yoga is a an age old practice of joining body and mind, and our attention to this moment. As my teacher’s teacher, TKS Desikichar said “Yoga is relationship”. As we go deeper into the practices of yoga, we can see the quality of those relationships we have with our self,...
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and Asana (Pt. 2)
One learns that one's body is the bow, the asana is the arrow, and the target is the soul. - BKS Iyengar Continuing our series on the three definitive sutras by Patanjali on asana, we turn our attention to sutra 2.47. The previous sutra (2.46) mentions that the yoga posture...
Abhyasa and Vairagya: Effort and Release
In the first chapter of the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali describes two aspects of personal practice that will help us progress on our path of yoga - important qualities to understand for our practice on and off the mat. The first is abhyasa, which is often described as sustained, consistent commitment...
Why do a 300 Hour Teacher Training?
As yoga educators and practitioners, we know our practice is as dynamic and changing as we are. Everyday we learn something new and encounter challenges in our life and in our practice and everyday we have an opportunity to apply the wisdom of yoga to help us grow and evolve....
Dancers Pose
Exploring the deeper meanings of the names, themes, and principles we find in yoga is part of the fun of being on the yoga path. Regarding the Sankrit names for poses you might have asked “Why is that pose named that or who is it named after?” You’ll find that...
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras on Asana – Pt. 1
Maui Yoga Shala Teacher Training Many yogis on the path have heard about Patanjali's Yoga Sutra's. Is it a book that lists yoga poses we do on the mat or out in nature? While there are many such modern yoga texts with pictures and descriptions of yoga poses, or āsanas,...