Dharana, the next limb of yoga, is focused meditation. We lock our attention on a singular point, perhaps the breath, a sound, or a bodily sensation. This requires practice because our mind does not easily stay focused on one point. Maybe you have heard the term “monkey mind”. This accurately describes what my mind does [...]
The end of our practice is savasana, the corpse pose. Have you ever considered why it is called this? Maybe because you are “dead tired” after your practice and need a rest! Or maybe this asana has a purpose. We begin our weekly practice with seated meditation to bring us present. We end our practice [...]
Our next step on the eight fold path is pranayama. Literally pranayama means control of energy. In some yoga classes, pranayama isn’t taught as a part of the yogic experience. Of course the asanas can be done without focus on the movement of breath or the linking of breath with the movement. Patanjali’s yoga considers [...]