When I first went to India, I was eager to look at Indian miniature paintings from the sixteenth century. I had seen many of them in museums in the West, and I assumed that in India I would find the best collections. But the museums in India are poorly …
In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali gives us five recommendations, called yamas, for how we should treat others if we want to attain liberation. The third yama is asteya, which means “non-stealing.” Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati defined theft as “the unauthoriz …
Valmiki is the author of the epic story, The Ramayana. But before he was a best selling author, he was a thief and, as legend has it, a very good one. Once, as he was about to steal a gold pot from the home of a yogi, the yogi appeared. The yogi did no …
Progress in all forms of yoga is directly related to how persistent and regular one practices. Asana is no exception. To obtain the most benefit, one should practice every day. Beginners should develop a daily practice from the start. Like brushing tee …
What is realized in the yogic state of enlightenment is the oneness of being. In this state, all separation between self and other dissolves. The yogi realizes him- or herself as one with all that is. Then the world no longer appears as out there. I on …
Forward bending is the most ingrained of all movements. We will always bend forward to pick something up, even if we could bend backwards, and we sit on chairs at work, at home, at the movies and elsewhere. We rarely think much about bending forward in …