"I accepted the invitation to teach yoga over 22 years ago. The transformation that was taking place within me had created a well of enthusiasm to draw from, and yet, when I began to speak about yoga, the vastness of the subject was overwhelming. There was one sutra I could hold on to.
Young people sat in front of me each day, and it was my responsibility to engage them in the subject. What I quickly recognized was that their presence was giving me purpose. My studentship accelerated, and in my own practice they were there with me, as I studied the asanas in my body, for their bodies. I found myself observing students in class and later critiquing myself and all the ways I could have explained or demonstrated something better. This type of contemplation also known as self-inquiry led to ongoing refinement and the realization that I was having an inner dialogue with the subject of yoga that filled my days and inspired a new focus in my life.
The first sutra I heard, sthira sukham asanam, was the thread that tethered me to the practice and has continued to reveal its essence with greater clarity, depth and experiential wisdom. In the hatha yoga tradition, it is one we repeat with discipline and regularity. Yet, beyond its Steady walls there is an inexplicable Joy that words aim to describe and only time and practice can reveal."
The Yoga Sutra has been the "go-to" text for the study and practice of Yoga since the emergence of Yoga in its modern form more than a century ago. This talk will highlight key features of how to use this text in the context of a Yoga class. Particular attention will be given to its ethical conte...
In this Sanskrit Studies & Luminous Soul session, Manorama shares how both the Yoga Sutra & the Bhagavad Gita are revealed texts. She shares in-depth teachings around select sutras from the first chapter of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. She then threads through how the Bhagavad Gita thoug...
