January and the new year.

As we all sit at the start of January, in the lull after the festive season, its easy to reflect upon the new year and the essence of this time of the year. January is named after the Roman God, Janus, depicted with two faces one looking to the past one to the future. Janus […]

Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra.

The yoga practitioner is usually associated with having a serenity and equanimity, these qualities are often described in various texts as the hallmarks of the yogi/yogini. Much of this arises from not just their practice, but also from their vision and understanding of the nature of life. The philosophical and theoretical content of Yoga recognises the […]

Yoga Immersion 2019/2020

I’m very much looking forward to delivering the first session of the  100 hour Yoga immersion that begins this weekend in the Old Cookhouse community space Donaghcloney. An immersion is a fantastic way to allow Yoga, it’s practice and theory, to sink into oneself. Its a step beyond classes and workshops, yet it also allows […]

Bliss

 In the Tantric texts on Spanda, the divine creative pulsation, it states that if we lose the essential delight which is our true nature, then we will experience a state of depression or melancholy. This is oft mentioned in Yogic texts that this feeling of separation is what leads us to Yoga. These writings therefore suggest that mental and emotional […]

Spontaneous meditation.

  In the Shiva Swarodaya, an ancient Tantric text on the breath, prana and its flow,  it is noted that the meditative state occurs naturally at the time of sunrise and sunset. Perhaps this is not surprising when you think of how we relate to those times of the day, when we marvel at life’s […]

Trying not to constrict life's flow.

As modern human beings we generally try to control everything, this includes every aspect of ourselves. Though an investigation into Yoga quickly shows that all of life is the movement of it’s intelligence and energy.  Life works better when it can flow without impediment, but like constricting a hose pipe, our attempt to over control this, blocks its flow. The […]

Turning our response around.

In Tantra, the practitioner often finds a way to take what the general public avoids or recoils from and turns them around in such a way that it is used to liberate them, so that the divine may be found in it, that the most sought of state is discovered within it. In some texts and […]

Creating space in your Yoga practice.

In the older Yoga traditions and texts, much significance  is given to the more subtle parts of the practice, Pranayama (the movement of energy, initially via the breath) , Pratyahara (sense withdrawal), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation), Samadhi, For they indicate that it is in this, that the state of Yoga begins to naturally and spontaneously […]

Be the change you wish to see in the world.

We live in uncertain times, or so it seems, we are constantly bombarded with news of political, economic, social and environmental instability, to look at all this can be truly depressing if not horrifying. How we can deal with seemingly huge issues seems overwhelming, we can feel powerless. I would not seek to diminish the existence of […]

The Hatha Yoga Lineage

When drawn towards a teacher or school of yoga, its credentials and lineage are of great relevance and value. Someone who has immersed themselves in Yoga is what we could consider as well cooked. Shandor, the disseminator of Shadow/Chaya Yoga who I recently had the opportunity to study with, is no exception. Having studied yoga since […]