Ganesha Chaturti
Ganesha Chaturthi. Today, the 31stvof August is Ganesha Chaturthi, the beginning of a set of festivities which celebrate the birth of Ganesha. Ganesh is one of the best known and recognisable of the Indic deities due to his widespread veneration and his appearance, the body of a yourh with the head of an elephant. Multiple […]
Guru Purnima 2022
Guru Purnima 2022 Today, the 13th of July, is Guru Purnima, the full moon of the Guru, when this quality is at it’s fullest, just like the moon itself. The term Guru is a bit loaded for us in the west, it’s often appropriated to someone who is an expert in their field, alternatively we […]
First journal entry and website update for a long time!
Writing this I’m aware that the last journal entry on the website was early 2020, pre Covid, and a lot has happened since then! Although I have been writing frequent blogs on the Facebook page, I have neglected the website, so its great to return to it. After a rapid adaption to online teaching […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Soma.
In the texts of yoga and Ayurveda, Soma is described as a divine nectar, that if embibed, gives, youthfulness, immortality and numerous other eternally sought qualities. Although, often mentioned in esoteric terms and in complex practices, we can experience it quite directly. We can regard Soma as bliss, the bliss of our existence. In Yogic thinking, […]
A new perspective.
Its easy to realise how beneficial it is to change our perspective, quite often if we have a problem we are told to look at things in a new light, this indication is very present in Yoga itself. We tend to forget that a lot of our ideas and views are based upon those we […]
Restoring the inner fire.
In Yoga, Tantra and Ayurveda the concept of the Tattwas, the elements in all of existence is central to the framework and understanding of the many strands of our lives and selves. Within these elements, Agni,the fire element is of major significance, it sits in a central position in Tantric practice, Ayurveda’s view on our health […]