After about a month of exploring the Yamas together, we’ve come to brahmacharya, the fourth of the fifth Yamas, and possibly the most controversial. According to John Philp, the root word is brahma, Sanskrit for “deity”; char means “walk” and ya means “actively”. Hence, the literal translation is “walking with God”. In layman terms, it means self-control or … Continue reading »

Asteya is often translated as “not taking what is not explicitly given to you” (yes, I am aware there is a double negative in the definition that makes it slightly confusing). As with all the Yamas and Niyamas, there are so many levels to this, ranging from the most obvious to the not so obvious. For example, … Continue reading »

The second Yama is satya. Sat is the root word which means “truth”, and when the suffix ya is added, it changes the term to mean “truthfulness in word and thought.” It can also be extended to include actions, towards ourselves and all other sentient beings. What that means on the Yoga mat for students is that … Continue reading »

According to John Philp, author of Yoga, Inc., the 20th century resulted in more chaos and killing that all the past centuries combined. And with no end in sight to wars, genocides, and the new thing being terrorism, this century looks to be unfolding no differently. How I understand the first Yama of the 8-limb path, ahimsa, … Continue reading »

“Study Yoga; you will learn an infinite amount from it – but do not try to apply it, for we Europeans are not so constituted that we apply these methods correctly, just like that.” - Carl Jung, Yoga and the West The backbone of modern Yoga is Pantanjali’s 8-Limb Path, in which each stage is a preparation … Continue reading »