To Speak or Not to Speak: Patanjali and the Yoga of Truth

    “To one established in truthfulness, actions and their results will be become subservient.” Book Two, Portion on Practice #36, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Recently I’ve found myself in one of those awkward situations in which I’m unsure of the wisdom of telling the truth – of saying to a certain individual – the…

Relax, The Universe is Friendly

For many years my approach to health and fitness was defined by no pain, no gain. Eating only salads and nuts made me feel virtuous, and running five miles made me feel as if I’d suffered enough. Today, I’ve dropped the punitive approach. No longer set on pummeling my body into compliance, I seek to…

Yoga and the Biology of Transcendence: Part One

“The yogis have said for ages that spiritual practice changes the brain, and they have a very systematic method for doing so… The Yoga Sutra is a manual for how to do this”.       Joan Shivarpita Harrigan, director of Patanjali Kundalini Yoga Care(How to Boost Brain Power, Yoga Journal, October 2008) According to Yogic tradition, a…

Yoga and The Biology of Transcendence: Part Three

In yoga, the area of the brain located just behind the brow (the pre-frontal cortex) is called the third eye, or Ajna chakra. Ajna means command, and awakening this chakra through the ascension of Kundalini was believed to awaken cosmic consciousness and bestow Siddhi’s, or supernatural powers.