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dzpenumbra · 1 year

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5/12/23

Today was a really weird day. I... got a full night's sleep. Which, in itself, is very odd and disorienting. I started the day with yoga, as usual. Since New Year's, I've only missed one day.

The yoga I did today, and have been doing the past 3 days, was from the 30 day challenge I did back in January. I usually just pick whatever video pops up in my feed from the same person, and it threw in that series and it's just running me back through them. And this one was very focused on gaze, on using your attention and focus and that whole part of yoga... which is a part that I had never heard anyone talk about in regards to yoga before this woman.

Intense focus, not just... cognitive focus, like concentration... but like... staring and only absorbing one thing. Like staring at a spot on a wall and focusing on just that, despite other things happening around you... Okay, I have really struggled with the form of meditation that's like... just let go of your thoughts and just exist. That's been a lifelong struggle for me. But this hyper-fixation, hyper-focus method is one that I found intuitively as a child. It got me through some of the most difficult moments of my life. And it's super subtle and hard to describe. It's an odd thing, it's hard for me to put into words exactly what the act of simply focusing intently on one thing can do when there is intense stress, negativity and chaos around you.

I used to use that technique for balance practice since I was a child, it makes a profound difference. I adapted it for working out when I was training for soccer and basketball. It helped me when I was doing excruciating wall-sits and leg raises when I was into competitive fencing, and gave me a massive advantage. But the memory that comes back most clear when I think of the drishti was holiday dinners with my family. When we would sit at the dining room table and we'd have some big dinner that my mom insisted on cooking herself despite all 3 of her sons loving to cook, and then complaining about how laborious it was after the fact... but in the past decade decided to say "fuck this" and just order tons of food from a local Italian eatery that she frequents... And we'd have a few candles lit. And my mom would be sitting at the kitchen-most end of the table to my left, my older brother across from me, my younger brother to my right, and my dad at the head of the table. And within minutes the conversation would inevitably go to (and stay at) either the stock market or current events/politics. And my little brother and I might have a little side conversation to stay sane. But not always. And when it was more difficult... especially when I was younger, like teens and early 20's... I would just... eat and stare at the candle. Just... kinda enduring. Just kinda bearing it and putting up appearances, being "present" while not present at all. And the focal point of the constantly breathing flame made what would otherwise be like nails on a chalkboard... slightly more bearable. In a very hard to define way.

So yeah, the yoga practice was kinda all about that, and using your gaze and focus to help smooth out movements and bring more intention to how you move and how you are postured. It was very interesting and I enjoyed it much more now than I did when I first watched the video, because I have a much deeper understanding of yoga than I did back then. However... it was pretty hard emotionally, because it brought me back to like... when Max was here. And hanging out with her and shit, and that was tough. But it was good overall.

I added on more exercises after the yoga, ab exercises and some back stuff too. It's still doing good for me. I'm a bit cautious about doing it every day... like, without a rest day... but it's been noticeably getting me in better shape.

Here's probably the best part of the day, I might as well get right to that. I got 3 emails this morning - all confirmations of my Etsy deliveries!!! So... I got this new soap, which... was severely overpriced, if I'm being honest... but it's really nice. It's a homemade thing and it's a unique Nag Champa blend, and I like it. I also got a propagation tray for plant cuttings - it's a hanging thing with 8 glass tubes, and you fill them with water and put your plant cuttings in it and they grow in there. And... to go with that... I got 6 Pothos cuttings that were in pristine condition. Standing ovation for that person. So, I set those up in the tubes and hung them on a nail in the brick wall by my window and... I have 6 new plant friends now! :)

Convenient timing as my orchid seems to be on its last legs. I don't know how their life cycle works, but all but the last flower has fallen off. I think it has kinda run its course. I'll do some research to see if that's true, but yeah, it's okay! I've had it since like... late January, I've been genuinely shocked it has lived this long!

So yeah, that got me really excited. I love seeing more life in this home. It's a very dramatic contrast to the skull I'm working on right now, and all the death I've seen this year. It's beautifully poetic, and I'm really kinda sad I never got into indoor gardening until this year. I'm very tempted to try to grow grape vines indoors... I wonder if that's a thing... Hmm... Or maybe raspberries... I'll have to look into that. Fruit is getting so fucking expensive nowadays, I'd love to just grow my own.

One notable moment from today was... I went up to the package room before showering. And I didn't even get to shower yesterday, I just got too caught up and distracted. So... I hadn't showered in 2 days... and I had just worked out... and I threw some clothes on and had a big garbage bag in my hand as I was walking up the stairs to the package room... and I passed a very attractive woman. And... I didn't feel anxious. I didn't feel insecure. It was just... a moment. Like any other day. And I keep looking back at this tiny everyday moment and going... please remember that. I work these things up so big. I get so neurotic about "I have to be presentable", "I have to be showered", "I have to be 100% awake and present". Perfectionism. (I will come back to that very shortly.) But when the real-world situation actually comes up? It's fucking nothing!

Okay, let's use an example. The 4-stair over in the park that I was snowskating on last winter. The first time I went out there... I looked at that set and it was like... a dream to ollie that thing someday. I genuinely didn't think I was going to be brave enough to ollie it that winter. I remember being scared to bomb-drop it! It took a lot for me to get myself to jump down that thing. Mostly because it was my first real stairset on a snowskate. And I had to really dig deep to find out why, like what exactly am I afraid is going to happen? I've ollied bigger drops than that... but the stairs themselves were getting in my head. I was afraid I couldn't clear the stairs, and I was afraid I was going to scratch the shit out of the bottom of my board and then not be able to skate all winter. That was my primary fear. And, to be honest, that's a legitimate fear. Snowskates are not cheap, and not even always in stock to replace, especially in the winter, especially in the early winter. So, there was enough logic for it to take root. So... what did I do? I packed snow on top of the bottom two stairs. Yep, that simple. I just packed some snow on top as like a... protective buffer of sorts... so if I did come up a bit short, I wouldn't scrape on concrete and fuck up my board. And that was really all the security I needed to throw myself down it. And then... I started to get a gauge of how far out I was ollieing down it. And by the end of the winter, I had ollied that set a few dozen times and I don't think I even came close to clipping the bottom stair one time.

So... that anticipatory anxiety... coupled with a vivid narrative that had concrete (pun intended) logical consequences... that was enough to talk me out of even trying the set for a long time. Weeks. The anticipation is so much different than in-the-moment anxiety, it's nuts. So... translating that to this experience today... normally I would be like... "okay, I need to shower before I go up to the package room." And I say it to myself as though it's a preference, but really... if I challenge it... I find that it's an obligation. Because if I don't, I'm some stinky guy, and then people judge me, and I can't have that, it's bad PR, I need to be making friends, not upsetting the neighbors with my stench. Super insecure, but... you know... it's a thing. But my hack today? My soap was in the package room. XD So I made a deal with myself that I was just going to say fuck it, and then shower when I got back with the new soap. And it worked out absolutely fine, not a hitch. (I'm sure it helped that I was carrying the trash, to be honest... XD)

After all that and the shower, I went to therapy. I opened talking about sleep... we breezed through it and he kinda... changed the topic to a billing/insurance thing. Now... okay. I was a bit offput because... it's my session... and we're talking about billing and shit. But I seized the opportunity to remind him that my situation in life is very different, and my history is very different than others that he's working with. That I'm on some family company insurance... somehow... and that I have no idea what it actually covers... and they don't communicate with me... and I don't even know if I can communicate with them? It's super fucking messy. It was something about a copay and I was just like... "dude, I'm going to pay it, and if my parents decide that they don't want to support me to the degree of supporting therapy for me... they can have that conversation with me." He was concerned that I don't really have income and shit... yeah it's just a mess. And I get his hesitation, and he didn't want to make me panic and knew it was super delicate and is sometimes really traumatically triggering for me. But it was fine. Situations like these are a very... powerless feeling. Very out-of-control. Very... at the whim of my parents' impulses. And that's just how it is right now. Until I can somehow figure out how to generate enough self-sustaining income being the entity that I am.

So yeah, we kinda branched off of that into... talking about anxieties. And a lot of that... at least 15 minutes of it... really felt deeply familiar. It's this thing that happens sometimes, that used to happen much more often when I was more confident and more... unaware of the dangers of the world, I guess... the Eden days... But people... just start opening up to me. And I don't mind it at all, I'm always honored by it. I try my best to aid with that, to offer space and guidance if I have any. But I could really tell that he was struggling with this kind of thing and a big chunk of my time today kinda... felt like a therapy session for him. And... it's not the first time I've been in that situation. And I don't know what it is about me that has that effect, but this is the... I think the 3rd therapist that this has happened with now? One I made sympathetically cry, and he volunteered a history of alcohol abuse. One opened up to me about his marital problems and I offered advice. And... well, here's where I come back around to the Perfectionism thing I said I was going to come back around to. This guy struggles with making sure everything is right and not fucking up anything. And that's anxiety, you know?

So... instead of getting grumpy and going "yo, this is unprofessional, this is my time"... I related that I have the same issues. That a lot of my anxieties are anticipatory and based on this... perfection thing. It's like... well, he brought in the whole duality of logic/structure brain vs. emotion/intuition brain. And perfectionism is like... hyper-logic. It's like... almost a god complex when you think about it. Like... "if I make sure that I am fully bathed and properly scented at all times, I will never have a moment when anyone judges me for smelling bad. Therefor, my actions control their judgment." Which is... ironically... a logical fallacy. But we really... well.. that part of our psyche really doesn't like to face the fact that there are some things in this life that we just do not control. Right? That's when that part of the brain starts doing some reeeeeal funky shit. I mean, for fuck's sake, there are some gazillionaires out there that have this trait so out of whack that they truly think that they can bypass death itself. Like mortality is a matter that is in their hands. Control is a hell of a drug.

I think I was exactly the right person for him to talk to. And I could feel an emotional connection, a literal tearing up when it connected. On both sides. I shared with him about... my improvised ink drawings. I told him that the core of my improvised abstract work is... to focus more on the present moment. Adaptation, adjustment, riffing. Rather than meticulous planning and flawless execution. And this method of training your ability to react in the moment... it's a very Zen kinda thing... and it brings you to this place where you start to realize that... fucking up isn't really... a thing. It's all just part of the story. It's all just scenes in a story that's unfolding, it's always in flux. "There is no beginning, there is no end." That was a quote he gave to me when the shit I was saying started to resonate with him and help him reconnect to that. I think he was worried about fucking up billing? And then accidentally screwing someone over with a billing issue when... I mean... a lot of fucking people are hurting financially right now. So, 100% legitimate fear, right? Completely. I'd be shitting myself too. But I was saying... yo, what I'm trying to do is focus more on like... my ability to react to those situations in the moment, when they come up. So if there's a billing problem, can I handle that? Can I follow up on that, can I make it right? Because no one is fuckin perfect. And shit happens. And the good ones catch it and make it right and say they're sorry it happened. And the bad ones double down and blame the victim... and ask for fucking tips when you're picking up takeout and sketchy shit like that.

So... it made me feel... human again. To be able to give life advice to someone. To anyone. Especially to reciprocate to someone who has helped ground me through some of the hardest times I've been through. It's... a tough boundary to negotiate, the professional/personal boundary. And I have unintentionally crossed it and enticed others to cross it before. And it's very nebulous so... yeah, even that is debatable. But this did a lot of good for my mental health, and helped massively to remind me of the same exact issues that I'm dealing with, and how well I'm doing lately at navigating them.

But one moment stuck out most of all from that session today. He highly and emphatically praised my intelligence and my ability to articulate my thoughts and experience of life. And he did it genuinely, and there was emotion behind it. And it... I don't really have words, honestly. It both made me feel honored... and was a weird reminder of how alone I am at the same time. Like I was sharing two very strong emotions - big pride boost to the point of welling tears, and... a weird shade of hopelessness in the background. Like... if I'm a Rare or Legendary Pokemon, what are the chances of me finding someone else like me around here? Someone else who even understands me? Which seems to be my eternal curse.

Welp... I found one! So... there's that. But I'll tell ya this much... I'm guaranteed to not meet anyone if I just sit in my apartment all day every day.

I think what I need to do... is just go on a solo tour of the local art galleries. Just go and visit and look at what they have and absorb the culture and then maybe see if I can strike up a conversation with the curators. Share a little about what kind of creature I am and see if it leads to them having any ideas of a place for me.

I do have to say though... I've been having a strong pull towards nature again. I think that's pretty obvious with all the plants. And I think it would be really sick to get into doing nature installations, even if I'm just exploring it again.

Okay, well here's me identifying why exactly I'm not calling these places up or dropping by. It's the same shit I ranted about last night. The myth of the "expert". I am insecure about contacting a local nature conservancy place that's like... a few blocks away, that stewards a ton of land... because I don't feel like I have adequate experience to demonstrate that I know what the fuck I'm doing. And I feel like they're going to look at me weird or something, or just flat-out not let me do any work. I mean, they don't even do any art-related stuff, they do music and shit sometimes, but it seems like most of what they do is focused on like... sustainable farming techniques and shit? And my idea would be to like... collaborate with them in learning from them about the practical side... permaculture techniques, soil compositions, ecology, whatever they know and are willing to teach. And as I learn... say I'm learning about where you set up a garden in regards to elevation and topography and stuff like that... Then I use that new knowledge to inspire design work. That's the theory. So... it's not like I can do a proof of concept that is based off of education that I haven't received yet, right? XD

I've had this fear/insecurity for ages that I can't prove to others upfront that I know what I'm doing. I can't prove my legitimacy. And I have no one to vouch for me. So... I get rejected. And rather than face what feels like guaranteed rejection, I just don't bother applying. And... it's a bit of a perfectionism anticipatory anxiety thing, isn't it? XD Right? So... yeah, I'm not perfect. And I usually do really well when I can just get in a room with someone with a shared interest and we get talking. But it feels prohibitively difficult to do that nowadays without having a shoe in the door, a connection. At least in my area, idk. Gone are the days of showing up at someone's house unannounced and knocking on the door. Gone are the days of pounding the pavement and handing in applications wearing a suit and tie (thank fucking god).

So... I guess I gotta just keep getting up to the plate and swinging. So the galleries seems like a good plan. Then I have multiple options, rather than this nature conservancy place that... I mean, there's one. So there's a lot of pressure to not fuck that up. Aka... not lose that opportunity.

So yeah, big day. Weird day. But again, lots of good there. Lots of growth: physically, emotionally, figuratively. And I got more work on both the skull and the ink drawing done today, so just a big win across the board. So, I'm off to bed!

#diary #journal #online journal #stream of thoughts #stream of consciousness

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santmat · 5 years

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PODCAST: An Introduction to the Spiritual Practices of Sant Mat, the Path of the Masters, Introductory Meditation Instructions -- Spiritual Awakening Radio With James Bean @ Youtube: https://youtu.be/MYh-SKqVuOo

OR Listen and/or DOWNLOAD the Podcast MP3 @ The Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/IntroductorySantMatMeditationInstructions

* A Secure Yellow Donate Button is Located at the Radio Website: http://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com/announce.html

Below Are NOTES About Today's PODCAST (10-7-19):

A marathon Sant Mat Satsang Podcast today providing an overview of the meditation practices of Sant Mat, and then some Introductory Meditation Instructions. This is the longest program I've ever recorded, even longer than my original Gospel of Thomas program ("The Spiritual Message of the Gospel of Thomas and the Syriac Mystics"). These are not initiation instructions but some public domain introductory instructions (what some call the Convenient Method, Jyoti or Light Meditation) to give new spiritual seekers some idea about the Wonders of Inner Space that are available, the Kingdom of the Heavens within. Introductory Meditation Instructions from Sawan Singh and Kirpal Singh (courtesy of KirpalSingh.org).

The Stages of Sant Mat Meditation

1) Simran/Manas Jap: the repetition of a sacred Name or sacred Names of God;

2) Dhyan: the first level of Dhyan is Manas Dhyan: visualizing the form of one's Satguru;

3) A more subtle level of Dhyan is Drishti Sadhana: a focused gaze, the technique of focusing upon an Infinitesimal Point (Inner Light Meditation). This Point will eventually blossom into inner Light or visions of Light. One gazes into the middle of the darkness or the Light one sees while in meditation;

4) Nada Sadhana: Surat Shabd Yoga, Inner Sound Meditation, the practice of inner spiritual or transcendental hearing -- the Yoga of the Audible Life Stream;

5) Reaching the State of Kaivalya, Oneness with the Supreme Being in the Pure Conscious Realm. The ultimate goal is to merge into the upper level of Kaivalya known as Sabdatita [Sabtatit] Pad -- the State beyond the Sound, the Ultimate Reality of God in the Nirguna or Formless State, also described with terms such as Anami (Nameless), Anadi (Soundlessness), Radhasoami (The Lord of the Soul), Satya Raam (the All-Pervading Formless Supreme Being), and the Ocean of Love (Anurag Sagar).

The 'drop' of the soul enters into the 'rivulet' or 'river' of the Holy Stream of Sound that empties into the Ocean of God, the Ocean of Love.

As the Masters say, "Ultimately, success in meditation is all due to God's Grace and Compassion."

Charts of the Heavens -- Inner Regions -- Planes -- Levels - Various Illustrations of the Spheres of Creation: https://SantMatRadhasoami.Blogspot.com/2019/01/charts-of-heavens-sant-mat-and-gnostic.html

* Questions? Seeking information on how to be initiated into the meditation practice (Inner Light and Sound of God), or trying to locate a satsang meetup in your area of the world? Email me here: James (at) SpiritualAwakeningRadio (dot) com

In Divine Love, Light and Sound, Jai Sat Naam, Jai Guru, Satya Raam, Radhasoami, Bandagi Saheb, Peace Be to You, James Spiritual Awakening Radio

God is the Ocean of Love, and Souls are Drops from this Ocean.

#SantMat #Meditation #MeditationForBeginners #asmr #Sant_Mat #Radhasoami #PathOfTheMasters #InnerLightAndSoundMeditation #SpiritualPath #Simran #Meditation #Kabir #SoulTravel #Satsang #Sants #SantMatSatsang #संतमत #राधास्वमी #संतमतराधास्वमी #SantMatRadhasoami #SuratShabdYoga #Radha_Swami #Radha_Soami #Radhaswami #asmr #relaxation #SantMatSatsangPodcast #JamesBean #SpiritualAwakeningRadio #Podcasts #Spirituality #KirpalSingh #SantKirpalSingh #SpiritualTalks #SpiritualPodcasts #philosophy #SpiritualRadio #SpiritualPoetry #Vegetarian #Vegan #God #Consciousness #ShriGuruGranthSahib #Poetry #Bhakti #Religion #Mystics #Saints #ThirdEye #Naam #Shabd #India #Initiation #ThePathOfTheMasters #SoundCurrent #OutOfBody #NearDeathExperiences #Heaven #Ascension #HigherPlanes #OOBE #NDE #SpiritualQuotes

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yogatutorials · 6 years

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@miss_sunitha on Chair Pose 💺 ・・・ If you’ve been to a variety of yoga classes, you may have heard chair pose #utkatasana taught in different ways. Some people may have strong opinions of one compared to the other, but in my opinion they’re both perfect depending on what the intention of the pose is!... And really, you’ll see this in a lot of other poses too. . In chair pose, some teachers would insist: • knees back, in line with the ankles • tailbone tucked to keep the spine straight • triceps by the ear Nothing wrong with any of this. This version works the thighs, the length of the spine and the shoulders. So if the intention is to work all these things, then this would be perfect alignment cues. In fact, I use these cues a lot when I’m teaching chair pose as a prep for handstand or inversions. . So does that mean the chair pose on the right is wrong? . The one on the right is most commonly known as the chair pose traditionally taught in an Ashtanga practice: • natural curve of the spine is kept (no tuck and no arch) • knees aren’t too far back (to stretch the achilles) • palms together, arms straight (to stretch the side of the body) • gaze towards thumbs for drishti (to promote a one-pointed focused mind) . So why the difference? The intention of this pose in an Ashtanga practice is different. In the Ashtanga practice, the focus is on drishti and bandhas. As part of understanding the workings of bandhas, the practice focuses on learning to balance the grounding energy with uplifting energy (swipe right to see the difference). With the chair pose version on the left, the energy is balanced between forward and backwards, whereas in the version on the right, the energy is balanced between uplift and grounding. . Notice one common cue between both versions? Ribs in! Both require deep core activation... just maybe in slightly different ways. . So don’t be too quick to judge. Try them both and feel the difference for yourself. . . . Use the hashtag #sunithalovesyoga to check out more #yogatutorials. Video tutorials are on my IGTV. #yoga #yogatutorial https://www.instagram.com/p/BshrLJegcXc/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=dnoqntv85y5t

#utkatasana #sunithalovesyoga #yogatutorials #yoga #yogatutorial

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fitnesshealthyoga-blog · 5 years

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New Post has been published on https://fitnesshealthyoga.com/how-to-find-your-drishti-in-times-of-uncertainty/

How to Find Your Drishti in Times of Uncertainty

Any type of drishti will ultimately have you experiencing two of the eight limbs of yoga described by Patanjali.

Balance has never been my strong suit. As a child, my vestibular system was so off kilter, I spontaneously fell off stools and chairs like a pint-sized barfly after last call. Walking through doorways was like threading a needle. Physical therapy helped, but the gangly coltishness of adolescence made for another round of clumsy bumps and bruises.

When I got into yoga in my teens and twenties, it was a relief when my teachers asked us to find drishti—a fixed point against which to orient my body and mind while trying to stick tricky balance poses such as Natarajasana (Lord of the Dance Pose), Parivrtta Ardha Chandrasana (Revolved Half Moon Pose), and Vrksasana (Tree Pose). Finding an external concentration point made it easier to keep my body steady and stable. Or at the very least, it made it easier to detect when I was about to tip over.

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See also See More Clearly By Practicing Drishti

As an adult, I struggled to find balance of a different sort. I was as lacking in emotional equilibrium as I had been in grace as a child. My twenties were a murky gyre of unsuitable men, anxiety, depression, and more whiskey than I’d like to admit. It wasn’t that I lacked focus—I simply couldn’t seem to find the right thing to fix my ambitions upon. Every wobble, whether in love or work or family life, made me doubt myself a little more.

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A few years ago, I visited Los Angeles for the first time as an adult. At 28-years-old, I wasn’t just wobbling, I was reeling, fresh off the revelation that I had been assaulted a decade ago. My career and fortune had taken a sudden left turn, and I left marketing to begin writing full time. I was a raw nerve, loose on the Venice boardwalk, trying to find some sense of equilibrium. One night I found myself drawn to the water. Under the light of a full moon, I waded into the Pacific and let the warm salt water lap against my legs, then my hips. The pull I felt had nothing to do with riptides or undertow. Instead I was compelled by something that came from within.

The Three Types of Drishti

Drishti isn’t just a matter of finding an external point against which to balance your body. There are several different types recommended for various yoga practices and poses:

1. Nasagra drishti

Nasagra drishti is focus on the tip of the nose, and it may come in handy during backbends or forward folds.

2. Hastagre drishti

Hastagre drishti (focus on your hand in front of you) is lovely in Virabhadrasana I (Warrior Pose I) or Utthita Parsvakonasana (Extended Side Angle Pose).

3. Bhrumadhya drishti

Bhrumadhya drishti is the most inward facing, in which you focus on your own third eye.

See also 4 Ways to Improve Your Drishti (Gaze) and Deepen Your Practice

Any type of drishti will ultimately have you experiencing two of the eight limbs of yoga described by Patanjali. One is dharana (steadiness or concentration) and the other is pratyahara (controlled withdrawal). The goal of softly focusing your gaze—whether on the tip of your nose or on a spot on the wall across the room—is actually to draw your attention inward. You look beyond your body in order to withdraw into it. Your spirit becomes grounded through the act of surrendering to your own instability.

Ever since that first night in Los Angeles, I find myself drawn to the Pacific at moments of great transition. Last year, I wanted to flee the anniversary of a yuletide breakup that had marred the holidays. I booked a flight to San Francisco and spent Christmas morning sitting on a piece of driftwood at Ocean Beach, watching the surfers patiently bobbing on the small, ruffled waves, popping up to balance on their boards whenever a big curl came through.

This past April, a dear friend came to visit me at my new home in Portland, Oregon. She and I went through twin years of loss in 2017: Breakups, professional setbacks, and domestic frustrations. Both of us were trying to recalibrate our lives to a new normal.

See also Find Focus with Drishti — Leah Cullis Shows You How

Hannah had never seen the Pacific, so I drove her out to Haystack Rock one chilly, gray afternoon. We walked up and down Cannon Beach, buffeted by rivers of wind that carved winding paths through the loose, dry sand. We contemplated the ways in which our own lives had been radically reshaped by unpredictable forces. Deeply and utterly, we felt the kernels of ourselves within the tides of chaos.

Right now, writing by the Pacific, overlooking the Santa Monica Pier, I feel another sea change coming on. Old pieces of me are washing and wearing away. But practice has taught me what I need to do to prepare, to weather this tipping point. Up and down the West Coast, I know now where to find my focus, my drishti, a sense of continuity. There is stability in the Pacific’s constant motion. There is certainty in its immutable changes. Of this I am certain: the same is true of myself.

See also Master Class: How to Incorporate Drishti Into Vinyasa Flow

About our author

Meghan O’Dea is a writer, world traveler, and life-long learner who hopes to visit all seven continents with pen and paper in tow. Her work has been featured in the Washington Post, Fortune, and more. Learn more at meghanodea.com.

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infjcal87 · 2 years

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I remember avoiding weights and heading straight for the cardio equipment because I was afraid of being judged. Going into a yoga studio can feel the same way when you’re not strong or flexible. Through yoga, I learned about a drishti or gazing point. When your eyes focused on something, your mind is present on the work ahead. Combined with noise isolation, this has helped me become gym confident. Every Body is worthy of taking care of their overall health! Don’t let anyone stop you from doing so! (at Gold's Gym) https://www.instagram.com/p/CiF_pL1rqlL/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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meditativeyoga · 6 years

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Pillars of Power Yoga: Using Drishti On + Off the Mat

Yoga Journal's upcoming on the internet training course, Pillars of Power Yoga, includes Leah Cullis, a master Baptiste Yoga exercise educator that will certainly lead an athletic and spiritual immersion right into the 5 core columns of Baptiste Yoga exercise: drishti, breath, structure, warm, and flow. Enroll HERE and also be the very first to know when this health and fitness- as well as focus-boosting program launches.

The initial column of Baptiste Yoga exercise is drishti, which is Sanskrit for emphasis. While we access drishti literally on the mat by focusing our look (you've probably heard your yoga educator speak about utilizing it in Eagle as well as other harmonizing poses), it additionally has opportunities off the mat.

Using Drishti On the Mat

Drishti on the floor covering means concentrating your gaze on one point. When you can concentrate on one factor, you could begin to soothe your nervous system, focus in on just what's essential in the minute, and also awaken your understanding from the within. This permits you to use your internal advice instead of being sidetracked by all the stimulation taking place throughout you all the time. In Baptiste Yoga exercise, we tell trainees to concentrate on one spot that doesn't relocate, after that to soften your look. We soften our stare to ensure that we can be clear regarding exactly what we're focusing on, however not taken care of and stiff around our vision. We desire to see the one factor however additionally understand the periphery so we can be open and also receptive to life.

Using Drishti Off the Mat

Off the mat, drishti is your higher vision, or as we call it in Baptiste Yoga, your True North. It implies setting your own aim as a yogi and including that intent into whatever you do on as well as off the floor covering. I've used drishti off the floor covering when I was working to recover myself from allergies. My stare was established on whole wellness, so what I consumed as well as how I looked after myself were exactly what I put first.

Integrating Your Drishti Both On as well as Off the Mat

If your greater vision off the floor covering is that you wish to really feel as well as experience even more love, then that's just what you straighten with in every breath and every moment off the mat, indicating at home, throughout discussions - even the ones you have with on your own. If love is your intent, drishti on the floor covering could indicate taking Youngster's Pose or not pushing yourself past your edges. Without drishti you're just in movement, and burnout could take place. When you are clear in your purpose or higher purpose, claiming no to exactly what doesn't offer that intention becomes easy.

Sign for Columns of Power Yoga to get more information about ways to use drishti on as well as off the mat.

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ekamyogashala · 6 years

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Drishti is a Sanskrit term used for sight or focused gaze, and they are nine dristhis in Yoga corresponding to a particular point of focus. It is used while practicing asanas, traditionally the Ashtanga yoga. It is believed to bring you closer to concentration and sense withdrawal. The practice of Drishti helps in controlling your wandering eyes, confine your intake of external stimuli and control your mind instead of your mind controlling you.

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#yoga #yogateacher #drishti #focus #concentration #hathayoga #ashtanga yoga #yogisofinstagram #yogistyle #Mind #body #Soul #eyes #asana #yoga poses #yoga postures

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theyogalounge · 3 years

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Eye on the Prize

“Focusing is about saying no.” —Steve Jobs

In the practice of dharana, or single-pointed focus, mantra and drishti are both useful.

Drishti, or the focal point for your gaze, helps you keep your eyes on the prize. Locking your gaze on a nonmoving object confers stability to your poses and helps train your mind to sustain attention over time. Drishti is both the physical act of focus and a metaphor for the necessary mental focus it takes to achieve the things we desire.

Mantra means “mind-tool”: it is a tool for focusing your mind to sustain attention on one thing over time. A mantra can be quite spiritual, like the mantras we chant in class, or it can be simple or, at first glance, senseless. (If you’ve ever had the chorus of a song stuck in your head, you know how this can morph into a tool for mental focus.) One of our my favorites is breathe in, breathe out. This cues and coordinates with the breath, and while the words could seem unimportant, what could be more major than the fact that you are taking this breath, and this one, and this one?

A few great mantras:

MANTRA: I am love.

WHY: I use this mantra to manage my insecurities, judgments, and tendency towards comparison. The more I connect with my own heart, the more love I have to give. I also believe in vibrational match dot com! As I fall into deeper love with me, I see love everywhere.

MANTRA: I have time.

WHY: “I have time” reminds me to slow down and move mindfully throughout the day. While we never know when our last day will come, we do know (thanks to science!) that the more present we are in any given moment, the happier and more fulfilled we are. In today’s world, we are all subject to the pain and influence of urgency.

MANTRA: Dream Big.

WHY: I say this a lot throughout the week. It helps me to not limit my thinking in how I can help a person, a community, or as many animals as possible, while I still have breath in my body. I believe what you think about and choose to set your focus on is where you’re headed. Whether people experience great things—big or small—has a lot to do with how they think.

#mantra #theyogaloungeza #yoga wellness #yogaonline #yogaforanxiety

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edgeyogaschool · 4 years

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Sanskrit.

Head on over to YogaJournal.com for this Sanskrit Cheat Sheet!

Abhyasa: practice; cf. vairagya

Acarya (sometimes spelled Acharya in English): a preceptor, instructor; cf. guru

Advaita ("nonduality"): the truth and teaching that there is only One Reality (Atman, Brahman), especially as found in the Upanishads; see also Vedanta

Ahamkara ("I-maker"): the individuation principle, or ego, which must be transcended; cf. asmita; see also buddhi, manas

Ahimsa ("nonharming"): the single most important moral discipline (yama)

Akasha ("ether/space"): the first of the five material elements of which the physical universe is composed; also used to designate "inner" space, that is, the space of consciousness (called cid-akasha)

Amrita ("immortal/immortality"): a designation of the deathless Spirit (atman, purusha); also the nectar of immortality that oozes from the psychoenergetic center at the crown of the head (see sahasrara-cakra) when it is activated and transforms the body into a "divine body" (divya-deha)

Ananda ("bliss"): the condition of utter joy, which is an essential quality of the ultimate Reality (tattva)

Anga ("limb"): a fundamental category of the yogic path, such as asana, dharana, dhyana, niyama, pranayama, pratyahara, samadhi, yama; also the body (deha, sharira)

Arjuna ("White"): one of the five Pandava princes who fought in the great war depicted in the Mahabharata, disciple of the God-man Krishna whose teachings can be found in the Bhagavad Gita

Asana ("seat"): a physical posture (see also anga, mudra); the third limb (anga) of Patanjali's eightfold path (astha-anga-yoga); originally this meant only meditation posture, but subsequently, in hatha yoga, this aspect of the yogic path was greatly developed

Ashrama ("that where effort is made"): a hermitage; also a stage of life, such as brahmacharya, householder, forest dweller, and complete renouncer (samnyasin)

Ashta-anga-yoga, ashtanga-yoga ("eight-limbed union"): the eightfold yoga of Patanjali, consisting of moral discipline (yama), self-restraint (niyama), posture (asana), breath control (pranayama), sensory inhibition (pratyahara), concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana), and ecstasy (samadhi), leading to liberation (kaivalya)

Asmita ("I-am-ness"): a concept of Patanjali's eight-limbed yoga, roughly synonymous with ahamkara

Atman ("self"): the transcendental Self, or Spirit, which is eternal and superconscious; our true nature or identity; sometimes a distinction is made between the atman as the individual self and the parama-atman as the transcendental Self; see also purusha; cf. brahman

Avadhuta ("he who has shed [everything]"): a radical type of renouncer (samnyasin) who often engages in unconventional behavior

Avidya ("ignorance"): the root cause of suffering (duhkha); also called ajnana; cf. vidya

Ayurveda, Ayur-veda ("life science"): one of India's traditional systems of medicine, the other being South India's Siddha medicine

Bandha ("bond/bondage"): the fact that human beings are typically bound by ignorance (avidya), which causes them to lead a life governed by karmic habit rather than inner freedom generated through wisdom (vidya, jnana)

Bhagavad Gita ("Lord's Song"): the oldest full-fledged yoga book found embedded in the Mahabharata and containing the teachings on karma yoga (the path of self-transcending action), samkhya yoga (the path of discerning the principles of existence correctly), and bhakti yoga (the path of devotion), as given by the God-man Krishna to Prince Arjuna on the battlefield 3,500 years or more ago

Bhagavata-Purana ("Ancient [Tradition] of the Bhagavatas"): a voluminous tenth-century scripture held sacred by the devotees of the Divine in the form of Vishnu, especially in his incarnate form as Krishna; also called Shrimad-Bhagavata

Bhakta ("devotee"): a disciple practicing bhakti yoga

Bhakti ("devotion/love"): the love of the bhakta toward the Divine or the guru as a manifestation of the Divine; also the love of the Divine toward the devotee

Bhakti-Sutra ("Aphorisms on Devotion"): an aphoristic work on devotional yoga authored by Sage Narada; another text by the same title is ascribed to Sage Shandilya

Bhakti Yoga ("Yoga of devotion"): a major branch of the yoga tradition, utilizing the feeling capacity to connect with the ultimate Reality conceived as a supreme Person (uttama-purusha)

Bindu ("seed/point"): the creative potency of anything where all energies are focused; the dot (also called tilaka) worn on the forehead as indicative of the third eye

Bodhi ("enlightenment"): the state of the awakened master, or buddha

Bodhisattva ("enlightenment being"): in Mahayana Buddhist yoga, the individual who, motivated by compassion (karuna), is committed to achieving enlightenment for the sake of all other beings

Brahma ("he who has grown expansive"): the Creator of the universe, the first principle (tattva) to emerge out of the ultimate Reality (brahman)

Brahmacharya (from brahma and acarya "brahmic conduct"): the discipline of chastity, which produces ojas

Brahman ("that which has grown expansive"): the ultimate Reality (cf. atman, purusha)

Brahmana: a brahmin, a member of the highest social class of traditional Indian society; also an early type of ritual text explicating the rituals and mythology of the four Vedas; cf. Aranyaka, Upanishad, Veda

Buddha ("awakened"): a designation of the person who has attained enlightenment (bodhi) and therefore inner freedom; honorific title of Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, who lived in the sixth century B.C.E.

Buddhi ("she who is conscious, awake"): the higher mind, which is the seat of wisdom (vidya, jnana); cf. manas

Cakra or Chakra ("wheel"): literally, the wheel of a wagon; metaphorically, one of the psycho-energetic centers of the subtle body (sukshma-sharira); in Buddhist yoga, five such centers are known, while in Hindu yoga often seven or more such centers are mentioned: mula-adhara-cakra (muladhara-cakra) at the base of the spine, svadhishthana-cakra at the genitals, manipura-cakra at the navel, anahata-cakra at the heart, vishuddha-cakra or vishuddhi-cakra at the throat, ajna-cakra in the middle of the head, and sahasrara-cakra at the top of the head

Cin-mudra ("consciousness seal"): a common hand gesture (mudra) in meditation (dhyana), which is formed by bringing the tips of the index finger and the thumb together, while the remaining fingers are kept straight

Cit ("consciousness"): the superconscious ultimate Reality (see atman, brahman)

Citta ("that which is conscious"): ordinary consciousness, the mind, as opposed to cit

Darshana ("seeing"): vision in the literal and metaphorical sense; a system of philosophy, such as the yoga-darshana of Patanjali; cf. drishti

Deva ("he who is shining"): a male deity, such as Shiva, Vishnu, or Krishna, either in the sense of the ultimate Reality or a high angelic being

Devi ("she who is shining"): a female deity such as Parvati, Lakshmi, or Radha, either in the sense of the ultimate Reality (in its feminine pole) or a high angelic being

Dharana ("holding"): concentration, the sixth limb (anga) of Patanjali's eight-limbed yoga

Dharma ("bearer"): a term of numerous meanings; often used in the sense of "law," "lawfulness," "virtue," "righteousness," "norm"

Dhyana ("ideating"): meditation, the seventh limb (anga) of Patanjali's eight-limbed yoga

Diksha ("initiation"): the act and condition of induction into the hidden aspects of yoga or a particular lineage of teachers; all traditional yoga is initiatory

Drishti ("view/sight"): yogic gazing, such as at the tip of the nose or the spot between the eyebrows; cf. darshana

Duhkha ("bad axle space"): suffering, a fundamental fact of life, caused by ignorance (avidya) of our true nature (i.e., the Self or atman)

Gayatri-mantra: a famous Vedic mantra recited particularly at sunrise: tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi dhiyo yo nah pracodayat

Gheranda-Samhita ("[Sage] Gheranda's Compendium"): one of three major manuals of classical hatha yoga, composed in the seventeenth century; cf. Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika, Shiva-Samhita

Goraksha ("Cow Protector"): traditionally said to be the founding adept of hatha yoga, a disciple of Matsyendra

Granthi ("knot"): any one of three common blockages in the central pathway (sushumna-nadi) preventing the full ascent of the serpent power (kundalini-shakti); the three knots are known as brahma-granthi (at the lowest psychoenergetic center of the subtle body), the vishnu-granthi (at the heart), and the rudra-granthi (at the eyebrow center)

Guna ("quality"): a term that has numerous meanings, including "virtue"; often refers to any of the three primary "qualities" or constituents of nature (prakriti): tamas (the principle of inertia), rajas (the dynamic principle), and sattva (the principle of lucidity)

Guru ("he who is heavy, weighty"): a spiritual teacher; cf. acarya

Guru-bhakti ("teacher devotion"): a disciple's self-transcending devotion to the guru; see also bhakti

Guru-Gita ("Guru's Song"): a text in praise of the guru, often chanted in ashramas

Guru-Yoga ("Yoga [relating to] the teacher"): a yogic approach that makes the guru the fulcrum of a disciple's practice; all traditional forms of yoga contain a strong element of guru-yoga

Hamsa ("swan/gander"): apart from the literal meaning, this term also refers to the breath (prana) as it moves within the body; the individuated consciousness (jiva) propelled by the breath; see jiva-atman; see also parama-hamsa

Hatha Yoga ("Forceful Yoga"): a major branch of yoga, developed by Goraksha and other adepts c. 1000 C.E., and emphasizing the physical aspects of the transformative path, notably postures (asana) and cleansing techniques (shodhana), but also breath control (pranayama)

Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika ("Light on Hatha Yoga"): one of three classical manuals on hatha yoga, authored by Svatmarama Yogendra in the fourteenth century

Hiranyagarbha ("Golden Germ"): the mythical founder of yoga; the first cosmological principle (tattva) to emerge out of the infinite Reality; also called Brahma

Ida-nadi ("pale conduit"): the prana current or arc ascending on the left side of the central channel (sushumna nadi) associated with the parasympathetic nervous system and having a cooling or calming effect on the mind when activated; cf. pingala-nadi

Ishvara ("ruler"): the Lord; referring either to the Creator (see Brahma) or, in Patanjali's yoga-darshana, to a special transcendental Self (purusha)

Ishvara-pranidhana ("dedication to the Lord"): in Patanjali's eight-limbed yoga one of the practices of self-restraint (niyama); see also bhakti yoga

Jaina (sometimes Jain): pertaining to the jinas ("conquerors"), the liberated adepts of Jainism; a member of Jainism, the spiritual tradition founded by Vardhamana Mahavira, a contemporary of Gautama the Buddha

Japa ("muttering"): the recitation of mantras

Jiva-atman, jivatman ("individual self"): the individuated consciousness, as opposed to the ultimate Self (parama-atman)

Jivan-mukta ("he who is liberated while alive"): an adept who, while still embodied, has attained liberation (moksha)

Jivan-mukti ("living liberation"): the state of liberation while being embodied; cf. videha-mukti

Jnana ("knowledge/wisdom"): both worldly knowledge or world-transcending wisdom, depending on the context; see also prajna; cf. avidya

Jnana-Yoga ("Yoga of wisdom"): the path to liberation based on wisdom, or the direct intuition of the transcendental Self (atman) through the steady application of discernment between the Real and the unreal and renunciation of what has been identified as unreal (or inconsequential to the achievement of liberation)

Kaivalya ("isolation"): the state of absolute freedom from conditioned existence, as explained in ashta-anga-yoga; in the nondualistic (advaita) traditions of India, this is usually called moksha or mukti (meaning "release" from the fetters of ignorance, or avidya)

Kali: a Goddess embodying the fierce (dissolving) aspect of the Divine

Kali-yuga: the dark age of spiritual and moral decline, said to be current now; kali does not refer to the Goddess Kali but to the losing throw of a die

Kama ("desire"): the appetite for sensual pleasure blocking the path to true bliss (ananda); the only desire conducive to freedom is the impulse toward liberation, called mumukshutva

Kapila ("He who is red"): a great sage, the quasi-mythical founder of the Samkhya tradition, who is said to have composed the Samkhya-Sutra (which, however, appears to be of a much later date)

Karman, karma ("action"): activity of any kind, including ritual acts; said to be binding only so long as engaged in a self-centered way; the "karmic" consequence of one's actions; destiny

Karma Yoga ("Yoga of action"): the liberating path of self-transcending action

Karuna ("compassion"): universal sympathy; in Buddhist yoga the complement of wisdom (prajna)

Khecari-mudra ("space-walking seal"): the Tantric practice of curling the tongue back against the upper palate in order to seal the life energy (prana); see also mudra

Kosha ("casing"): any one of five "envelopes" surrounding the transcendental Self (atman) and thus blocking its light: anna-maya-kosha ("envelope made of food," the physical body), prana-maya-kosha ("envelope made of life force"), mano-maya-kosha ("envelope made of mind"), vijnana-maya-kosha ("envelope made of consciousness"), and ananda-maya-kosha ("envelope made of bliss"); some older traditions regard the last kosha as identical with the Self (atman)

Krishna ("Puller"): an incarnation of God Vishnu, the God-man whose teachings can be found in the Bhagavad Gita and the Bhagavata-Purana/p>

Kumbhaka ("potlike"): breath retention; cf. puraka, recaka

Kundalini-shakti ("coiled power"): according to Tantra and hatha yoga, the serpent power or spiritual energy, which exists in potential form at the lowest psycho-energetic center of the body (i.e., the mula-adhara-cakra) and which must be awakened and guided to the center at the crown (i.e., the sahasrara-cakra) for full enlightenment to occur

Kundalini-Yoga: the yogic path focusing on the kundalini process as a means of liberation

Laya Yoga ("Yoga of dissolution"): an advanced form or process of Tantric yoga by which the energies associated with the various psycho-energetic centers (cakra) of the subtle body are gradually dissolved through the ascent of the serpent power (kundalini-shakti)

Linga ("mark"): the phallus as a principle of creativity; a symbol of God Shiva; cf. yoni

Mahabharata ("Great Bharata"): one of India's two great ancient epics telling of the great war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas and serving as a repository for many spiritual and moral teachings

Mahatma (from maha-atman, "great self"): an honorific title (meaning something like "a great soul") bestowed on particularly meritorious individuals, such as Gandhi

Maithuna ("twinning"): the Tantric sexual ritual in which the participants view each other as Shiva and Shakti respectively

Manas ("mind"): the lower mind, which is bound to the senses and yields information (vijnana) rather than wisdom (jnana, vidya); cf. buddhi

Mandala ("circle"): a circular design symbolizing the cosmos and specific to a deity

Mantra (from the verbal root man "to think"): a sacred sound or phrase, such as om, hum, or om namah shivaya, that has a transformative effect on the mind of the individual reciting it; to be ultimately effective, a mantra needs to be given in an initiatory context (diksha)

Mantra-Yoga: the yogic path utilizing mantras as the primary means of liberation

Marman ("lethal [spot]"): in Ayurveda and yoga, a vital spot on the physical body where energy is concentrated or blocked; cf. granthi

Matsyendra ("Lord of Fish"): an early Tantric master who founded the Yogini-Kaula school and is remembered as a teacher of Goraksha

Maya ("she who measures"): the deluding or illusive power of the world; illusion by which the world is seen as separate from the ultimate singular Reality (atman)

Moksha ("release"): the condition of freedom from ignorance (avidya) and the binding effect of karma; also called mukti, kaivalya

Mudra ("seal"): a hand gesture (such as cin-mudra) or whole-body gesture (such as viparita-karani-mudra); also a designation of the feminine partner in the Tantric sexual ritual

Muni ("he who is silent"): a sage

Nada ("sound"): the inner sound, as it can be heard through the practice of nada yoga or kundalini yoga

Nada-Yoga ("Yoga of the [inner] sound"): the yoga or process of producing and intently listening to the inner sound as a means of concentration and ecstatic self-transcendence

Nadi ("conduit"): one of 72,000 or more subtle channels along or through which the life force (prana) circulates, of which the three most important ones are the ida-nadi, pingala-nadi, and sushumna-nadi

Nadi-shodhana ("channel cleansing"): the practice of purifying the conduits, especially by means of breath control (pranayama)

Narada: a great sage associated with music, who taught bhakti yoga and is attributed with the authorship of one of two Bhakti-Sutras

Natha ("lord"): appellation of many North Indian masters of yoga, in particular adepts of the Kanphata ("Split-ear") school allegedly founded by Goraksha

Neti-neti ("not thus, not thus"): an Upanishadic expression meant to convey that the ultimate Reality is neither this nor that, that is, is beyond all description

Nirodha ("restriction"): in Patanjali's eight-limbed yoga, the very basis of the process of concentration, meditation, and ecstasy; in the first instance, the restriction of the "whirls of the mind" (citta-vritti)

Niyama ("[self-]restraint"): the second limb of Patanjali's eightfold path, which consists of purity (saucha), contentment (samtosha), austerity (tapas), study (svadhyaya), and dedication to the Lord (ishvara-pranidhana)

Nyasa ("placing"): the Tantric practice of infusing various body parts with life force (prana) by touching or thinking of the respective physical area

Ojas ("vitality"): the subtle energy produced through practice, especially the discipline of chastity (brahmacharya)

Om: the original mantra symbolizing the ultimate Reality, which is prefixed to many mantric utterances

Parama-atman or paramatman ("supreme self"): the transcendental Self, which is singular, as opposed to the individuated self (jiva-atman) that exists in countless numbers in the form of living beings

Parama-hamsa, paramahansa ("supreme swan"): an honorific title given to great adepts, such as Ramakrishna and Yogananda

See alsoWhy Paramahansa Yogananda Was a Man Before His Time

Patanjali: compiler of the Yoga Sutra, who lived c. 150 C.E.

Pingala-nadi ("reddish conduit"): the prana current or arc ascending on the right side of the central channel (sushumna-nadi) and associated with the sympathetic nervous system and having an energizing effect on the mind when activated; cf. ida-nadi

Prajna ("wisdom"): the opposite of spiritual ignorance (ajnana, avidya); one of two means of liberation in Buddhist yoga, the other being skillful means (upaya), i.e., compassion (karuna)

Prakriti ("creatrix"): nature, which is multilevel and, according to Patanjali's yoga-darshana, consists of an eternal dimension (called pradhana or "foundation"), levels of subtle existence (called sukshma-parvan), and the physical or coarse realm (called sthula-parvan); all of nature is deemed unconscious (acit), and therefore it is viewed as being in opposition to the transcendental Self or Spirit (purusha)

Prakriti-laya ("merging into Nature"): a high-level state of existence that falls short of actual liberation (kaivalya); the being who has attained that state

Prana ("life/breath"): life in general; the life force sustaining the body; the breath as an external manifestation of the subtle life force

Pranayama (from prana and ayama, "life/breath extension"): breath control, the fourth limb (anga) of Patanjali's eigthfold path, consisting of conscious inhalation (puraka) retention (kumbhaka) and exhalation (recaka); at an advanced state, breath retention occurs spontaneously for longer periods of time

Prasada ("grace/clarity"): divine grace; mental clarity

Pratyahara ("withdrawal"): sensory inhibition, the fifth limb (anga) of Patanjali's eightfold path

Puja ("worship"): ritual worship, which is an important aspect of many forms of yoga, notably bhakti yoga and Tantra

Puraka ("filling in"): inhalation, an aspect of breath control (pranayama)

Purana ("Ancient [History]"): a type of popular encyclopedia dealing with royal genealogy, cosmology, philosophy, and ritual; there are eighteen major and many more minor works of this nature

Purusha ("male"): the transcendental Self (atman) or Spirit, a designation that is mostly used in Samkhya and Patanjali's yoga-darshana

Radha: the God-man Krishna's spouse; a name of the divine Mother

Raja-Yoga ("Royal Yoga"): a late medieval designation of Patanjali's eightfold yoga-darshana, also known as classical yoga

Rama: an incarnation of God Vishnu preceding Krishna; the principal hero of the Ramayana

Ramayana ("Rama's life"): one of India's two great national epics telling the story of Rama; cf. Mahabharata

Recaka ("expulsion"): exhalation, an aspect of breath control (pranayama)

Rig-Veda; see Veda

Rishi ("seer"): a category of Vedic sage; an honorific title of certain venerated masters, such as the South Indian sage Ramana, who is known as maharshi (from maha meaning "great" and rishi); cf. muni

Sadhana ("accomplishing"): spiritual discipline leading to siddhi ("perfection" or "accomplishment"); the term is specifically used in Tantra

Sahaja ("together born"): a medieval term denoting the fact that the transcendental Reality and the empirical reality are not truly separate but coexist, or with the latter being an aspect or misperception of the former; often rendered as "spontaneous" or "spontaneity"; the sahaja state is the natural condition, that is, enlightenment or realization

Samadhi ("putting together"): the ecstatic or unitive state in which the meditator becomes one with the object of meditation, the eighth and final limb (anga) of Patanjali's eightfold path; there are many types of samadhi, the most significant distinction being between samprajnata (conscious) and asamprajnata (supraconscious) ecstasy; only the latter leads to the dissolution of the karmic factors deep within the mind; beyond both types of ecstasy is enlightenment, which is also sometimes called sahaja-samadhi or the condition of "natural" or "spontaneous" ecstasy, where there is perfect continuity of superconscious throughout waking, dreaming, and sleeping

Samatva or samata ("evenness"): the mental condition of harmony, balance

Samkhya ("Number"): one of the main traditions of Hinduism, which is concerned with the classification of the principles (tattva) of existence and their proper discernment in order to distinguish between Spirit (purusha) and the various aspects of Nature (prakriti); this influential system grew out of the ancient (pre-Buddhist) Samkhya-Yoga tradition and was codified in the Samkhya-Karika of Ishvara Krishna (c. 350 C.E.)

Samnyasa ("casting off"): the state of renunciation, which is the fourth and final stage of life (see ashrama) and consisting primarily in an inner turning away from what is understood to be finite and secondarily in an external letting go of finite things; cf. vairagya

Samnyasin ("he who has cast off"): a renouncer

Samprajnata-samadhi; see samadhi

Samsara ("confluence"): the finite world of change, as opposed to the ultimate Reality (brahman or nirvana)

Samskara ("activator"): the subconscious impression left behind by each act of volition, which, in turn, leads to renewed psychomental activity; the countless samskaras hidden in the depth of the mind are ultimately eliminated only in asamprajnata-samadhi (see samadhi)

Samyama ("constraint"): the combined practice of concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana), and ecstasy (samadhi) in regard to the same object

Sat ("being/reality/truth"): the ultimate Reality (atman or brahman)

Sat-sanga ("true company/company of Truth"): the practice of frequenting the good company of saints, sages, Self-realized adepts, and their disciples, in whose company the ultimate Reality can be felt more palpably

Satya ("truth/truthfulness"): truth, a designation of the ultimate Reality; also the practice of truthfulness, which is an aspect of moral discipline (yama)

Shakti ("power"): the ultimate Reality in its feminine aspect, or the power pole of the Divine; see also kundalini-shakti

Shakti-pata ("descent of power"): the process of initiation, or spiritual baptism, by means of the benign transmission of an advanced or even enlightened adept (siddha), which awakens the shakti within a disciple, thereby initiating or enhancing the process of liberation

Shankara ("He who is benevolent"): the eighth-century adept who was the greatest proponent of nondualism (Advaita Vedanta) and whose philosophical school was probably responsible for the decline of Buddhism in India

Shishya ("student/disciple"): the initiated disciple of a guru

Shiva ("He who is benign"): the Divine; a deity that has served yogins as an archetypal model throughout the ages

Shiva-Sutra ("Shiva's Aphorisms"): like the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, a classical work on yoga, as taught in the Shaivism of Kashmir; authored by Vasugupta (ninth century C.E.)

Shodhana ("cleansing/purification"): a fundamental aspect of all yogic paths; a category of purification practices in hatha yoga

Shraddha ("faith"): an essential disposition on the yogic path, which must be distinguished from mere belief

Shuddhi ("purification/purity"): the state of purity; a synonym of shodhana

Siddha ("accomplished"): an adept, often of Tantra; if fully Self-realized, the designation maha-siddha or "great adept" is often used

Siddha-Yoga ("Yoga of the adepts"): a designation applied especially to the yoga of Kashmiri Shaivism, as taught by Swami Muktananda (twentieth century)

Siddhi ("accomplishment/perfection"): spiritual perfection, the attainment of flawless identity with the ultimate Reality (atman or brahman); paranormal ability, of which the yoga tradition knows many kinds

Spanda ("vibration"): a key concept of Kashmir's Shaivism according to which the ultimate Reality itself "quivers," that is, is inherently creative rather than static (as conceived in Advaita Vedanta)

Sushumna-nadi ("very gracious channel"): the central prana current or arc in or along which the serpent power (kundalini-shakti) must ascend toward the psychoenergetic center (cakra) at the crown of the head in order to attain liberation (moksha)

Sutra ("thread"): an aphoristic statement; a work consisting of aphoristic statements, such as Patanjali's Yoga Sutra or Vasugupta's Shiva-Sutra

Svadhyaya ("one's own going into"): study, an important aspect of the yogic path, listed among the practices of self-restraint (niyama) in >Patanjali's eightfold yoga; the recitation of mantras (see also japa)

Tantra ("Loom"): a type of Sanskrit work containing Tantric teachings; the tradition of Tantrism, which focuses on the shakti side of spiritual life and which originated in the early post-Christian era and achieved its classical features around 1000 C.E.; Tantrism has a "right-hand" (dakshina) or conservative and a "left-hand" (vama) or unconventional/antinomian branch, with the latter utilizing, among other things, sexual rituals

Tapas ("glow/heat"): austerity, penance, which is an ingredient of all yogic approaches, since they all involve self-transcendence

Tattva ("thatness"): a fact or reality; a particular category of existence such as the ahamkara, buddhi, manas; the ultimate Reality (see also atman, brahman)

Turiya ("fourth"), also called cathurtha: the transcendental Reality, which exceeds the three conventional states of consciousness, namely waking, sleeping, and dreaming

Upanishad ("sitting near"): a type of scripture representing the concluding portion of the revealed literature of Hinduism, hence the designation Vedanta for the teachings of these sacred works; cf. Aranyaka, Brahmana, Veda

Upaya ("means"): in Buddhist yoga, the practice of compassion (karuna); cf. prajna

Vairagya ("dispassion"): the attitude of inner ren

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