The Best Comfort is Inside You
This above all: to thine own self be true. And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.—William Shakespeare If you have a poor opinion about yourself certainly it will affect your heart, your mind, your personality. What you think, you will ultimately become. If you think that you are a negative person, you don’t need any other negativity coming from anywhere else to make that true; you are making yourself negative, negating yourself. When this happens you have to analyze it. “Are these thoughts good for me? Is it helpful for me to have these thoughts? Is it constructive or destructive? If my thoughts are negative, what will I become?” When you realize the negative effect you won’t even want to think that way anymore. But people don’t think seriously about the effect thoughts have on them. Even if you are not negative about yourself, if you have negative thoughts about others it will affect you negatively. If you hate somebody, you are...
Personal Transformation: An Ocean of Change
Everywhere in nature, we see change. The one unchanging thing about Mother Nature is that she is constantly changing. Day gives way to night. The hot and humid days of summer yield to the brisk, cool winds of fall. The garden is in bloom and then goes to seed....
IY Teacher Feature: Jayadeva Mandelkorn
With a distinguished career teaching Yoga since 1969, Jayadeva Mandelkorn speaks with an authority few other teachers can match. He knows not only the challenges of teaching subtle Yoga practices but as the founder and director of the Princeton Integral Yoga...
More Recent Articles
The Unspoken Tao: An Interview with Paul Olko
We sat down with Paul Olko, a certified practitioner of Naturopathy, Chinese herbal medicine, and Tui Na acupressure massage, and a teacher of Taoism, Qigong, and Tai Chi. In the following interview, Paul drew some parallels between Taoist and yogic philosophy and...
Story and Symbolism in the Yogic Tradition
Marni Sclaroff is a Yoga teacher and mentor who enjoys weaving the threads of mythology into all of her offerings. In the following interview, Marni shares her understanding of story and symbolism, her personal journey on the path, and her hopes for all students of...
Finding Your Dharma: Learning to Thrive
Katchie Ananda, Yoga instructor and Dharma teacher, explains what it means to find your dharma, align the soul with its authentic purpose, and share your gifts with the world. Finding Your Dharma—Learning to Thrive Dharma has many meanings, among them: to see things...
Charlottesville Tragedy: A Letter from Yogaville’s Executive Director
Hari Om Sangha! “Hating is worse than fighting. When you hate, you keep on hating. We are not going to stop everything in nature. But if you can do something instead of hating the fighting, do it…[I]f you hate, you lose the capacity to do something to stop the...
Yoga Nidra: A Natural Sleep Aid
Who couldn’t use some extra shut-eye? Sleep is vital to our health and sleep experts tell us we need an average of eight hours at a shot. Even if there’s time for sleep, many of us have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep. Yoga Nidra can help in replenishing...
Clear the Clutter: Live Simply
The practice of purity leads to fitness for God Realization.—Sutra 2.41 Normally this sutra is associated with disgust for the body, which is also cited in Sutra No. 2.40 and as such is not a favorite practice. However, in actual practice saucha is the effort of...
Your Roadmap to Happiness
In the world today, most people approach the study of Yoga through the asanas (physical postures). And for many schools, that’s where the study of Yoga ends. People want to be healthy and have a trim physique. One may ask, why do you want a trim physique? In some...
Five Reasons to Teach Yoga to Teens
Imagine if you had access to Yoga as a teen—how would it have impacted your life? There is a good chance that if you are reading this article, Yoga has influenced your life in a profound way. Teens are at a ripe age, impressionable to new ideas and experiences as they...
Yoga for Arthritis: More than Modifications
Research on the effects of Yoga has found that Yoga practice has numerous benefits for physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Dr. Steffany Moonaz is a Yoga therapist who has been involved in such research to gather clinical data about the health benefits of Yoga....
Support Through Life’s Biggest Challenges
Illustration by Rachel Brown Smith, Anahata the Heart Chakra Grief and loss are some of life's biggest challenges. Yogini, author, and psychotherapist Karla Helbert opened her heart in the following interview and offered an intimate sharing of her personal experience...
Form Versus Action in Our Yoga Practice
Have you ever been in a Yoga class and been given a subtle cue by the instructor that completely changes the way the body feels in an asana (posture)? It’s not uncommon for Hatha Yoga practitioners to feel that they’ve mastered a pose by achieving its outward form....
Yoga—A System for Healing
The following is an excerpt from Nischala Devi's book, The Healing Path of Yoga: Time-Honored Wisdom and Scientifically Proven Methods that Alleviate Stress, Open Your Heart, and Enrich your Life. Yoga As Healer Yoga allows us to bring expanded consciousness of...