Lessons in letting go from B.K.S. Iyengar
In the week and a bit since B.K.S. Iyengar died, this has become my new favorite quote. And as each day passes, I am more grateful to him for setting such a good example of a happy life and a majestic death. Yes, he could glower. Yes, he yelled in class. But he was not […]
Every breath you take
If you are a fan of heavy-metal clothing brand Affliction – admittedly not really likely if you’ve found yourself on this page – then you might believe that affliction is “the passion that drives us to reach for greatness,” or something that “makes you build when others buy.” Well no. Since at least Roman times, […]
Black sheep, white sheep, or just asleep?
Maybe you’re neither white nor black, good nor bad. Maybe you’re not even a sheep.Perfection in an asana is achieved when the effort to perform it becomes effortless and the infinite being within is reached. From then on the sadhaka (practitioner) is undisturbed by dualities. –– Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, II.47-48, translation by B.K.S. Iyengar […]
Four ways the Brahma Viharas can keep you clear
I want to have a lucid old age, but the odds aren’t looking good. Start with a family strain of dementia, add growing up in the toxic-chemicals-friendly 1950s, then stir in a rear-end collision that smacked my forehead into the windshield when I was 10, and really, all bets are off. I’d like to believe […]
Five-Minute Yoga Challenge: build your inner strength in half arm balance
Photographer Alan Turkis calls this “Joy in the Cascades” Full arm balance holds a special place in the great yogic enterprise of becoming and remaining conscious in our bodies. In part, that’s because standing on your hands opens your armpits like almost nothing else, and as B.K.S. Iyengar has famously said: “If you keep your […]
Happy Birthday to the man who changed my life
Vancouver is a long way from Pune, India, and B.K.S. Iyengar is miles removed from my first Iyengar teacher, who could be fiery when the situation demanded, but was most often gentle and calm. So for the first years of my yoga life, I didn’t feel very connected to this faraway guru, with his habit […]