Pratyahara
When we practice Pratyahara, we withdraw the senses. It’s not that there is nothing to taste; it’s that we are choosing not to taste it. Sounds will inevitably happen around us. We choose not to hear them. Taste doesn’t just happen. Neither does smell. How we process, label and experience them is wholly done in the mind.
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The Yamas : Aparigraha
The fifth (and final) of the five Yamas is Aparigraha, which can be translated as “non-greed” or “non-grasping.” I had never considered before that grasping non-material things — like my need to “win” in competitive cycling classes or my need to advance my career — might be a form of greed. I’m also more and more […]
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The Yamas : Brahmacharya
Brahmacharya means “continence” or “moderation.” It’s clear that Patañjali is referring to sexual abstinence, at least in large part, but it’s also about moderation in all things. Specifically, it’s about moderation in all things that give us pleasure. But I just want to do yoga and have a ‘yoga body’ and have all of my […]
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