Imagine for a moment that you are driving a chariot being pulled by five very strong, wild horses. You’d like your journey to be peaceful, stable and steady, while progressing in the direction you desire right? In order to do this you have to understand the nature of these horses and how to tame, direct and discipline them… otherwise you won’t be traveling comfortably or very far.

The metaphor of the chariot and wild horses is an ancient one. The horses represent our five senses, which are often strong and wild, and pull our mind in different directions. The practice of yoga helps tame the senses encouraging grounding and focus. Think of your body as having an untapped inner technology. It is your job to study the “owner’s manual” to help you travel more peacefully and joyfully through life. Understanding this “technology” has been the life long quest of many mystical traditions.

The yoga tradition contains many maps, techniques and inquiries that help one understand their inner technology and how to use it. Your end goal is to experience expanded states of consciousness so that you can connect with the divine.

These techniques are outlined beautifully in Kriya Yoga, or the “actions of yoga.” The three major components of this practice are:

Tapas—Self-effort or discipline

Svadhyaya––Self-study

Isvarapranidhana—Self-surrender, or devotion

Tapas in particular is a crucial component for taming the wild horses that pull you. This Sanskrit word has many nuanced meanings. On the most basic level, it has to do with “heat” and at a more complex level, it reflects “a heat that produces a positive inner alchemy". Tapas is known for being a fiery discipline that helps one purify mind and body from the limitations and blockages that keep you from experiencing your true light.

Other words to describe Tapas are:

Tenacity

Grit

Courage

Will Power

Perseverance

Determination

As a parent, I find that neither one of my kids have much grit when life gets tough. There is a lot of talk in the house about having grit and the “heat” that it can cause. I remind them that temporary friction and discomfort leads to tremendous progress in the long run. The act of Tapas, or fiery discipline, flexes the mind’s muscles. The more it is practiced the stronger those muscles get.

As the great Mahatma Gandhi once said, “strength does not come form physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” This will, to “be the change you wish to see,” causes friction and heat caused by what Gandhi called the “ego-desire complex”. It is important to remember, that sometimes what your ego desires is not helpful and can even be harmful.

Tapas means different things to different people. Sometimes a Tapas practice involves getting up early in the morning to exercise every day. For others it could be to sit down and meditate, or to start and maintain a healthy diet. Ultimately Tapas is a dedicated practice that helps burn off the impediments that limit or hold us back from true harmony and wholeness.

Nelson Mandela’s famous quote, “our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure,” speaks of Tapas. How much power and progress could you experience in your life if you had the discipline to stay fiercely dedicated to your heart’s path?

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard

Photo by Fabian Burghardt via Upsplash

Kilty Inafuku is a former engineer turned yoga educator who has trained with the likes of Jason Crandell and Seane Corn. Her teaching style is very methodical, breaking down the mechanics of each posture in a very deliberate way, so that you are moving through each one safely and intentionally. Her classes are both spiritually and physically powerful with a focus on strengthening in relation to mobility.

Her belief is that what we do ON the mat is practice for how we operate OFF the mat. How you talk to yourself, how you approach a challenging situation, how you receive, and how you do you anything in your asana practice is usually a direct reflection of what's happening in your everyday practice of life (the real yoga).

Kilty leads incredible yoga retreats all over the world and travels almost monthly on her own.

In today’s discussion Sarah and Kilty talk about how those travels have influenced her yoga practice and how yoga can influence the way you travel.

Kilty also offers some great travel tips including what to pack, how to travel on a tight budget and how to get in on one of her epic international yoga retreats.

Learn more about Kilty at kiltyyoga.com

Related links:

Trusted House Sitters

YogaTrade

The Travel Yogi

Work Away

Welcome to our very first episode of Yoga Unplugged Conversations!

A show dedicated to helping you grow, thrive and gracefully make tough life decisions, so you can lead a happier, healthier life.

Yoga Unplugged Team member Sarah Burchard is your host for this podcast. Sarah is a freelance writer, natural foods chef and certified health coach who is passionate about promoting local businesses and food through her writing, farmers market tours and farm-to-table events under the name The Healthy Locavore. When she is not knee deep in food she's marketing events for Yoga Unplugged and supporting the yoga community here on Oahu.

In this episode Sarah interviews our very own Jennifer Reuter. Jennifer is a teacher of yoga, level 2 iRest yoga nidra and Neelakantha meditation. She is also a sound healer and the founder of Yoga Unplugged. She has been practicing and teaching for over a decade and studies several philosophies and religions, as well as the science behind meditation in order to give her students a well-rounded and advanced spiritual education.

Jennifer leads meditation workshops, sound baths, yoga teacher trainings and retreats all over Hawaii. You can also find her teaching weekly public yoga classes at Aloha Yoga Kula in Kailua.

In this episode, Sarah and Jennifer discuss how to follow your intuition and why it is so important when it comes to important decision making. They also address acting on internal messages, signs from the universe, taking advice from others and what to do when your gut lets you down.

Jennifer Reuter is a meditation and yoga teacher, sound healer and founder of Yoga Unplugged. She has been practicing and teaching Neelakantha meditation for well over a decade. In our first episode of Yoga Unplugged Conversations she talks with host Sarah Burchard about how to trust your gut. During this show they address: Acting on internal messages, signs from the universe, taking advice from others, what to do when your gut lets you down and inquiries that are helpful for solving problems. Learn more at www.yogaunplugged.org

When I was in my 20’s I made up a story in my head that I had to have a yoga mat and move through meditative postures in order to practice yoga.

When I got to my 30’s the story grew into something more meaningful. Now, yoga meant that practicing contemplative and meditative exercises would help me understand myself and what would bring me inner peace.

Fast forward to the present moment, now in my 40’s, and my story has changed once again. I still believe what I believed in the past, but I also now believe that yoga is nothing more than universal love.

I often share these perceptions with my students in class to show them what my yoga journey has looked like and how they have influenced my practice.

The reason why these stories have changed so much over time, however, is because of a practice I use called––Jnana Yoga.

The stories you make up

Storytelling is a powerful tool. Recounting past events that happened in your life or making up imaginary fantasies can inspire, teach and entertain.

But what happens when you make up a story about an event that is untrue?

The stories you make up are your brain’s way of “protecting” yourself.

But, instead of helping they can often create unnecessary complications.

Brene Brown is a professor, public speaker and best selling author whose work focuses on courage and vulnerability. She encourages people to use the phrase “The story I’m making up is…” at the beginning of difficult conversations.

For example, have you ever been in a relationship with someone who did or said something that caused you agitation? Did you make up a story around why they did it or what it meant? And did you find out that that story was untrue later?

The danger of storytelling, versus basing your reaction on fact, is that you may be accusing that person of doing something that isn’t true. It is the basis for miscommunication.

“Anybody who's been in — or out of — a relationship can tell you that they're full of miscommunications, misreadings, and other misunderstandings. You say one thing, they hear something else,” says Brown.

By beginning a tough conversation with “The story I’m making up is…” you are telling the other person your perception and admitting that you might be wrong about what really happened.

Another helpful practice is to take those stories and use them for introspection. This is the practice of Jnana Yoga.

Jnana Yoga

Jnana, pronounced as “gya-na,” means knowledge.

Jnana Yoga is a practice that uses knowledge to help purify the mind of misperceptions, which may be blocking you from connecting with others and living in harmony with life.

The yoga texts translate the word misperception, or “avidya” in Sanskrit, as “actively not seeing true knowledge.” They teach, that these misperceptions are the number one cause for all human suffering, making the mind run wild, causing you to cast doubts about your self worth, block solutions to problems and prevent you from taking action.

The benefits of Jnana yoga, or the pursuit of higher knowledge, is that it soothes a restless and broken soul. It purifies the mind, burning the self-made stories you make up, and creates wisdom love and compassion––enabling you to create a more meaningful connection with life.

In Jnana yoga there are three phases. First, knowledge has to be heard and received. Second, knowledge has to be repeated thousands of times in many different ways. Third, knowledge has to become a part of you.

The practice of Jnana yoga begins by asking yourself hard questions like: Who am I? What am I? What do I fear? What am I grateful for? What is joy or love?

It can also include an inquiry into your life’s purpose and/or anything else related to your relationship with the universe.

Brown’s “What is the story I’m making up” approach also works well here. For example, What is the story I’m making up about the nature of my reality? Is it is the same story my parents had? Is it a story I heard in church or from my teacher or guru? What is the story I’m making up about the career path I have chosen or my purpose in the world? What is the story I am making up about who I am?

Neti neti

Neti neti is a Sanskrit term that means “not this and not that.”

It is helpful to use neti neti when you begin asking these deeper questions. It encourages you to not settle and keep asking until you find the truth, admitting that your beliefs are not 100% accurate.

Neti neti creates wiggle room for new perspectives and insights.

Jnana yoga is practiced the same way one would peel an onion. You keep peeling back the layers by asking the same questions over and over until you can get closer to the center, or the truth.

Year after year the inquiries reveal new understandings, insights previously missed, and a penetration into the heart of the matter one seeks.

The story I told myself about yoga in my 20’s is radically different than the story I tell myself today because I keep peeling back these layers and asking more questions.

Listening to the truth

How well you can peel back the layers and find truth depends on how good you listen.

Krishna Murti––Indian philosopher, speaker and writer––is a great example of someone who practiced Jnana yoga. He pointed out the problems we have with our listening by asking these questions: “How do you listen to knowledge? Do you listen with your projections, through your ambitions, desires, fears, anxieties, through hearing only what you want to hear, only what will be satisfactory, what will gratify, what will give comfort, what will for the moment alleviate your suffering? If you listen through the screen of your desires, then you obviously listen to your own voice.”

The practice of listening is challenging, but if you desire thriving relationships, either with others or the universe, then it is important to try.

This is where a daily meditation practice is helpful and essential. It makes you a better listener.

An invitation to practice

“The Yoga Sutras” says that ignorance is the greatest poison.

When you make up stories that are not true they can create toxicity and separation at both the individual and relationship levels.

Instead of getting caught up in your story can you take the time to connect with your heart and ask yourself deeper questions to see what surfaces before taking action?

I invite you to use the practice of Jnana Yoga to prevent stories from turning into suffering. Find out for yourself how Jhana Yoga can make your life change for the better.

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard

Photo by Keegan Houser on Unsplash

Amongst the Kriyas of yoga, Svadhyaya––known as self-study, is the second component.

Thinking back to my late 20’s I remember feeling lonely. I didn’t have a lot of “tools” back then to help me manage stress, so this feeling kept recurring on a loop resulting in serious health problems that lasted for years.

Loneliness rises with peaks in the late 20’s, mid 50’s, and late 80’s, according to a recent CNN article called, “Loneliness peaks at three key ages, study finds -- but wisdom may help,” The article reviews a study posted last December by the journal International Psychogeriatrics, which notes, “Dr. Vivek Murthy, former US surgeon general, says the reduced life span linked to loneliness is similar to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.”

No wonder I felt horrible.

Now, looking back, I can clearly see there was a link between my loneliness and not having what neuro-psychologists call “human core needs.”

Human core needs consist of three components: connection, satisfaction and safety. I had none of these. My life in my late 20’s was the epitome of loneliness, disappointment and instability.

20 years later, I am here to share what I have experienced through yoga and its healing wisdom.

Svadhyaya is the second action, or kriya, of yoga, according to the Yoga Sutras. There are three Kriyas in Yoga: Tapas (self-discipline), Svadhyaya (self-study) and Ishvarapranidhana (self-surrender).

The Yoga Sutras was written over 2,000 years ago, and back then Svadhyaya usually meant the recitation and study of Indian revered texts. It also urged one to contemplate what the Sutras called “ishta devata” which translates to “one’s personal deity.”

The ishta devata is the non-dogmatic notion that basically says, pick something you can relate to, or that inspires you, and have a relationship with it. As you engage and contemplate its nature you will become more like it and will receive its grace and guidance as it moves through you.

Fast forward to 2019, where not everybody resonates with Indian revered texts or has a “personal deity” and you start to see people embracing a wider understanding of this practice, that includes any text that inspires them as well as concepts or symbols that create sacredness, love, meaning and even mystery.

On the practical day-to-day level, Svadhyaya is also about addressing the negative emotions and beliefs that don’t serve you, supporting the positive ones that do and learning methods that help calm the nervous system so you can think clearly and make better choices.

Practicing Svadhyaya is about adopting the consistent practice of engaging with and studying the knowledge that sparks, nourishes, and educates your true being.

This is what helps us access the states of being every human needs: connection, satisfaction and safety.

What you set your attention on grows and becomes your reality. The good news is that you don’t have to be held hostage during dark times, like when you are experiencing loneliness.

The CNN article also points out that “...An inverse relationship exists between loneliness and wisdom. "In other words, people who have high levels of wisdom didn't feel lonely, and vice versa," he [Dr. Dilip Jeste, senior author of the loneliness study] said.”

I wondered what Dr. Dilip Jeste meant by “wisdom.” I went digging online and found his list entitled “The 6 Sub-Components of Wisdom,” on Evidance-BasedWisdom.com. To me, they all feel like modern day Svadhyaya practices.

I intuit these items are not trivial, and in fact contain many nuanced layers of understanding. I encourage you to read this list 2-3 times slowly to see if any create a spark.

The 6 Sub-Components of Wisdom:

(1) Prosocial attitudes/behaviors: Working towards a common good

(2) Social decision making/pragmatic knowledge of life: Practical knowledge, judgement, life skills etc.

(3) Emotional homeostasis: Managing one’s emotions amidst challenging circumstances

(4) Reflection/self-understanding: Self-knowledge

(5) Value relativism/tolerance: Able to adopt multiple perspectives

(6) Acknowledgment of and dealing effectively with uncertainty/ambiguity: Effectively navigating uncertainty and the limits of knowledge.

“Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty,” said Mother Teresa. This may feel true, but I believe we can do something about it. For starters, inquire into your own core needs. Ask yourself…Do I feel safe? Am I connected to myself and others? Am I satisfied with my life? If the answers are not what you hoped for… you might be feeling alone.

My teacher, Paul Muller-Ortega, always says, “Make your mind your friend.” If you want to live a more harmonious life you have to face why you are hurting and be your best friend.

Below is a list of helpful Svadhyaya practices I use regularly:

• Pick up a book or read a poem that touches your being. Find a poet, mystic, saint or sage that speaks to you and engage with them.

• Share something that inspires you with a friend.

• Before going to bed read something that inspires you. Let that be the last imprint on your brain before closing your eyes.

• Take in the good. Get in the practice of not letting positive and beautiful moments pass you by. When they are happening be present and try to feel them in the body.

• Practice noticing which experiences bring you feelings of joy, connection, and security. Cultivate these feelings by writing these experiences down in a gratitude journal.

• RAIN - An acronym for remembering how to have compassion for yourself.

Recognize where you are hurting

Accept without shame or blame

Investigate

Nurture yourself

• Question the nature of reality. Who are we and from where do we come? How does the heart beat all by itself? How does the fetus become a baby? What is this mathematical logic behind the universe? Is ridiculous happiness possible? What about everlasting peace? What happens after death? And is it an end or a beginning? What is love?

• Ask yourself—can I reduce the stress I live with by half?

The Yoga Sutras say that with time, faith and practice we will discover the “open secrets” of nature—which in fact live inside each and every one of us. From this perspective how could one ever feel alone?

I believe it is worth the effort to find out.

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard

Photo by Magnus Lindvall via Upsplash

“From an attitude of contentment (santosha), unexcelled happiness, mental comfort, joy and satisfaction are/is obtained”.   - Yoga Sutras II:42

The Yoga Sutras is a celebrated masterpiece written over 2,000 years ago by the yogic sage Patanjali. This is “THE BOOK” on yoga. In just 196 short verses, or “sutras,” it addresses the shared human condition and maps out how to work towards a more liberated experience of body, mind and soul. There is no mention of flexibility or acrobatic tricks here and it is not religious or dogmatic.

The Yoga Sutras addresses these four principals:

1. Life can be difficult and suffering is real.

2. How to understand the root causes for suffering.

3. How to discover the means for overcoming these causes.

4. How to master those means.

Get to know yourself

The Yoga Sutras share that true self-care begins with having a good understanding of ourselves. Deep within the heart and core of each of us there lies many similarities.  What are these similarities and moreover how does understanding them make life better? These are just some of the inquiries that The Yoga Sutras explores. Knowledge is useful and when put into practice it can really make a difference.

Take care of yourself

I remember when I first realized that no one could take care of me and love me the way I could. To truly practice self-care is not to seek care externally from other people or things, but to learn how to find it from the inside. The Yoga Sutras share that the practice of kindness and gentleness towards ourselves is paramount. This concept is also highlighted in another of my favorite books,  A Course in Miracles, which offers this universal truth: “the outer world is nothing more than an inner condition.”  This is an important inquiry. Is it possible, that if we could practice more gentleness and kindness towards ourselves, that our outer world would transform?

Think positive

If you have been to any of my classes you will know I am obsessed with ending our time together in the self-care practice of “Santosha,” or contentment and gratitude.  No matter what is happening that day or how ugly life can get, The Yoga Sutras teaches us that this practice will produce an alchemical shift, saying that when practiced regularly “unexcelled happiness and mental comfort are obtained.”  The late Joseph Campbell put it so succinctly, “Find a place inside where there is joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.”

Learn and practice

Being a human is a miraculous gift, yet it is very mysterious. The mystics who have lived here. and are still living here now, drop maps and wisdom to help us along our journey. The Yoga Sutras is definitely one of those gifts of wisdom.  

There is a myth that Patanjali was part serpent with 1,000 heads. The 1,000 heads were a metaphor for the 1,000 ways he shared great wisdom. Each person asking from a slightly different vantage point, and each person receiving a personal message just for them. This is The Yoga Sutras.  If you have this text I invite you to grab it off the shelf and take a fresh look. If you are just now learning about this text, here are three recommendations, that I have absolutely love and return to all the time:

For beginners:

The Wisdom of Yoga: A Seeker's Guide to Extraordinary Living by Stephen Cope

For intermediate:

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (Sacred Teachings) by Alistair Shearer

For advanced:

The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali: A New Edition, Translation, and Commentary by Edwin F. Bryant

Just contemplating one sutra a day can bring powerful insights as you continue to travel along your journey.

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard

The Yogic sage Patanjali

I read once that our shadows follow us around. We can’t always see them, but other people certainly can. Some will even point them out to you.

This can create an impulse to react with defense, denial or avoidance. These uncomfortable impulses are confirmation that your shadows are indeed real. It is important to notice your reactions and what triggers them, because these are what will ultimately limit your growth and greatest potential.

Over the last couple of months, I have been hunting down my own shadows, and doing my best to use them as teachers. This is so much easier said than done.  

Overall it has been a really good practice on patience, self inquiry and surrender. I am learning a lot about myself, and thanking my meditation practice for being a necessary means for transformation.  

It is not just people that can trigger us, but circumstances and mediums like the news or social media.   

Ramana Maharshi was an Indian saint who taught people to constantly ask important questions like, “Who am I?” He believed that by doing so, one could attain self realization.  

This beautiful inquiry is the act of soul searching, which is one way to hunt down your “shadows” that obscure your “light”.  

Rumi, the mystical poet, said: “It is not your job to seek for love—just seek the barriers that keep it from coming.”  Your barriers, shadows and triggers are not something you should ignore, but instead try to understand, for they hold the key to inner peace.  

Social media and the news are great examples for the global play of shadow and light. They can be colossal triggers that will provide insights to your personality. They can celebrate moments of magic which could be a light for one person, but a shadow to another. What other people think about something is not as important as how we “feel” about ourselves at the end of the day. If you use these mediums, and get triggered by them regularly, then I would invite you to ask yourself why that is.

You can use social media as a valuable tool to hunt down shadows. The “light” of social media is the connection with others, while the “shadows” can trigger unsavory emotions. Ever hear of the new term “Facebook Depression”?  

The psychology of social media is out—if you have not read about how it purposely makes us crazy—check this article out.  Social media is designed to trigger us, and as you already know, triggers are uncomfortable.  But again, triggers are also “keys”, and if you can become aware of, and understand why you are triggered, you can stop stunting your personal growth and mediums like the news and social media will become a different experience.  

Like Michelangelo’s David, we really are all whole, beautiful and complete. As sculptors of our own identities, we have the power to chip away what is unnecessary, so that what is left can shines brightly and serve to the world in a positive way.

I invite you to become a “shadow-hunter” like me. Grab your sculptor’s chisel and start chipping away at what is blocking your true happiness. Pay attention to what sets you off. Try to breathe, pause, notice, ask yourself why you are feeling this way. Meditate on it.  Everyone has a shadow that requires investigation. If we didn’t our world would be perfect. By helping ourselves we help others, and the world becomes a little bit more lighter and relaxed.

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard

The term “space of the heart” originates from the ancient Kashmir Shaivism tradition.  Most scholars in the field of comparative religious studies agree, that Kashmir Shaivism is in fact one of the most highly sophisticated esoteric wisdom traditions on the planet. 

The famous Kashmiri Saint “Abhnivagupta” (c 950-1016AD) is recognized by many for not just being one of India’s greatest intellectuals, but one of the most brilliant writers, philosophers and aestheticians the world has ever known. He wrote extensively about the “space of the heart” in his famous writings and said that, “if the false mental constructs about ourselves are destabilized then dissolved, the heart will stand revealed in its fullness.” He described the “space of the heart” as the core reality of our being, or a domain within our own consciousness. 

There are many other names that have been used to describe this place such as: kingdom of Heaven, universal mind, the refuge, Buddha nature, unity consciousness, universal love, the mystery, awareness, presence, Tao, the Mother, etc. How it is described is not what is important. The great wisdom traditions agree, that it is your authentic ground of being that beckons for your attention and return.  

This “space of the heart” is un-capturable with words, but we all intuitively know it is there. When you are aligned, and in a deep relationship with this place, life is rich with meaning, connection, joy and freedom. 

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard

Yoga nidra is a powerful meditation technique, that has many benefits for the body and mind and is easy to develop and maintain. For those reasons, yoga nidra is quickly becoming more and more mainstream. This practice, once reserved for “Ashram life” and advanced yoga trainings, is now growing in popularity as a main offering in yoga studios from New York to L.A. 

The reason for this demand is that yoga nidra seems to be an “antidote” for the high-paced digital world. Modern lifestyle has most people over-stimulated and operating from their sympathetic nervous system, a.k.a. “The fight or flight response”. Yoga nidra offers a way to deactivate this response, in exchange for the parasympathetic, or “rest and digest”, nervous system. 

Although you can sit up during this practice, it is usually done while lying in “shavasana”. This 30-minute systematic guided meditation begins with a heartfelt prayer, or an intention you might have for yourself or another. You are then invited to direct your attention into the different layers of your being. The layers consist of the physical, the breath, the mind, and the bliss bodies.

Bringing your attention to each of these layers induces a deep sense of relaxation and well-being which occasionally can lead you into a light "slumber". This light slumber is known as “yoga nidra”, a state of consciousness which is somewhere in between wake and sleep.

Whether you fall completely asleep during the practice (which is quite common) or not, you will start feeling more rested and restored. According to the highly accredited text - Yoga Nidra, “One hour of yoga nidra is as restful as a few hours of sleep.” So, it is also a great tool if you are feeling sleep deprived. 

Other benefits also include: deep relaxation throughout the body and mind, reduction or elimination of stress, anxiety, fear, anger and depression and an engagement of deep states of meditation. 

The Yoga Nidra map:

1. Set your intention.

2. Heartfelt prayer for yourself or another.

3. Physical body: Sense and perceive your physical body and arrive in the present moment by doing a body scan.

4. Energetic body: Count breaths, elongate breaths, and experience the sensation that arises from the breath work. This raises awareness of where energy is stuck and where it's flowing.

5. Emotional body: Invite the polarity of opposite feelings and sensations into your practice, like warm and cool, left and right, safety and fear. Often we experience emotions on this polarity. For example, someone living in fear desires safety. Yoga nidra teaches that you don't need the positive end of the polarity to be comfortable, safe, fearless, joyous, and vulnerable.

6. Body of intellect: Notice thoughts, beliefs, and images that arise in the guided exploration of opposites. They offer insight into your long-held belief systems and answer why we are the way we are.

7. Body of joy: Recalling memories that are pure joy and ease helps reset a mental baseline, and can alleviate anxiety levels while offering an ever-present sense of calm.

If you are interested in learning more about yoga nidra research visit: www.irest.us/research

If you are interested in learning more about the practice I recommend the following books:

Yoga Nidra: A meditative Practice for Deep Relaxation and Healing by Richard Miller, Ph.D. 

Yoga Nidra: The Art of Transformational Sleep by Kamini Desai Ph.D.

Yoga Nidra by Swami Satyananda

If you are interested in finding a practice on the go I recommend: 

The Insight Timer meditation app

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard

Photo by: Brandon Smith

“Yoga is the settling of mind into silence, and only when the mind is silent can we realize our true nature, the effortless Being of the self.” -Patanjali Yoga Sutras

There is no doubt that the “digital age” is upon us, affecting our mind, body and spirit.  Physically, we are living in a desk-driven society and sitting more than ever. This causes stiffness and muscular weakness particularly in the back and neck. Mentally, we are more agitated from interacting in a fast-paced and over-stimulated world. This leads to insomnia, digestive issues, and dysfunctional breathing patterns. Spiritually, as outside demands continually increase, we begin to lose touch with nature and our inner spirit, often times forgetting who we are and what we really want. 

Yoga is a timeless practice that has the ability to address, and accommodate your every need. Many people start yoga for the physical benefit of the postures, but over time they begin to realize that yoga is more than just postures, it is a way of life. 

Although born in the land of India, yoga has spread globally and it is beneficially impacting everyone regardless of race, culture, religion, politics, and/or financial status.  The yogis teach that every human being is comprised of body, mind and spirit, and that each of these elements have their own unique desires. The body desires health, the mind desires knowledge and the spirit desires inner peace. The goal of yoga is to individually address and satiate each of these desires while simultaneously expanding one’s reality towards greater degrees of freedom, compassion and love. 

The deepest understanding of yoga is that it is an alignment to your best self.

Unfortunately these days, when you look around at yoga, it is often identified as a  “work-out” or a “stretch”, but it is really so much more.  

The West usually centers yoga around the practices of asana (postures), while the East centers yoga around the practices of philosophy and meditation. The good news is that modern lifestyles are becoming more expansive and open-minded, and as a result both eastern and western practices are being adopted. A little bit of both perspectives could be the trick to more radiant health, a stronger and more stable mental disposition and an overall sense of well being. 

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard