BarefootAndUpsideDown

carolyn aka LaughingYogini | April 30, 2010

Sutra 2.45: samadhi siddih isvara pranidhanat Samadhi: contemplation. Siddih: power, accomplishment, realization. Isvarapranidhanat: through devotion to the Lord, positive behavior and the ritual act of devotion. Contemplation and its powers are attained through worship of God. (trans. Bernard Bouanchaud, The Essence of Yoga) A final Niyama or lifestyle guideline, focuses upon one’s relationship with the [...]

Category: Spirituality, Sutra, Yamas & Niyamas | No Comments »
Tags: god, ishvarapranidhana, living yoga, niyama, Patanjali, Spirituality, yoga practices, Yoga Sutra

carolyn aka LaughingYogini | April 20, 2010

Yoga Sutra 2.44: svadhyayat ista devata samprayogah Svadyayat: through reading and chanting sacred texts. Ista: desired, chosen. Devata: divinity. Samprayogah: union, fusion. Union with the chosen divinity comes from the study of self through the sacred texts. (trans. Bernard Bouanchaud) B.K.S Iyengar tells us in his Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali that “Traditionally, [...]

Category: Sutra, Yamas & Niyamas | No Comments »
Tags: B.K.S. Iyengar, Bernard Bouanchaud, Donna Farhi, Nischala Joy Devi, niyamas, Patanjali, Self-Study, Swadyaya, yoga sutras

carolyn aka LaughingYogini | March 14, 2010

Yoga sutra 2.43: kayendriyasiddhirasuddhiksayattaapasah Kaya; the body. Indriya: the eleven sense organs, including thought. Siddih: power, perfection. Asuddhi: impurity. Ksayat: by the destruction, elimination. Tapasah: discipline, asceticism, austerity. By eliminating impurity, a disciplined life brings perfection and mastery to the body and the eleven sense organs. (trans. Bernard Bouanchaud, The Essence of Yoga) Tapas, the [...]

Category: Sutra, Yamas & Niyamas | 2 Comments »
Tags: Bernard Bouanchaud, Donna Farhi, heart fire, Meditation, Nischala Joy Devi, niyama, tapas, yoga, yoga practice, Yoga Sutra

carolyn aka LaughingYogini | February 22, 2010

I write so much about longing and the un-contented parts of my life that it’s hard sometimes to acknowledge those areas of my existence that are perfectly or imperfectly just fine.  I often feel a sense of contentment after writing, especially in free writing in a journal—as if I’ve purged the “vritti” out of my [...]

Category: Sutra, Yamas & Niyamas | No Comments »
Tags: Amy Weintraub, B.K.S.Iyengar, Bernard Bouanchaud, contentment, Desikachar, Donna Farhi, Nischala Joy Devi, niyamas, Patanjali, samtosha, yoga sutras

carolyn aka LaughingYogini | January 29, 2010

Yoga Sutra 1.13 : tatra sthitau yatno’bhyasah Bernard Bouanchaud’s translation: Persevering practice is the effort to attain and maintain the state of mental peace. Patanjali tells us here that practice IS the effort to maintain inner peace. I’ve often wondered how I could maintain anything when I am twirling off into anger, or joy, or [...]

Category: Meditation, Spirituality, Sutra | 2 Comments »
Tags: awareness, emotions, Eve Ensler, Meditation, Yoga Sutra

carolyn aka LaughingYogini | January 21, 2010

Yoga Sutra 2.40: saucat svanga jugupsa parairh asamsargah Purity protects one’s body and brings nonphysical relationships with others. (trans. B. Bouanchaud) Yoga Sutra 2.41: sattva suddhi saumanasya ekagrya inddriyajaya atma darsana yogyatvani ca Then, purity, clarity, and well-being of the spirit come to flower, as well as concentration, mastery of the eleven sense organs, and [...]

Category: Recipes, Sutra, Yamas & Niyamas, chanting | No Comments »
Tags: Amy Weintraub, Cleanse, liver cleanse recipe, mantra, purity, shauca, vegan recipe, Yamas and Niyamas, yoga niyama, Yoga Sutra, yogic observances

carolyn aka LaughingYogini | January 7, 2010

Sutra.1.12 (Sanskrit:abhyasa-vairagyabhyam tad-nirodhah) says”Control over the mind’s fluctuations comes from persevering practice and nonattachment” According to Bernard Bouanchaud, a French translator of Patanjali’s sutras, quoted here, nonattachment is inextricably linked to persevering practice if one wishes to control those pesky mental fluctuations. Whew. Do I need to work on both of these. Persevering practice is [...]

Category: Home Practice, Sutra | 2 Comments »
Tags: Home Practice, mental fluctuations, nonattachment, Patanjali, sthira, Sukha, Yoga Sutra

carolyn aka LaughingYogini | December 29, 2009

Adho Mukha Svanasana or Downward Facing Dog, aka DFD, is a pose I could never give up, at least not willingly. There are so many delicious benefits: the back enters a lovely traction, stretching out whatever has kinked up, the shoulders are invited to open and receive a stretch, the arms strengthen with every breath, [...]

Category: asana | No Comments »
Tags: adho mukha svanasana, Downward facing dog pose

carolyn aka LaughingYogini | December 23, 2009

One who perseveres on the path of noncovetousness gains deep understanding of the meaning of life. (trans. B. Bouanchaud) I DO pray for aparigraha to blossom in my life like a spiritual flower showering me with the clarity and buoyancy of a saint. This yama, suggests I relinquish that which I hold onto. I need [...]

Category: Poetry, Sutra, Yamas & Niyamas | No Comments »
Tags: abundance, Bernard Bouanchaud, Nischala Joy Devi, noncovetousness, Poetry, Sutra, yama, yoga ethics

carolyn aka LaughingYogini | December 6, 2009

Today Mom moved into an assisted living facility. For several reasons, she couldn’t manage to live on her own anymore. Watching the family locus reshuffle has been a sad event. Even though my brain knows it was necessary and inevitable, my heart grieves for what has past and will no longer be. I’ve been spending [...]

Category: Life, Sutra | 3 Comments »
Tags: B.K.S. Iyengar, Bernard Bouanchaud, Georg Feuerstein, grief, Patanjali, T.V.K. Desikachar, Yoga Sutra