Weaving the Yoga Sutra: Distractions The most important skill to cultivate Distractions will happen, sooner or later, either a few times or countless times. Even when we get distracted , noticing that we got distracted indicates that we are present and that we are aware that our attention moved away from our intended focal point. What is important is to keep returning to our focus, to this moment. And, returning without struggle, effort, or self-judgment and with a gentle smile. ...

Weaving the Yoga Sutra: Range of Awareness - Open awareness Open Awareness is the experience of being open to whatever each moment brings Would it be useful to grow in our ability to modulate our awareness so that we can choose to focus on an idea or object or just be in open awareness?  What happens if you try this exercise several times? What do you notice? https://simple-yoga.org  This content is inspired by the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali according to the  book Unravel the Thread by...

Weaving the Yoga Sutra: Range of awareness - Concentration What does it feel like when our mind focuses on just one thing? Exploring the range of awareness by focusing our mind on a single object of concentration. When we try to concentrate on a single thing, most of us find that our minds are easily distracted. This exercise strengthens our ability to concentrate. This ability only becomes stronger if we keep returning to our chosen focus. What would happen if you tried this practice for a...

Weaving the Yoga Sutra: Rango foawareness and experiences What happens when you explore your Range of Awareness? Most of us find that developing our sensitivity to natural processes enriches our experiences. in yoga, we try to expand our awareness so that we can participate in our lives consciously and intentionally. We experience the world through our senses, and our mind makes sense of the sensory information it receives by using its archive of knowledge, misconceptions, imagination,...

Weaving the Yoga Sutra: Complaining Do you ever complain? What do you complain about? Is it possible to modulate your complaining? Are our complaints a way to release a build-up of tension and irritation? Or is our complaining an expression of frustration because our expectations do not match the situation we find ourselves in? The first path is a very practical way of turning complaints into action. The second way to act is to see if our complaints are enabling us to improve the quality of...

Weaving the Yoga Sutra: Changing direction - Uplift Practicing pratipaksha bhavana in our lives A simple and effective way to turn unhelpful tendencies around. Notice the tendencies and replace them with life affirming and uplifting tendencies. Would it be possible that cultivating an uplifting attitude makes us feel happy and radiant? Are you curious to experience what happens when you immerse yourself in the practice of Pratipaksha Bhavana?  https://simple-yoga.org  This content is...

Weaving the Yoga Sutra: Exploring resistance What do you resist? Resistance tends to arise at the boundaries between pain and tolerable discomfort. How does resistance manifest itself in you? What can we do when we feel resistance? Is our resistance a way of defending our sense of self? Is it possible that our resistance is a sign that we are trying to hold on too tightly to a belief or self-concept? https://simple-yoga.org  This content is inspired by the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali...

Weaving the Yoga Sutra: Range of Awareness in Ashtanga Yoga Can Range of Awareness be the integrating element of all the limbs of yoga? What happens when we explore the possible options available to us in the Yamas, Niyamas, Asana, Pratipaksha Bhavana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi? Can the idea of Range of Awareness help us enhance our sensitivity? And, what happens as we refine our sensitivity in all aspects of our yoga practice? What do we discover? ...

Weaving the Yoga Sutra: Range of Motion, Action, Awareness All yoga practices offer opportunities to explore and expand our awareness. The notion of Range of Motion is expanded to mean the totality of potential range of healthy movement that we can consciously do. Range of Action is the complete set of possible variations along the many variables involved in healthy activity. Range of Action encompasses all the different aspects of you that are involved in the activity. Using your awareness...

Weaving the Yoga Sutra: Two natural tendencies Recognizing two natural tendencies that support us To overcome tendencies toward negativity it is useful to remember that we have two very useful natural tendencies that require no effort: Moving toward feeling better and moving away from pain. Become familiar with how they feel, what happens when you move toward feeling better? What do you feel when you notice pain? How are you using these two tendencies in your own practice of all aspects of...

Weaving the Yoga Sutra: Gradual progress Can you recognize that you are making progress toward your goal? Examine your past actions, are you moving toward your goal? Some of our actions may have taken us away from our goal. This happens to most of us. Noticing that we stray from the goal is an indication of progress. Would you trade places with an earlier version of yourself?' https://simple-yoga.org  This content is inspired by the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali according to the  book Unravel...

Weaving the Yoga Sutra: It's up to you Embarking on the journey of self-discovery is your choice YOGA, You Organically Growing Aware. Four aspects of yoga. Yoga cannot change your beliefs, dispositions, intentions, and actions, only you can! And because this is a lifelong, personal process, it is imperative that you make the conscious decision to do it for yourself. https://simple-yoga.org  This content is inspired by the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali according to the  book Unravel the Thread...

Weaving the Yoga Sutra: Natural breath, long breath Bringing our awareness to the process of breathing In this practice we explore two ways of breathing, natural breath, and long breath. We alternate between these two options, paying attention to where the breath creates movement. As you pay attention to your breath, is it easy to stay focused? Do you feel more relaxed and at ease? https://simple-yoga.org  This content is inspired by the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali according to the  book...

Weaving the Yoga Sutra: What are you feeling? What do  you notice when you pay attention to your emotions? In this practice, we explore how emotions manifest in our bodies through sensations, as well as the connections between emotions, thoughts, and memories. We have also explored the origin of emotions and our ability to modulate them and their effect on our overall mood. https://simple-yoga.org  This content is inspired by the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali according to the  book Unravel the...

Weaving the Yoga Sutra: What are you thinking? What do you notice when you pay attention to your thoughts? In this practice we explored the nature of the thoughts we notice in our field of awareness. We paid attention to how our thoughts manifest, we also noticed their fluctuations, their location, their origin. We also explored staying with a thought and trying to bring it to completion. https://simple-yoga.org  This content is inspired by the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali according to the...

Weaving the Yoga Sutra: Awareness and its content Are there differences between awareness and its content? In this practice we alternated between noticing the content of awareness through your perception of sensations in your body and focusing on awareness itself, your ability to witness.  Although simple this is a very useful and powerful skill because it enables you to be present and to notice the always changing content of awareness. If the content of your awareness keeps changing all...

Weaving the Yoga Sutra: One goal Is it possible to have only one goal in life? Why one goal? the simpler our goal, the easier it will be to assess if we are moving in that direction or if we are off track. What happens when we enhance the quality of our participation in our lives? How do our actions contribute to enhancing the quality of life wherever we are? https://simple-yoga.org  This content is inspired by the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali according to the  book Unravel the Thread by...

Weaving the Yoga Sutra: Second Fundamental Need How important are your relationships? Our second fundamental need, the need for meaningful connections. Are your beliefs about the world influencing your ability to relate to others? IS it helpful to have other people along your journey? What do others contribute to your life: love, friendship, support, guidance, challenge, inspiration? What happens when you have nobody to share your life with? How are you cultivating meaningful...

Weaving the Yoga Sutra: First fundamental need How do you express your uniqueness? Is authenticity affiliating with a particular set of beliefs? Have you consciously participated in the creation of those beliefs? What do you do when you discover that one of those beliefs no longer fits your experiences? Do you believe that there is a specific self within you? Does that self change, or does it always remain the same? Is it possible to recognize that you have always been a unique expression...

Weaving the Yoga Sutra: Two needs and one goal What are your fundamental needs? and What is your life's goal?  Each one of us is unique. And our first fundamental need is to feel that uniqueness and to express it. Our second fundamental need: We need to connect with other people in a meaningful way. The most important goal is to be present by embodying awareness wherever we are. If you had to choose only one goal for your life, what would you choose? https://simple-yoga.org  This content...

Weaving the Yoga Sutra: Yoga, Conscience and Tendencies Living with wisdom is living with awareness Yoga is a call to action. Yoga is awareness. Yoga is being aware of your tendencies. Yoga is awareness of your relationships. What happens when you try to live with conscious awareness? What are the tendencies that you discover in your body, your posture, and your movements? Which tendencies do you notice in your mind and ways of thinking? What tendencies are you aware of in your ways of...

Weaving the Yoga Sutra: The Gift of time Are you taking time to explore your relationship with yourself?  Giving yourself time is an essential skill for engaging in meaningful projects and for establishing meaningful relationships with yourself, with others, and with the world around you. What is the relationship you have with time? Do you feel like you have enough time or that you have to be running from one place to another?  What's important enough for you to devote time and attention...

Weaving the Yoga Sutra: Open mind and heart Is it possible that opening your heart and mind might offer you a portal to awareness? Are there obstacles preventing you from showing up to each moment with an open mind and an open heart? What assumptions color your mind? What predispositions color your emotions? What is the relationship between your mind and heart, does your open heart automatically invite your mind to open or is it the other way around? What would it take for you to invite...

Weaving the Yoga Sutra: What do you want? Is there a difference between what you want and what you think you want? Without desire, there is no motivation to do anything. Desire is a meaningful and heartfelt aspiration, carrying with it the spark of energy to move you toward what you find meaningful and inspirational. Invite yourself to investigate your desires. Create your own meaningful affirmation.  If you repeat your chosen affirmation regularly, does it have any effect on your attitude,...