Satsaṅga

Yoga Sūtras 3.18 - 3.20: In Ashtānga Yoga we are taught to fix our attention in three places: Breathing, Posture & Dṛṣṭi (eyes). Why are the eyes so important? Patañjali actually teaches three essential aspects of the eyes that will help us to overcome our habits and lack of self-awareness (yea, really - have you noticed how little we actually know about ourselves or are you still under the spell of thinking everything is happe...

Yoga Sūtras 3.17 - 3.22 (but mostly 3.17): Vital to the process of yoga is what Patañjali refers to as cleaning our memory (smṛti). This essentially means becoming conscious of our karma and managing it with freedom rather than from the bondage of our habits & the concepts we hold about the way the world is and should be. We do this by self-reflecting (svādhyāya). The process when done with deep sincerity is quite liberating. S...

Yoga Sūtras 3.13 - 3.16: Well you know, "the only thing constant is change." So we are either going up or going down, but our conditions are definitely not staying the same. So, think about how conditions get created and take the best possible steps towards creating more preferable conditions. Our behavior, our health, our wealth, all these things either go up or down according to the behavior and actions we choose now. If we want ...

Welcome back from Summer Break! In this Yoga Sūtras class, we summarize Patañjali’s basic yogic process and correlate this with sūtras 3.09, 3.11 & 3.12. Tied into this perspective are sūtras 1.13 (definition of practice), 1.07 & 1.08 (proper use of mind & improper use of mind) and lastly 2.01 (kriyā yoga: tapas (discipline), svādhyāya (study & analysis) and īśvara-praṇidhāna (action going beyond short-sighted immed...

Yoga Sūtras 2.52

Yoga Sūtras 2.52, tataḥ kṣīyate prakāśa-āvaraṇam ||

Prāṇāyāma reduces that which covers our inner spiritual light ||

Breathing bridges the unconscious to the conscious. How? Physiologically breathing belongs to both the autonomic (unconscious) functions as well as conscious motor actions. The more we master our breathing the less unconscious we become. Our psychological conditioning - unconsciously stored in t...

Yoga Sūtras 2.49 - 2.53

Yoga Sūtras 2.52, tataḥ kṣīyate prakāśa-āvaraṇam ||

Prāṇāyāma reduces that which covers our inner spiritual light ||

Check out the discussion ... !

Live Class meets every Tuesday from 10:45 - 12:00 pm (California Time)

To learn more about our offerings or to make a donation in support of our work, please visit our website: https://www.samjiva.com/donations

David Miliotis - Samjīva Nilayam & Ashtānga...

Yoga Sūtras 2.49 - 2.51

Yoga Sūtras 2.51, bāhya-abhyantara-viṣaya-ākṣepī caturthaḥ  ||

Beyond the objects of breathing – such as exhalation, inhalation and so forth – lies a fourth realm to prāṇāyāma (aka kevala kumbhaka).  ||

Today we practiced a simple yet very effective pranayama for increasing our lung capacity. We discussed the ratios to be used for breathing exercises and the process of making the breath v...

Yoga Sūtras 2.49 - 2.50, Check out the discussion ... !

Yoga Sūtras 2.50, bāhya-abhyantara-stambha-vṛttiḥ deśa-kāla-saṁkhyābhiḥ paridṛṣṭaḥ dīrgha-sūkṣmaḥ  ||

Prāṇāyāma is practiced by regulating the ratios of time and the location of the breath during, exhalation, inhalation & retention. It requires diligent observation and advances as it becomes longer and more subtle.  ||

There are many parts of the breathing p...

Yoga Sūtras 2.46 - 2.48, Check out the discussion ... !

Yoga Sūtras 2.46, sthira-sukham āsanam ||

Āsana is a stable and pleasant bodily position ||

Pattabhi Jois taught this Sūtra to us in a very practice way. He said that sthira (stable) means maintaining a straight back while sukha (pleasant) means breathing freely.

Live Class meets every Tuesday from 10:45 - 12:00 pm (California Time)

To learn more about our offerings or to make...

Bhagavad Gita Ch. 4 v. 30 - 36, Bowing, Questioning & Serving: Knowledge is not about facts. Knowledge transforms our behavior. When we suddenly realize what we are doing, and instantly change our course, that is the raft of Knowledge lifting us out of our erroneous ways. Check out the discussion ... !

Bhagavad Gita 4.34,

tad viddhi praṇipātena, paripraśnena sevayā | upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ,  jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ |...

Bhagavad Gita Ch. 4 v. 29 - 31, Pranayama The Offering: Check out the discussion ... !

Bhagavad Gita 4.29,

apāne juhvati prāṇaṁ, prāṇe apānaṁ tathāpare | prāṇāpāna-gatī ruddhvā,  prāṇāyāma-parāyaṇāḥ || 

Yet others offer as sacrifice the out-going breath into the in-coming breath, and the in-coming into the out-going. Restraining the flow of the outgoing and incoming breaths, solely absorbed in the regulation of the l...

Bhagavad Gita Ch. 4 v. 24 - 28, God Approves Be Yourself: This beautiful section presents a myriad of ways people approach Creation, the Divine. The underlying message is that in whatever way you feel inclined to relate to Creation, Reality, God - it is all just fine. In fact, you won’t be able to do it any other way. So just be yourself. God approves of each and every one of creation’s children...!

Bhagavad Gita 4.11,

ye yath...

We chant daily in the early morning before practice - beginning at 5:20 AM. On Sundays & Moon Days, when there is no Mysore Ashtanga Yoga class, we chant for more than an hour. This recording is from Sunday, 14 Nov 2021. The words to the chanting are in the video so you can follow along - or you can stop & repeat in order to learn the pronunciation more carefully. Sanskrit is intended to be recited clearly & accurately.

This Saturday we did a few extra postures. We did the old classic Trivikramasana in the standing Utthita Hasta Padangushthasana. After Virabhadrasana, at the end of the Standing sequence, we did Baddha Parshvakonasana B, and lastly, before seated postures, we did Eka Pada Shirsha Parshvakonasana! Focus & enjoy ... !

Chanting & Led Class begin at 6:00

Watch on youtube: https://youtu.be/J3-vT_BnYwA

Live Led Class me...

Bhagavad Gita Ch. 4 v. 16 - 21, Action, Non-Action & Forbidden Action: Even the Sages are confused about the meaning & differences between Action, Non-Action & Forbidden Action. So relax your brain and take a listen to what Sri Krishna has to say us about this perplexing teaching ... !

You can watch it on Youtube or listen to it on our Podcast: https://www.samjiva.com/satsanga

Live Class meets every Thursday from 5:30 -...

Bhagavad Gita Ch. 4 v. 10 - 15, All Paths Get You There: In this Bhagavad Gītā Satsaṅga, Sri Krishna talks about a lot of different things - from hey, everyone has their own valid way of approaching the Ultimate, to how He, even as the creator, has no attachment nor delusions to any of this creation - check it out ... !

You can watch it on Youtube or listen to it on our Podcast: https://www.samjiva.com/satsanga

Live Class meet...

Bhagavad Gita Ch. 4 v. 6 - 9, Appearing for the Dharma: In this Bhagavad Gītā Satsaṅga, Sri Krishna tells us that whenever there is a decay of dharma and a rise of adharma, then He embodies himself in order to set things back on track - check it out ... !

You can watch it on Youtube or listen to it on our Podcast: https://www.samjiva.com/satsanga

Live Class meets every Thursday from 5:30 - 6:45 pm (PDT)

Youtube Video: https://...

Bhagavad Gita Ch. 3 v. 43 - Ch. 4 v. 6, The Secret Yoga of Paraṁparā: In this Bhagavad Gītā Satsaṅga, Sri Krishna tells us that what he teaches today to Arjuna on the battlefield is the same supreme & secret yoga that he taught to the sun and which has descended through the royal sages in a continuously unbroken succession. Are you capable of understanding the secret meaning of yoga? Check it out ... !

You can watch it on Youtu...