How many students start practicing yoga, then quit and never do it again? If they started with a reasonably good teacher, and they felt good with the practice, most will keep returning to yoga. Students usually begin with an asana class. They do movement with good breathing and attention. Then… ...

Approximately 25 years ago, when I was assisting my father with clients, I once asked him, “How would you work with a person who comes to you with back pain?” He gave me this simple algorithm/protocol: Yoga is about decreasing duhkha (suffering), so don’t worsen the pain. Also, that is not… ...

Links (click to view) System Description and Organization System Syllabus and Topics System syllabus and topics as PDF Detailed syllabus with learning outcomes (PDF) Svastha Yoga Online Over the years, I have been asked this question repeatedly, and have researched it deeply: “What makes a good yoga therapist?” The qualities of the individual therapist… ...

Yoga offers both wellbeing and therapy in a unified framework for the whole person.

What does it take to change ourselves? Shifting our patterns takes some effort and meets some resistance. There is always some discomfort as we move outside of our existing zone of ease. For example, it is a challenge to transition from a sedentary lifestyle to regular exercise, or from restlessness… ...

The ancient Kaṭha-Upaniṣad says that the path of jñāna-yoga begins with quieting our speech and letting our thoughts subside into our awareness within. The ancient darśana-s of India all have the same foundation called nivṛtti-mārga in Sanskrit: the path of calming the mind and letting go of the disturbances… ...

India recently released a landmark revision of education policy emphasizing flexibility and a multidisciplinary approach. There will doubtless be many challenges and questions, but it is a substantive development indeed. Modern education has centered around standardization and measurements. Students cram for exams because everyone is gauged on their ability to answer the same questions… ...

On this auspicious day of Guru-Pūrṇimā, let us honor and meditate on the teachers who have brought us the wisdom of yoga through the ages. The guru is inseparable from the yoga path. We can learn mathematics without the personality of the teacher changing the subject. But yoga is different; it is not just… ...

The Yoga Sūtra (I.33) presents a foundational practice famous in Buddhism too. It says: Practice love, compassion, joy, and equanimity toward living beings who are happy, unhappy, good, and bad, respectively. The most important practice in yoga is ahimsā, the first of the yama-s. Cause no suffering to all living beings, others or… ...

This year, like none before in recent times, has shone a spotlight on inequality and discrimination. Even as a teenager, before the era of the internet, I recall reading enough biology to realize that we humans are all basically the same. In any meaningful parameter such as intelligence, emotion, or character, you are… ...