Yoga is not an exercise form as is commonly misunderstood today. “Yoga” literally means union. But in your experience right now, there is you and there is the universe. When life gets a little acidic for whatever reason, it is you versus the universe. That is a bad...
The benefits of retreating from our familiar surroundings and busy schedules and ‘pulling back’ are manifold. The word “retreat” comes from the Latin root meaning to ‘draw back’. If you’re willing to honestly challenge yourself, a retreat...
An individual human being becomes who he or she is only because of what he or she perceives. You are who you are right now only because of what you have perceived in your life until now, and you will be who you will be only because of what you will perceive in future....
There are many dimensions to hatha yoga. One fundamental aspect of it is to knead the body. Life is kneading you in so many ways. You can either enjoy it or suffer it. You can either mature and blossom, or get crushed by the process. This is the choice you have. Hatha...
‘To be great, be whole; Exclude nothing. Be whole in everything.’ ― Fernando Pessoa The feeling of completion is an important part of inner happiness. Feeling complete means we feel whole. We glimpse the vastness of our higher self and know we do not lack...
The word health comes from the word whole. When your body, your mind, your emotion, your energies are in tune with each other and you feel wholesome within yourself, that is when you feel healthy. A large number of people in the world, including many who considered...
‘A joyful heart is the normal result of a heart burning with love.’ ~ Mother Teresa Love is our joyful spiritual center. We don’t need to go anywhere to find love. This is love that never fades. We never lose this love because it comes from inside. We are...
Yoga is not a morning-evening kind of practice. There is a practice but that is not the only aspect. Every aspect of your life, the very way you walk, breathe, interact – everything should become a process of yoga. Nothing is excluded from this. Yoga is not...
The moment we utter the word ‘meditation’, there are all kinds of misconceptions about it. First of all the English word ‘meditation’ doesn’t mean anything in the sense, if you close your eyes and sit, in English we call it...
In yoga, we look at the human body as five sheaths. The first sheath is called annamaya kosha or the “food body,” because what you call as the physical body is just a heap of food. The second sheath is called manomaya kosha or the mental body. These two layers can...
Hatha yoga is a preparatory process of yoga. The word ‘ha’ means sun, ‘ta’ means moon. ‘Hatha’ means the yoga to bring balance between the sun and the moon in you, or the Pingala and Ida in you. You can explore Hatha yoga in ways...
A compilation of events around the world, conducted by Isha Foundation on June 21, International Yoga Day. From Sydney to Beirut, from the US to China, and even 35,000 ft up in the air on SpiceJet flights, Isha Foundation volunteers conducted sessions of short,...
‘We are using people and loving things. This is a complete misunderstanding of life. Things were made to be used. People were made to be loved.’ – SadhguruIn every relationship, you experience moments of true love, but do they seem to come and go? What if...
The United Nations’ declaration of International Day of Yoga on June 21st comes at a critical time in the history of humanity. It is of much more significance than a few more people twisting and turning their bodies. For the first time in the history of the UN, 177...
Over 15,000 years ago, Adiyogi explored the human mechanism, the cosmic space and the relationship between the two. As he expounded the various tools that individual human beings could use to explore both dimensions, he envisioned that the entire humanity would take...
‘Wisdom comes with the ability to be still. Just look and just listen. No more is needed. Being still, looking and listening activates the non-conceptual intelligence within you. Let stillness direct your words and actions.’ ~ Eckhart Tolle
There is a lot of “yoga” happening in the world today that has very little to do with what yoga really is. Several myths about this ancient practice have long been masquerading as facts. It’s time we demystify yoga, in Sadhguru’s very own words. Myth 1: Yoga comes...
Let’s look at what may be considered the very basic unit of Hata Yoga: the asana. People today think of asanas as impressive body-twisting postures that are essentially about fitness, flexibility or building muscle. Whereas ‘yoga’, by its very definition,...
Happiness does not only come from achievement. When you were a child you were simply happy. That is your nature. If you go against your own nature to be happy, you will never get anywhere. To be happy is not the ultimate aspect of life. It is the fundamental aspect of...
First of all let me be clear that when I talk about meditation I am not referring to sitting with your eyes closed. I am talking about deep abidance in the experience of who we are beyond the mind. You see, our awareness has been profoundly conditioned to remain...
‘Happiness consists not of having, but of being. It is a warm glow of the heart at peace with itself.’ ~ David O. McKay. Let us connect to an aspect of our joy that expresses itself as inner peace. This is not ordinary peace of mind or peaceful...
If you look at Patanjali, as an enlightened being, he can’t be more enlightened than someone else. There is no such thing. Realization is realization. But as a man and above all as an intellect, he is such an intellect that the great scientists of today look like...
If you were very blissful and ecstatic at this moment, would you think, “What is the purpose of life?” – No. Only when in some way, life has become burdensome, these questions arise: “To be or not to be?” “Is there a good enough purpose for me to exist?” Your...
Hata Yoga means that you want to be in absolute sync with the life process, because for your life to find its full blossom, it has to be in sync. There is no other way. Hata Yoga is the phenomenon of aligning the human system with the cosmic. When you try doing Hata...
As there is a science and technology for external wellbeing, there is a science and technology for inner wellbeing. Yoga is an inner technology. This is a deeper understanding of your own body, mind and energy, and about creating an inner situation where you are...
What you refer to as “destiny” are those situations which are going on without your permission; they seem to be unfolding themselves without your intent. Whatever you call destiny is something you have created unconsciously. You are doing more things unconsciously...
“Your whole personality, everything you are, is a complex accumulation of your impressions of life. This is like your software. It’s the volume of your impressions. Everything you have perceived has imprinted itself on your mind and on your energy. The very way your...
“I think it is better I tell you what is not yoga. So much misinterpretation of the word has happened that speaking about what is not yoga is more relevant. Standing on your head, holding your breath or twisting your body is not yoga. Yes, these are various yogic...
The very fundamentals of spiritual longing are to transcend the limitations of the physical. For an individual, the most intimate part of physical creation is his or her own body. So the very basis of a spiritual process is to explore the possibilities of the body and...
When we say “Shiva,” there are two fundamental aspects that we are referring to. The word “Shiva” literally means “that which is not.” Today, modern science is proving to us that everything comes from nothing and goes back to nothing. The basis of existence and the...
The word “ha” means sun; “ta” means moon. Without the sun and the moon, there is no Hata Yoga. The postures in Suryanamaskar are preparatory or balancing in nature between the Ida and Pingala (the left and right energy channels). Largely, it is called Suryanamaskar...
‘A tree has many leaves, and the wind touches all of them… in one way or another. Some shake, some quiver, some hardly move at all. Yes, the tree knows their trembling; but neither the wind, nor the leaves it stirs are the tree that feels their touch....
The idea of yoga is that your body becomes a possibility, not a barrier. If that has to happen, everything within your system should function with least amount of resistance, with least amount of friction. Even according to our understanding of mechanical sciences, we...
The mind is always about the past that you have accumulated; it is never about what is happening now. It is a useful tool to handle the materialistic aspect of life but if you employ it to handle your whole life, then it’s a total mess. Right now with a logical mind...
The spiritual process is always to either become a zero or to become infinite. You approach it whichever way is most convenient for you, but they are not different. Something-ness is always finite. Nothingness is infinite. How can nothingness and infinite be the same?...
So you’re ready to explore meditation? There are many ways to go about it, but essentially meditation is about one thing: opening to the depths of this very moment. Experience more presence and peace of mind in your daily life. Our minds are constantly at work,...
Karma means action or the imprint of action which remains within us. If this generation is going to behave, act, live and experience life just the way the previous generation did, this is a wasted generation. The way you experience life can be taken to the next level...
Hatha is a phenomenal science – it is a way of building a platform. When I say a platform – your body, mind and energy system are essentially a platform to experience life. The question is just about how profound your experience of life is. If you change your...
Huffington Post – one of the web’s largest news and blog sites – hosted Sadhguru on their live webchannel, HuffPost Live, on October 17. Nancy Redd, host of the channel’s Third Metric show, interviewed Sadhguru on finding success, exploring one’s full potential, and...
All the qualities of the world have been identified as three basic gunas, tamas, rajas, and sattva. Inertia is called tamas. Rajas means activity, passion. Breaking of boundaries, dissolution, melting and merging is called sattva. There is no physical entity...
Attention is important, because whatever you pay attention to grows. If you focus on your job, your relationship, or a favorite hobby, your attention nourishes that feedback loop. (The brain strengthens or weakens in specific areas depending on the input it receives,...
Two monks were walking back to their monastery when they came to a ford at a stream. At the ford, a pretty farmer's daughter asked them to help her cross the stream as she did not want to get the mud on her new dress. The first monk ignored her and continued on...
“Don’t meditate to fix yourself, to heal yourself, to improve yourself, to redeem yourself; rather, do it as an act of love, of deep warm friendship to yourself. In this way there is no longer any need for the subtle aggression of self-improvement, for the...
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy; O Divine Master, grant that I may...
Within the spine, if you know its physical construction, you will know there are two holes on either side of the spine which are like conduit pipes for all the nerves to pass. This is the Ida and the Pingala, the left and the right channels. In the Pranamayakosha or...
Peace can sometimes be so far away, and inner bliss… even farther away. Take the time now to spend some real quality time by going within. Find that sense of peace that lies within. Visit the place where inner bliss dwells and waits patiently for your return....
In this article, Ken Wilber offers an in-depth description of each of the major state-stages of meditative practice—ranging from psychic absorption, to subtle illumination, to causal transcendence, to the ultimate nondual embrace of Form and Emptiness. It is common...
It is only when you confront the mortal nature of your existence that the longing to know the basic nature of life arises in a human being — when it dawns upon you, in an experiential manner, that you are here with an expiry date. This longing and, in turn, this...
Countless spiritual teachers from Buddha and Lao Tze to Ram Dass and Eckart Tolle have urged us to be in the present moment. In a sense, we are always in the present. Our past we know from memories, but those memories are experienced in the present. Similarly, our...
In this 3-minute video, Jon Kabat-Zinn, a pioneer of scientific research on meditation, shares some interesting facts about the benefits of meditation, in addition to his belief that teaching it to our children will one day become as important as any other essential...
There exists in every person a place that is free from dis-ease, that never feels pain, that is ageless and never dies. When we journey to this place, limitations that we commonly accept simply cannot exist. They’re not even a possibility. This is our Ground of...
Today modern science is proving that everything you know as life, everything that you know as existence, as cosmos, as galaxies, it is all just one energy manifesting itself in millions and millions of ways. This is an experiential reality in every yogi. The word yoga...
How can we deal with anger and pessimism in a healthy way so it transforms into positive energy? In this insightful 13-minute video, Eckhart Tolle answers this question by revealing how we can become aware of what’s fueling our anger, how to distinguish it as being...
Remember, silence maintain secrets. Therefore, the sweetest sound is the sound of silence. That’s the song of the soul, some listen to the silence in prayer, other sings it’s song while working. Some look for the secrets in quiet contemplation. When...
Experience these deep Mystic Chants and open to new possibilities…Stillness, Boundless, Unlimited & Infinite… “Vairagya” literally means “transparent.” Just as clear flowing water in the river acquires the color of the soil beneath, one who is...
– by Swami Nishchalananda Saraswati The mantra Om (or Aum) has been handed down to us by the Himalayan sages. It is the most important mantra of Yoga. According to tradition, every ‘thing’ manifest comes from Primordial Vibration, which is symbolised...
Karma is the accumulated impression of past activity, either of thought, emotion or physical action. The quality of the karma that you gather is not necessarily in terms of action alone; it is also in terms of the volition with which action is performed. This moment,...
‘The highest form of human intelligence is to be able to observe ourselves without judging ourselves.’ ~Vedic teaching In every moment we have the opportunity to awaken . . . to let go of whatever fear, constriction and stories are running through our mind...
The core of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra is an eight-limbed path that forms the structural framework for yoga practice. Each is part of a holistic focus which eventually brings completeness. The eight limbs emanate from a central core. Whatever limb of practice we focus...
The ancient yogic discipline is far more than a fitness method for physical health or a psychological tool to achieve peace and happiness. Wellness of body and mind, often touted as the primary benefits of modern yoga practice, is merely a by-product of becoming a...
There is a beautiful story about a caterpillar that lived much of its life believing that it had come into being only to eat and sleep and do what the rest of the caterpillars did. However it was unhappy. Somehow it sensed that its life had another dimension not yet...
What would happen if a BILLION people were all unified in meditation, prayer and celebration through a single sound vibration at the same time? Let’s find out! 3 Minutes could change all of our lives! Everyone around the world is invited to meditate, pray for peace...
During this holy time, know that all times are holy, that every religion holds truth, that each tradition is sacred, and that it is in the simple sharing of love that we make our beliefs come alive, and our dreams come true. Let this Christmas remind us to give and...
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our...
What can you do when things are about to blow? Here are some thoughts on working with anger – or any other strong emotion – with mindfulness. We’ve never had to defuse a real bomb but we’ve probably had our moments with metaphorical ones: the times when...
So many people these days are victims of the Internal Busyness Syndrome—the breathless, stress-addicted feeling of having way too much to do and way too little time to do it. Internal Busyness, a complex of internally generated thoughts, beliefs, and bodily responses,...
