Follow Your Dharma: The Difference Between Quitting and Surrender By Jeff Martens In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna rides with his chariot driver Krishna (an avatar or God incarnate) into a no-man’s land between two vast armies about to wage war. After seeing friends, teachers, family cousins and brothers arrayed on both sides of the battlefield, Arjuna, the greatest archer of his …
Ask the Yogi: Fasting and Exercise
Ask The Yogi Fasting and Exercise Q. My husband and I are going to do the Stanley Burroughs Master Cleanse. We started once last year but only made it through 2 days. Tried to do it while camping … bad idea :o} I am wondering if you have known of anyone else who has done this? I understand from the …
Ask the Yogi: Downward Dog
Ask the Yogi: Downward Dog Ask The Yogi Q: How do I get my heels down in downward dog? A: Adho Mukha Svanasana or downward facing dog is one of the most comon yoga postures practiced in class. It can also be one of the most challenging… Downward-Facing Dog is particularly challenging to new students because it works alomost every part of …
Your True Self
Who are You, Really? By Jeff Martens Once upon a time there was a great gathering of noblemen, lords and dukes seated according to their rank and awaiting the appearance of their king. A simple man entered the room, his eyes gleaming, his clothes tattered and a little ragged at the edges. After looking around at all the faces, he …
Yoga Light Bulb Jokes
by Jeff Martens How many Bikram teachers does it take to screw in a light bulb? Three. One to preheat the new bulb, one to screw it in and one to remind the light bulb changer to “Lockyourknees Lockyourknees Lockyourknees!” How many Anusara teachers does it take to screw in a light bulb? Four. One to hold the bulb, one to outer-spiral the ladder …
Yoga for Men: Know Your Yo!-sha
by Jeff Martens Attention all Men! Do your joints sound like a fourth of July celebration gone horribly wrong? Does the only time you breathe deeply occur when police lights flash in your rear-view mirror? Does the extent of your stretching routine take place during commercials when you reach between the sofa cushions into a sleeper mattress that nothing but …
Snapping the Straw Rope of Habit
by Jeff Martens In ancient India, an elephant driver would tie up his elephant with a straw rope. Though the powerful elephant could snap the rope with a single toss of its head, the elephant remained in place, believing itself to be bound. Our habits (in Sanskrit: sanskara or samskara) are much like this straw rope. We place all kinds of …
“Religion and Yoga”
Making Peace with Religion in a Yoga Life By Julie Dreyer Thanks to Jeff Martens for suggesting that I read Nine Faces of Christ by Eugene Whitworth. I wanted to share what this book meant to me, starting with where I was coming from before reading it. I was raised strictly Christian in a town called Zion (fitting, I know). …
The Practical Yogi
To live our practice in every way is to bring the awareness of unity into the simplest and most mundane as well as the most challenging areas of our lives. This section is dedicated to providing practical means to apply our yoga in the external world in order to reduce distractions and support our inner alignment with Self. Go Organic… …
No-Thing to be Thankful For
by Jeff Martens The water was loud enough to drown out shouted conversation. Rain poured from the night sky and flooded through the ceiling of the large studio in a waterfall larger than any monsoon had a right to deposit. A half hour later we found that, in addition to the torrential storm, one of the main fire sprinkler lines …