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The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: Whose fault is it anyway?

July 28, 2010 By 2 Comments
Obama: It's a tough job...

Watching the news recently, I was moved to tears during footage of the devastation in the Gulf of Mexico. Remembering Alys's great article Exposing oneself to the news – what’s the real story?, I was mindful of staying open and non-judgmental of what I was watching. I wanted to be able to see what was truly going on, beyond ignorance or avidya. As I watched, an angry man flashed before the screen and said: Shame on you BP! The news shifted to the latest political goings-on about … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Musings from the Mat Tagged With: , , , ,

Why forgiveness of self is part of the yogic path toward samadhi (bliss)

November 2, 2009 By 3 Comments
Opening to both the Dark and the Light within

Years of yoga practice has peeled away layers and layers of behaviours and thought patterns. The veil of avidya (self-ignorance) is lifting, but not without pain and discomfort. It’s this pain and discomfort that sent me fleeing from class so many years ago. It’s this pain and discomfort that has made my practice sporadic and disjointed at times. Bikram in particular used to dig deep inside to this bottomless well of tears that would erupt during class and pour forth without pause … [Read more...]

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How yoga has the power to transform and release avidya (self-ignorance)

October 13, 2009 By 4 Comments
KL experimenting in a variation of Virabdrasana I

My first experience with the power of avidya came about twenty minutes into my third ashtanga yoga class. Or maybe my second. The exact number is not important, just that I was a broke backpacker partway through a pre-paid ten week yoga course. The teacher, a long, lanky woman in her early forties, brought us into Warrior One - Virabhadrasana I. My hips were skewed decidedly sideways. My back heel struggled to connect with the floor. My arms were crooked and screamed in protest as I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: How yoga helped me, Physical Practices Tagged With: , , ,