Tag: Yoga
-
From Effort to Surrender: Karma Yoga and Buddhi Yoga Explained
Many people hear the terms karma-yoga and buddhi-yoga and assume they mean the same thing: act without attachment. In the Bhagavad-gita, however, Sri Krishna—and especially A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in his commentary—draws a much sharper distinction. The difference is not about what action looks like on the outside but about the purity of intention behind it. Prabhupada begins his…
-
Space, Time, and the Practice of Cyclical Awareness
Earth’s axial precession demonstrates that space and time are not fixed, but unfold in vast, repeating cycles. Due to gravitational forces exerted by the Sun and Moon on Earth’s equatorial bulge, Earth’s axis slowly wobbles, completing one full circular motion approximately every 25,772 years, commonly rounded to 26,000 years (Milankovitch 1941; NASA 2016). Over this…
-
Yoga as Living Mythology: Why Hindu Deities, Mantras, and Sacred Symbols Belong in Practice
In contemporary Western yoga culture, studios increasingly strive for neutrality, often removing statues of Hindu deities, omitting Sanskrit chants, and reframing yoga as a purely physical wellness practice. This trend reflects a broader discomfort with religion and mythology in public spaces, driven by fear of alienating students unfamiliar with or resistant to spiritual symbolism. Yet…
-
The Physical Alchemy of Kundalini Yoga: What Happens in the Body Over Time
Kundalini Yoga is usually described in energetic or spiritual terms, yet its effects unfold through very real physiological mechanisms. By combining breath, movement, mantra, and sustained attention, Kundalini Yoga influences the nervous system, brainwave activity, and stress-hormone regulation. While traditional yogic teachings describe these shifts as movement through the Sushumna nadi toward Shunya (a state of neutrality), modern research…
-
Chakra Guide
The seven traditional chakras form the foundation of the human energetic system.They describe how consciousness moves through the body, from survival and sensation, to will, love, expression, perception, and ultimately awareness itself. These centers originate in classical yogic and tantric traditions, where the chakras are understood as psycho-energetic gateways linking body, mind, and spirit. They…
-
Explaining the Layers of Reality in Theosophy and Sankhya
Theosophy and the Sankhya school of Indian philosophy present a hierarchical cosmology that attempts to explain the nature of existence, consciousness, and spiritual evolution. Theosophy gives us the seven planes of existence that range from the dense physical world to the highest spiritual planes. Sankhya presents a metaphysical framework based on tattvas (principles) that distinguish…
-
Practice and Purpose: The Universal Appeal of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra’s Part 2
Beyond the Yamas and the Niyamas, the first two of Pantajli’s 8-limbs, Pantajali discusses six more principles critical to yoga philosophy. As we move from limb to limb, we gain a closer understanding of ourselves, and if we take the study seriously, the ultimate goal becomes that of Samadhi, or the pure union with the divine.…
-
Practice and Purpose: The Universal Appeal of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra’s
The Yoga Sutras, 325 CE, contain 195 aphorisms distilling wisdom from earlier writings such as the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, and other sources. The work is presented in four chapters or pada: “part,” “a step,” from pad, “a foot,” suggesting “foundation.” What is yoga? For Pantajali, “yoga is stopping the turning of thinking” or a way…
-
Moving Toward the Light
What is Yoga? We, as the souls within a human body, have been given a gift and task in our lifetime. The gift is the beauty of this world. This includes the natural world, the cosmos, the inner world, our minds, and our relationships with other souls. We have the ability to experience love, joy,…
LUX PHARI YOGA 