Why I entered the Arizona Asana Championship by Jeff Martens If you bring forth what is within you, what is within you will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what is within you will destroy you. – Jesus, Thomas Gospel *** The amplified voice booms like thunder beyond the relative safety of the stage …
Student Essay: Me teaching yoga?
TAKE YOGA TEACHER TRAINING? ME? I DUNNO by Nancy Cole Having taken yoga classes over the past four years or so, beginning slowly with one class each week, and moving forward to about year ago when I began taking a class every day, I had serious questions about making a commitment to teacher training. Would doing so ruin my love …
“Knowledge is Power”
Knowledge is Power, Not-Knowing is Pain By Jeff Martens anitysuci-duhkhntmasu nitya-suci-sukhtma-khytir avidy Ignorance (not knowing) is mistaking the transient for the eternal, the impure for the pure, pain for happiness, and the false self for the God-self. Yoga Sutra 2.5 In the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, Avidya is the first of five Klesha or afflictions. From this root of ignorance …
“How I Spent my Winter Vacation (Ownership. Peace, and the One Who Is Beyond Greed)”
by Jeff Martens It is a rare thing in my life, not to see another human being for five days. My wife at the time, Michele, was out of the country for almost four weeks and I found myself visiting a friend’s cabin in Northern Arizona with my dog Ginger. The long drive from the city and I have arrived, …
Happy and Well
by Jeff “Would you rather be happy and well, or would you rather be right?” –from A Course in Miracles, as quoted by Louise Hay When there is confusion regarding the Self,,, one mistakes misery as happiness.” –Yoga Sutra 2.5 It is a late Thursday night and I am driving to pick my mom up from the airport. She is returning …
“Good Space”
Good Space: The Cultivation of Sukha by Jeff Martens Sukha: To Be at Ease The Sanskrit Sukha is a somewhat common term in the Yoga Sutras, appearing in five separate verses including the first verse on asana or physical posture. Usually defined as happiness, pleasure, ease, joy or agreeableness, much can be learned about sukha by taking a brief look at its …
Giving Thanks
by Jeff Martens The Fox and the Tiger Once there was a young, somewhat foolish man who had spent his life looking for the easy path. The sum of his search was, ironically, much work and suffering as well as a constant wandering, externally from place to place and internally from belief to belief. One day, becoming impatient with his …
Falling for the Commercial
by Jeff Martens When I was 19 and just into my undergrad days, every six months or so I would get a huge craving for a very popular burger advertised on TV. Along with a catchy jingle, this burger had lettuce, pickles, cheese, three layers of bun and two patties of beef. I’d just wake up one morning and suddenly …
“Abhinivesha” – What Am I Afraid of?
by Michelle Hegmon I am high on the East Ridge of Mt. Logan in Canada. I have crampons on my feet, ice tools in my hands, and a pack on my back. I am having fun. We are at the narrow Knife Edge Ridge, which drops thousands of feet on both sides to the glacier below. Everything is snow and …
Ask The Yogi: Relax Like the Dead
Ask The Yogi Savasana by Michele Dante Question: “I find corpse pose to be the hardest for me to practice. My mind races, thoughts come and go, music is in my head, and so I find it very difficult to concentrate on the sensation of the breath and deep realxation. Is there something you can recommend that will help me?” …