Need inspiration for your yoga class or practice? Use the themes in our Yoga Lessons for focus, intention and guidance. Our Yoga Lessons are not lesson plans, but general outlines with spiritual quotes, focused intentions, lists of yoga practices and further off-the-mat homework exercises.
Want to share a yoga lesson with us? Post it here!
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Wednesday, April 01, 2009 by Timothy Burgin
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Yoga Lesson: Non-Violence
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Ahimsa is the yogic practice of non-violence, which includes physical, mental, and emotional violence towards others and ourselves. Viewed in this broad context, ahimsa can be a challenging and overwhelming practice to take on, as we humans seem to have a knack for creating judgment, criticism, anger or irritation. Fortunately we can easily apply the concept of ahimsa on our yoga mats by practicing mindfulness and compassion towards ourselves. |
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Sunday, March 01, 2009 by Timothy Burgin
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Yoga Lesson: Detachment
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The ancient yogis understood that desire (kama) was a legitimate goal and an essential part of a balanced life. But they also saw that excess desire created impurities in the mind and produced unnecessary suffering in one’s life. The yogis’ technique for reducing desire was cultivating detachment (vairagya) through the conscious severing of our attachments to the objects of this world. Vairagya applies both to our likes and dislikes, with the ideal goal of seeing both sweet and bitter fruits of life as the same. The practice of detachment needs to be balanced with Abhyasa (Effort), and must never be an excuse to abandon one’s worldly duties and obligations. |
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Tuesday, January 27, 2009 by Timothy Burgin
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Yoga Lesson: Self-Mastery
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The Sanskrit word Jaya translates into both “victory” and “self-mastery.” Self mastery is the ability to harness and control your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. The practice of yoga inherently creates both a path of self-mastery and a feeling of victory. The attainment of self-mastery can be used to produce right action (dharma) and desired personal changes at will. When a level of mastery has been accomplished through yoga there is a sense of victory over the obstacles and challenges that were overcome, and this feeling of victory further encourages us to attain mastery of our whole being. |
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Thursday, January 01, 2009 by Timothy Burgin
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Yoga Lesson: Equanimity
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This new year my intention is to cultivate more Sattva (equanimity) in my life. Sattva is one of the three gunas (qualities) that together create the essential aspects of all nature—energy, matter and consciousness. Sattva is a state of harmony, balance, joy and intelligence. One of the primary goals of yoga is cultivate Sattva while reducing the other two gunas: tamas (darkness) and rajas (activity). |
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Friday, November 07, 2008 by Timothy Burgin
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Yoga Lesson: Humility
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Humility (Vinaya) is a deceptively cloaked virtue that when present gives one true greatness while eliminating the perils of pride and arrogance. At its core, humility is the fundamental respect towards all living beings, and the acknowledgment that in our essence we are all divine beings with the inherent capacity for greatness. Practicing humility dispels our egoic mind, purifies our soul and produces true knowledge and wisdom. |
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Monday, September 22, 2008 by Timothy Burgin
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Yoga Lesson: Mindfulness
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Mindfulness (Smriti) is a practice of turning your awareness and focus to what is happening in the present moment. This is a very useful tool to incorporate during yoga poses, as well as to use throughout your day-to-day activities. A mindful yoga practice creates a sense of centeredness and inner focus, giving your yoga practice more depth and tranquility. Practicing mindfulness within a yoga pose can also give the pose more power, both physically and energetically. |
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Friday, August 29, 2008 by Timothy Burgin
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Yoga Lesson: One-Pointedness
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We often find our mind in a state of all-pointedness, focusing on countless different directions, distractions and thoughts. The yogis tell us that this state of all-pointedness scatters our awareness while dissipating and draining our energy. Conversely, creating a steady, one-pointed focus of our mind concentrates and conserves our energy and personal power. A fundamental teaching of yoga is the practice of cultivating one-pointedness (ekagrata), which in turn develops the focus and concentration needed for holding yoga poses and meditating for extended periods of time. |
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Thursday, July 31, 2008 by Timothy Burgin
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Yoga Lesson: Slowing
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Yoga is a process towards looking inward to develop insight, awareness and understanding. To do this, we must practice Shani-- the slowing down between impulse and reaction. This slowing down naturally facilitates mindfulness and introspection and gives us the choice on how to respond rather than impulsively reacting to situations and events. |
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Monday, June 30, 2008 by Timothy Burgin
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Yoga Lesson: Awareness
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Awareness (samvedana) is an essential practice in yoga. Conscious attention to detail is important while practicing yoga poses to create proper alignment and to prevent injury. And cultivating moment-to-moment awareness on and off our yoga mats removes unconscious patterns of movement and thought, illuminates our physical, mental and emotional states and gives us the gratitude and appreciation for the small miracles and simple blessings in our everyday lives. |
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Saturday, May 31, 2008 by Timothy Burgin
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Yoga Lesson: Intention
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Creating a sankalpa (intention or prayer) at the beginning of your yoga practice can bring a deeper focus and power, especially if this intention remains active throughout the practice. We can also create individual sankalphas for specific yoga poses to help guide us deeper into the individual postures. An effective sankalpa is a short, positive, and precise statement about what you wish to attain for yourself and/or for the benefit of all. |
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Thursday, April 17, 2008 by Timothy Burgin
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Yoga Lesson: Contentment
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One of the five niyamas (internal observances) of Patanjali's yoga sutras, contentment is considered an essential and fundamental yogic practice. Samtosha (contentment) can be practiced while holding yoga poses by letting go of the desire to attain the perfect looking pose, and to accept the experience of the pose as it is without wanting to change it. |
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Monday, March 17, 2008 by Timothy Burgin
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Breath Awareness
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The breath is our link from the external to the internal, from the unconscious to the conscious. When we connect, control and regulate the breath we can consciously effect the body, mind and spirit. Our goal in this yoga lesson is to cultivate greater awareness of breath in the yoga poses, as well as in our daily life. |
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