Jaeda Harmon Yoga

When the sun was taking up as much space as it could in the day, but my heart was still cloaked in the heaviness of winter, I started to take evening walks. I’d sing my little one to sleep and leave him in the care of his father, slipping out the door to seek whatever […]Read Post ›

My teachers at Arhanta Ashram defined Gyan Yoga (Yoga of Knowledge) as the use of true knowledge acquired from reliable sources to increase awareness, reduce ego and ultimately achieve spiritual liberation. Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra, son of the founder of The Yoga Institute in Mumbai, India and now its President, remains my most reliable source for […]Read Post ›

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Heavy with my own inaction in the face of recent violence in the headlines, I set out for a morning bike ride. Just outside Iowa City, black-eyed susans, cone […]Read Post ›

Last fall, I taught an 8-week session on Karma Yoga (yoga of duty or action), one of the four paths of classical yoga. This session was followed by 10 weeks where I read a poem (or two or three) at the beginning of each class. It was not my intention to follow the session on […]Read Post ›

Classical yoga provides four paths to attain yoga’s ultimate goal: union with the true self. These are: Karma Yoga (yoga of duty or action), Bhakti Yoga (yoga of devotion), Gyan Yoga (yoga of knowledge) and Raja Yoga (yoga to tame the mind). Each yoga student will generally gravitate toward one of these paths, although many […]Read Post ›

Yoga often compares the mind to a monkey. My monkey encounters in India gave new meaning to this analogy. An example: Seth and I were celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary in Matheran, a lovely mountain town a few hours from Mumbai. Less lovely was getting mugged by audacious bands of marauding monkeys. First, we were […]Read Post ›

I’m providing this brief outline of Patanjali’s 8-Fold Path for students’ reference. The highest purpose in classical yoga is self-realization, union with the soul or the true self. In the 8-Fold Path, Patanjali lays out a step by step process to attain this goal through a progressive practice which culminates in the highest states of […]Read Post ›

Repetitive strain injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis are notorious for sneaking up on people. They are slow to develop and slow to heal. That’s what happened to me. I pushed through the warning signs of fatigue, tingling and minor aches. I continued to put in long hours at the computer without breaks. I […]Read Post ›