Yoga for Transformation

Samantha Sukalpa Noto

Touch-Me-Not

The giant yellow bus swallowed my children one morning.

“They are the most precious little people I could ever hope to know”, I thought.

I chugged off up the street after them on my walk, swinging my arms, sputtering and puffing through clouds of exhaust and fading grade-school war cries.

I had been suffering a self-imposed, stress-induced madness and really wanted to find a way to clear it.  I thought walking and breathing would help.

It didn’t.

Instead, it went a little something like this:

“Oh Shit! . . .

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Meditation: Making Friends With The Minotaur

Beginning a meditation practice can, for starters, provide you with calm and quiet.  That’s something we don’t make enough time for in this world of constant distraction.  But sometimes, not long into a meditation practice, that quiet can become disquieting as issues we’ve ignored or buried can begin to surface.  It’s easy to start questioning everything in your life; to feel alone, depressed, even frightened by issues bubbling up from under your lid.  The good news is that you don’t have to look very far for some guidance.  People since the invention of people have walked this hero’s path and have left a trail of breadcrumbs for you to follow in the form of  myths and folktales from around the globe. Even the bedtime stories of your youth contain evidence that you are supported as you grapple with these demons.  The particular story I’d like to focus on in this essay is that of a hero, a terrifying monster and their epic battle at the center of a great, inescapable maze.

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A valuable lesson

Dear Reader:

I have just come back from an intensive training with a very special yogi.  I don’t want to name the yogi, as I do not wish for my words to color anyone’s perception or assume  that I am speaking negatively about him/her.  The training was definitely intense, expansive and well worth my yoga-dollars.  The yogi was unbelievably intelligent, charismatic, well spoken, and embodied the wisdom of the teachings.  However, the biggest lesson I took from this training was not a part of the curriculum, but a reaction to it. Read more →

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Allergies, Asthma and the Yoga Rx

Do you suffer from allergies or allergy-induced asthma? Allergies can be triggered by pollen in the air, exercise, dust in your sheets or animal hair on your furniture.  Allergens are EVERYWHERE.  And if you have multiple indoor and outdoor allergies, you may suffer with symptoms the whole year! That’s 365 days and nights of itchy eyes, runny nose, pounding sinuses, hives, dry-cracked skin, shallow breathing and chronic cough!  Moreover, if you choose to seek relief from OTC (over the counter) remedies, you might suffer from such additional side effects as grogginess, constipation, irritability, cloudy thinking and more! Not to mention the expense. . .

It’s good to know there is an alternative treatment such as the science of yoga, which can alleviate and sometimes (over time and with dedicated application) actually eliminate the symptoms.

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So Ham: a Guided Meditation

When it feels like the world needs to stop spinning in order for you to catch up with life, give yourself a short, guided meditation vacation.

*   *   *   *   *    Read more →

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Get Happy in just 3 short steps! And other empty promises of pop-culture yoga.

This article has been a long time coming.  I’ve been grappling with my distaste for yoga and spirituality magazines for some time.   Being a bit of a glass house and not wanting to throw stones, I’ve kept quiet.  But you know that I could only stay quiet for so long.  You’ve been expecting this and have probably buried a bus in your backyard to hide in at the moment of my venomous blast – -but I’m going to surprise you.  This superficial pop culture of yoga is good for one thing –  It can (if you’re willing to do the work) lead you away from itself and toward a space that is big enough to hold all of your suffering and your happiness.

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Kleshas, Suffering and the Yoga Rx

If you have ever taken a yoga class then you know that yoga makes you feel better. It eases some of your suffering!  And chances are, if you’re reading this, you decided to go back for more.  And if you’re a regular, like me, you’ve noticed that your life outside the yoga class has also changed for the better.  So what gives?

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Visshudha Chakra

A brief and practical summary of this Chakra and how to work toward balancing it on your own.

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Why are we here? And what are we going to do about it?

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Swara Yoga

Can the boulders inside your nose be the roadblocks to living the life you were meant to live?  Swara yoga says yes . . .  among other factors.

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Anahata Chakra

A brief and practical summary of this Chakra and how to work toward balancing it on your own.

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Breathe like a yogi, be peaceful as a baby

If you are suffering from any form of physical, mental or emotional dis-ease, there is one thing that you can do right now to set your feet firmly on the road toward healing.  Breathe like a yogi.  Read more to find out why and how.

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Manipura Chakra

A brief and practical summary of this Chakra and how to work toward balancing it on your own.

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Svadisthana Chakra

A brief and practical summary of this Chakra and how to work toward balancing it on your own.

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The “Sa Ta Na Ma” Meditation

Here is the meditation mentioned in the Meditation Rx article.  Performing this meditation for 15 minutes 2x per day is a well researched and extremely effective way to exercise your brain, improve your health, and foster mental, emotional and spiritual well being.

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Yoga and Anger – a Pranayama Rx

What good is your yoga practice if it doesn’t help you deal with the strong emotions of your daily life?

Read more to learn a valuable breathing tool to help you put out those internal fires.

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Muladhara Chakra

A brief and practical summary of this Chakra and how to work toward balancing it on your own.

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Yoga Nidra


For extreme relaxation. . .

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Sam’s yoga timeline

This is how yoga blew my mind.

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Sam’Gacchadvam’

A sanskrit chant from thousands of years ago. . .

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Meditation Rx

How meditation changes the brain. . .

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