A Time For Yoga 2012 Meditation

The following is a copy of our meditation from our 2012 Time for Yoga community event. For more information on the sources of text, check out my post, "On Meditation and Metta."

What is "Asana"?

Asana is the "yoga" of American yoga: the physical poses. Some forms of yoga don't even have a physical practice, but they aren't the forms you find at the gym or parks and rec.

Asana is a valuable part of yoga, but not because it burns calories (although it does) or because it makes you more physically flexible (although it does), or even because it builds strength (although it does). Asana is useful in regulating mood, healing discomfort, and correcting physical problems caused by a busy life.Snap at the kids? Back hurt from hunching over a computer? Worried about what your body will look like in 10, 20, 30 years? Asana helps.

HOWEVER, the real value of asana for the Type A practitioner is being in the pose. Learning how to let go of who you are and what you have to do and just existing in the present moment is priceless. Many of us spend all day curled up in the recesses of our brains, but asana allows us to take ourselves into the body. For one brief moment,all of the emotional and intellectual storms inside and the storms outside just disappear.

Type A: Ahimsa, Asteya and Aparigraha

Type A personalities are competitive and driven. They push themselves through life, always striving to get ahead. Often, however, they don't stop to realize they already are ahead, or take the time to appreciate what they have. Three "A" yoga principles can go a long way towards helping shift a Type A person's perspective on the world:

Yoga for the Holidays: 2010

The holidays are a stressful time for anyone. Firstly, how do you manage your time when everyone wants a piece? Then how do you balance the desire to give the perfect gift with the sinking feeling you're perpetuating an exploitative commercialism and/or materialism? The weather outside is frightful, and your exercise regimen has left the building. Managing your money in these uneasy economic times is pretty stressful as well, but perhaps the most stressful is knowing you have a number of social events coming up that you may dread.