Philosophy

Understanding how our identities and experiences intersect, overlap, and diverge is key to creating equitable yoga spaces.

The true gifts of yoga are byproducts of the practice

I learned that practicing "non-harm" means much more than just being "nice."

Embracing cleanliness—in more than just its most obvious expressions—can transform your life.

I came to the U.S. in search of a better quality of life, greater opportunities, and healing. I found it—and share it—through yoga.

Understanding the concept of swadharma helps you follow your own path.

Here are three ways to practice Tapas in a balanced way—without burning out.

Yoga nidra helps prepare my body to claim the relaxation it so deserves.

Our physical, emotional, and behavioral tendencies—both good and bad—aren't ours alone. They're often passed down from generation to generation.

YJ Senior Editor Tamara Jeffries set out to answer some perennial questions about whether yoga is secular or spiritual. What she discovered: It’s both. And more.

Here's how to own up to your humanness when you make a mistake before the lesson is repeated.

Pratipakṣa-bhāvanam encourages us to look at the bright side. But "good vibes only" overlooks the lessons learned in adversity.

Go deeper into Savasana by learning more about its Sanskrit meaning.

In my practice, individual liberation is intimately connected to collective liberation. Learning from Indigenous people is a vital aspect of this liberation.

With the arrival of fall also comes vata season, which can bring physical and emotional disruptions no matter your constitution. Here's how to find relief.

Explore the final three limbs of yoga to reclaim the true essence of the practice—enlightenment.

When she embraced yoga's ethical limbs, Susanna Barkataki's life changed in surprising ways—and for the better.

For a long time, I thought my anxiety defined me. Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra helped me finally recognize that I am not my anxiety.

The concept of oneness is a fundamental teaching of the Bhagavad Gita. But ignoring our differences is unethical—and harmful.

Tyagaraja is a little posh, a little blingy, and all about community.

Protecting myself against COVID-19 was my way of showing love for the people in my community.

Rajas, one of the three gunas, can show up as energy and motion—or anger and worry. Here's how to keep this natural quality balanced.

By surrendering the coveted title of “yoga teacher,” I became the student I had always wanted to be.

Namaste puns = cultural appropriation.

For starters, that battle wasn’t a metaphor.

Anusha Wijeyakumar shares how to embrace your humanity by leaning into your dharma (purpose).

Patanjali's eight-fold path offers guidelines for a meaningful and purposeful life. Get to know this prescription for moral and ethical conduct, and self-discipline.

Plus, the timeless spiritual text’s one theme that’s most often avoided in Western yoga classes.

You may have read of people doing 108 Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar) at the time of the spring equinox, or own mala with 108 beads. Here's why the number is considered so auspicious.

Here’s what you need to know to honor the elements, and connect to the healing power of earth, water, fire, air, and ether in your yoga practice.

Live Be Yoga Ambassador Cameron Allen talks about experiencing joy, or Samadhi, during some of the most basic everyday tasks of life.

Yogis and scholars explain how to cultivate happiness at every age embrace what each decade brings your way.

Your emotions don't have to control you. Instead of powering through intense feelings or repressing them, try to acknowledge and deal with them head-on. This chart offers some simple guidelines to negotiate a kinder relationship with your emotions, so you can feel strong, balanced, and peaceful.

Teachers, researchers, scholars, and activists weigh in on modern yoga and how we might practice with more integrity and respect.

A myriad of historical information exists, so let’s start with building a foundation.

Oprah Winfrey believes that living for yourself is honorable not selfish. In her new book, The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life’s Direction and Purpose, she shares what she’s learned about setting meaningful intentions, finding your flow, and embodying your most authentic self.

A first-generation Indian-American yoga and mindfulness researcher and teacher reflects on what feels misrepresented and appropriative to her in modern yoga.

The written word can be a powerful tool for cultivating better mindfulness habits. Here, Kate Green Tripp of 1440 Multiversity shares three books that helped her get quiet, get centered, and accept love in her life when she needed it most.

Yoga is a process of spiritual evolution and growth.

The guiding principle of Qi Gong is the coordination of the eyes with the body movements.

This legendary goddess can help empower your aspirations and call forth the leader within.

Jessamyn Stanley is so over white-centric, consumer-driven yoga. Armed with a powerful social platform, and a whole lot of attitude, this yoga teacher and New Age thought leader has declared to the world that anybody can practice yoga. And she’s not afraid to show us how it’s done.

Rather than feeling guilty for not rolling out her mat every day, one writer embraced her hiatus from yoga—and it transformed her practice forever.

The moral and ethical principles that are the foundation of yoga practice—the yama (social restraints) and niyama (self-disciplines)—are especially important to think about this time of year. Here’s what you need to know about the niyama, and how to put them into practice.

Ignite your imagination and use all of your senses as a path to the divine with one yogi-artist’s visual interpretations of three Yoga Sutras

Our current political climate may feel more polarizing and un-yogic than ever, but there is a way to hold love in your heart for those you disagree with the most. Here’s how.

It seems paradoxical to preach philosophy over fitness before prescribing a boot camp-style class, but Stewart Gilchrist reveals why yoga needs both in its approach.

When it comes to Sanskrit, there are at least two camps of yogis—those who use it and those who don’t. Here’s why we’re with the traditionalists on this one.

Sadness and turmoil are universal. Learn how practicing deep concentration during tough times can lift the emotional burden.

Neal Goyal was riding on a wave of success after starting his own hedge fund at 24—until his lies caused investors to lose $10 million. Now in prison, he explains how the Purusharthas, or the four aims of life, are helping him make sense of his crime.

Learn how to master your desires and tap into creative forces through Tantric philosophy.

In this sutra, the power or practice Patanjali describes is “samyama on the navel.” This concentrated meditation on your midsection opens the door to a vital understanding of your body’s constituent parts and subtle-energy channels (nadis).

While experiencing the near-death of his wife, Aadil Palkhivala channeled meditation to release ignorance, ego, and attachment.

In part 6 of this kriya yoga series, yoga teacher Laura Riley offers simple practices for surrendering to love—in order to feel everything else.

There’s no denying it: change is scary. In part 5 of this kriya yoga series, yoga teacher Laura Riley shares a 5-step process for using tapas to embrace the inevitable for internal growth.

Becoming a parent involves all kinds of big decisions and questions. Sometimes "I don't know" is the guiding answer.

With this sutra, Patanjali teaches that yoga practice is preventive medicine for our minds—a way to keep future pain and suffering from manifesting.

When it comes to planning a yoga vacation, most of us think retreats in the tropics or taking the ultimate pilgrimage to India. Yet there are so many other destinations that can inspire a deeper understanding this ancient practice. Here, YJ contributors share their experiences in some far-off places that have transformed their practices and their lives.

Baron Baptiste calls every moment a fresh chance to tackle resistance in mind, body and spirit. Here, three simple tips to revolutionize your attitude in your practice.

Meditation Studio co-founder Patricia Karpas shares some of the best wisdom offered on her Untangle podcast last year as inspiration for this one.

Want to disrupt complacency or overdrive in your practice or your life? Baron Baptiste offers advice for embracing santosha that can be revolutionary.

Your relationship with self requires conscious nurturing. In part 3 of this kriya yoga series, yoga teacher Laura Riley shares how your communication with others can get in the way.

Once you begin to identify your obstacles through mindful yoga practice, you will be able to set better intentions and reset your karmic path.

New year, REAL you. If you’re ready to embrace authenticity this year, self-inquiry is a powerful place to start. Yoga teacher Tracee Stanley shows us how.

Wish you were better able to accept hot and cold, noisy and silent, joy and sorrow? Cyndi Lee shows us how.