Spirituality

Can this ancient energy-healing technique work across distance and space?

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.

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.

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.

Whether you feel bad juju coming from someone else or lingering in a space, try one of these tactics to clear negative energy and call in more light.

Business of Yoga expert Karen Mozes, who has a lot to be grateful for this season, shares her unique personal practice.

From honoring the moon, prayer, meditation, and ritual fasting, these five yogis show us how they found the connection between yoga and Islam.

Six ways to use your crystals during your meditation or asana practice to make their effects even more powerful.

One of the nice things about meditation is that when we sit with these moments as they arise, we start to trust in them and in the dark grace.

Lama Tsultrim Allione—one of the first American women ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun—shares what she’s learned about love, life, and liberty while researching dakinis, or fierce female messengers of wisdom.

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

The best part? Pour yourself a cup of tea and you can do it, too.

How one writer combined her yoga practice with her Christian faith to find true spiritual awakening.

Whether you’re on the mat or on the couch, these are our favorite quarantine-appropriate podcasts for these strange and stressful times.

Wondering how the sun, moon, and stars might affect your yoga practice or teaching this month? Here are the big, astrological shifts happening right now, plus expert advice on how to get inspired by these seasonal and energetic changes.

Nine leading yoga teachers give us an inside look at how they pray, manifest what they want in their lives, and more.

If you want to reach your full potential, Baron Baptiste suggests starting with self-inquiry.

Do you feel stuck? In part 4 of this kriya yoga series, yoga teacher Laura Riley shares three stages of svadhyaya practice to help you live life as who you truly are.

Baron Baptiste, who leads YJ's upcoming course The Power of Play, explains how yoga clears out old mental and physical clutter, setting you up for new possibilities.

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.

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.

In part two of this six-part kriya yoga series, yoga teacher Laura Riley explains how to elevate your self-communication to activate the feelings beneath the noise.

Thanksgiving is a great time to adopt the habit of celebrating gratitude with the written word. Learn how to get started.

Los Angeles-based teacher Sesa O'Connor talks to YJ about her spiritual upbringing, raising a little yogi solo, and the booming yoga industry.

Thanksgiving is all about gratitude, but there are big benefits celebrating it daily. Learn why you might want to kickstart a regular gratitude practice this week.

Yoga historian Philip Deslippe looks at the insight a few unusual yoga-themed pieces of pop culture can offer into the popular perception of the practice in America over the last century.

In this six-part series, our writer introduces the concept of internal activism through kriya yoga as the ultimate yogic tool for weathering personal, political, and natural disasters. First, learn how to become an internal activist.

Whatever obstacle you’re facing, the right crystal can help you raise your vibration and manifest your perfect path past it.

Navigate transitions with more calm, confidence, and joy by tapping the powers of your chakras.

YJ Influencer Hemalayaa Behl shares how you can harness the most intense mental and emotional energy to raise your vibration.

As the Las Vegas shooting further assaults our sense of peace,  yogis have an opportunity to raise our vibration and use our off-the-mat practice to make the world a more peaceful place.

“At the heart of yoga, there is awakening through direct realization, transformation, and regeneration from within. The more we wake up, the greater our power as a whole. We genuinely practice for the benefit of all beings.”

Spiritual seekers are those who follow a path of self-discovery. Here, Diana Raab, PhD, author of Writing for Bliss, explains how writing can be a powerful tool transformation.

Harness the influential energy of the deities with yantras—geometric diagrams composed of shapes such as triangles, squares, circles, and lotus leaves, which often represent the energy fields of specific deities.

Did you finish yoga teacher training with more questions than you started with? That’s why we’ve recruited seasoned teacher trainer Gina Caputo to speak frankly to some of the most common post-TT questions submitted by YOU. In each of the four posts in this series, she’ll address a new subject and offer both insight and practical tips on how to work skillfully with the challenges you face as a yoga teacher.

Taking a month or year off to make a spiritual pilgrimage is the kind of romantic endeavor some of us will only ever be able to dream about. But that doesn’t mean we can’t embark on an inner journey that leads to the same kind of transformation. Start one of these 30-day pilgrimages from wherever you are today.

In day 7 of our Spiritual Laws Challenge, Deepak Chopra's yoga teacher Sarah Platt-Finger explains how Eye of the Needle Pose illustrates The Law of Dharma.

Sarah Platt-Finger explains how Parsvottanasana illustrates The Law of Detachment.

Deepak Chopra's yoga teacher Sarah Platt-Finger explains how Warrior II demonstrates the The Law of Intention and Desire.

Deepak Chopra's yoga teacher Sarah Platt-Finger apples the Law of Least Effort to Plank Pose.

Deepak Chopra's yoga teacher Sarah Platt-Finger explains how Tadasana illustrates The Law of Karma, or Cause and Effect.

For day 2 of our Spiritual Laws Challenge, Deepak Chopra's yoga teacher Sarah Platt-Finger explains how Cat/Cow pose illustrates The Law of Giving and Receiving.

For 7 days, Deepak Chopra's yoga teacher, Sarah Platt-Finger, will offer you a pose that illustrates one of Chopra's Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga. Take the challenge and practice with us for a week.

Connect to higher consciousness and reach your full potential with this heart- and mind-opening asana and pranayama practice.

In his new book, You Are the Universe, best-selling author and integrative-medicine expert Deepak Chopra, MD, explains that the universe is participatory and that all of us are creators of our reality. Here, Chopra explores how yoga can help us understand our role as co-creators— and how liberating that knowledge can be.

So, is "constant checking" and social media overload the cause of the disconnection that so many of us feel? Not really, says legendary integrative-medicine and meditation expert, Dr. Deepak Chopra, who leads Yoga Journal's online course.

Yogis have used singing bowls for decades, but in recent years crystal alchemy bowls seem to be displacing the traditional Tibetan variety. Discover the healing power behind their sound.

In this online workshiop, Finding Connection Through Yoga: A Workshop on Our Universal Oneness, Dr. Deepak Chopra and Sarah Platt-Finger will share a seven-week yoga and meditation experience to deepen your understanding of yourself and the universe.

In honor of International Women's Day/A Day Without a Woman, we asked a few thought leaders in the yoga community to weigh in on white male privilege and how yogis can take action on or off the mat.

Looking for a yogic way to spread the word that love is the answer? To raise awareness for world peace, Sri Dharma Mittra and yoga teacher Mark Kan will attempt to gather the most people ever in Headstand in London.

In this interview with editor-in-chief Carin Gorrell, Briohny Smyth shares how she's rediscovered yoga's healing power since she and her husband, Dice Iida-Klein, began talking about splitting up.

Access health and happiness with ancient yoga practices from around the world that tap into the healing power of nature.

Meet February cover model Heather Lilleston, cofounder of Yoga for Bad People.

We gave you a lot of wisdom to contemplate over the last 12 months. Here are our top 10 most popular pieces having to do with yogic principles and philosophy, from mantras to sutras to chakras. Catch up on the one you missed, or re-read your favorite here.

Need a little LOL in your life? We were honored and privileged to have our third eye awakened by the one and only Ultra Spiritual JP Sears, a YouTube sensation with 100 million+ hits and YJ LIVE! San Francisco keynote presenter.

A meditation practice on how to find happiness, even in your darkest hour.

Picking up a crystal can help you switch out of autopilot into the present. Use these 7 charged stones and their associated mindfulness practices to manifest the change you want to see in your life.

In her new children's book, Coat of Many Colors—based on her classic 1971 song—country music legend Dolly Parton reminds us to be grateful for everything we do have, no matter how modest it may seem.

If you're one of the 62 million Americans who voted for Hillary Clinton, it may be hard to feel thankful when you're carving the turkey (or tofurkey) this year. But there's always something to be grateful for, says master Baptiste Yoga teacher Leah Cullis.

As asana becomes less accessible, we can grow into a deeper appreciation for the limbs of yoga that live off the mat. Discover how they can guide us through the aging process.

Cultivating an attitude of gratitude can have major benefits for your mental and physical health. That’s why we’ve compiled 30 inspiring quotes on the topic—words of wisdom from everyone from Yogi Bhajan and Deepak Chopra to Michelle Obama.

A respected teacher shares the one thing that guarantees a peaceful existence.

After Elena Brower's mother passed this year, she found a deeper connection to her meditation practice and with her family.

In honor of International Day of Peace, September 21, Brother Priyananda, a Self-Realization Fellowship monk, offers advice for coping with the obstacles to inner harmony.

Spiritual teacher Eiman Al Zaabi shares how the practice of inquiry can both calm the mind and help you find meaning.

New myths about what yoga and the poses themselves can do for you are popping up all the time. Here, Yoga Physics founder Alexandria Crow debunks a few of her favorites.

Urban Zen helps sick patients and their caregivers overcome pain, 
anxiety, nausea, insomnia, constipation, and exhaustion through yoga.

Take our quiz to discover which of your chakras is out of balance so you can begin to realign your subtle body for vibrancy and overall well-being.

Our places of discovery, illumination, and breakthrough are not limited to our temples and our mosques but extend into traffic jams, dirty dishes, and even our trips to the mechanic.

Learn how George Harrison brought bhakti yoga to the West with the now ubiquitous Hare Krishna mantra.

Crystals offer guidance and signs of possibility. Let these 10 stones open you up to a landscape of creativity and inspiration.

How can a yogi best participate in politics? The spiritual luminary offers up an alternate path to positive politics.

Vinyasa teacher Mary Beth LaRue is one of those instructors you just want to practice with in the hopes that some of her vibrant energy will rub off.

When it comes to yoga and meditation in the West, Hindu mythology can often be polarizing among practitioners. But it doesn't have to be.

Ever bumble through chants in class? Here’s your chance to learn the words to classic Sanskrit and Gurmukhi mantras you'll likely encounter again and again.

Grace Flowers was 20 weeks pregnant during the photoshoot. Carin Gorrell took the opportunity to gather pregnancy, practice, and life wisdom from Grace.

Nicki Doane, co-owner and director of Maya Yoga Studio in Maui, share a teaching from the fourth pada of Patanjali's Yoga Sutra.

Nicki Doane, co-owner and director of Maya Yoga Studio in Maui, shares tips for achieving (and transcending) the superpowers of yoga.

This week YJ LIVE! presenter Nicki Doane shares with us teachings from the Yoga Sutra of Pantanjali on the how of yoga.