Chants and Invocations

Resources for learning the invocations & their meanings

Invocation to Patanjali

Geeta Iyengar explanation

BKS Iyengar chanting the invocation (audio)

Invocation to the Guru

Audio

Words and translation of both invocations

Video file with space for you to practice repeating the chant

Comments

An Open Letter to White Teachers & Members of IYNAUS Regarding the Recent Statement About George Floyd

I’m a white person, and I consider one of my roles in the social justice and racial justice work is to help other white people find their way into this work. So with that in mind, this is an open letter to white people in IYNAUS and on the IYNAUS board. I’ve been struggling with my feelings about the IYNAUS statement regarding the uprising. I have been thinking about how to respond in a way that calls my friends in and lovingly invites you into a learning process. I love this community and I’m so glad you made an effort to be part of this moment. And I have wanted the yoga world to get more involved in the fight for justice – that’s why I joined together with friends and colleagues to help stage a session on social justice at last year’s IYNAUS convention. I'm struggling with my frustration about the people who did not take the invitation we offered at that session. I don't want to go too easy on you and make this comfortable. But ultimately, I want to thank you for being ...

Be In Your Body!

As one of my contributions to our collective effort to survive this time, I am periodically offering a free 10 minute guided meditation on my blog. 10 minutes because everyone can find 10 minutes in their day to do something that sustains you and increases your positive impact on the people around you. And because research shows that even 10 minutes of meditation can improve your brain functioning - and make you feel better. There are dozens of meditation apps and sources out there. I don't claim mine is anything better than what you find could elsewhere. But two things might make your experience of these guided meditations unique. First, if you have attended any of the leadership retreats where I offer a mindfulness practice, you may find that listening to these guided meditations connects you to the retreat experience and allows you to renew the feelings of connectedness and power you had there. Second, many of my guided meditations will have a social justice element that connec...

On Practice and Detachment

In the yoga world, abhyasa and vairagya are two of the magic words that define the path forward. Practice and detachment. Want to make progress in the physical practices or the many guidelines for living an ethical life? Practice and detach. It’s a formula for success. I’ve been thinking a lot in the past few weeks about practice and what it means. The yoga sutras say to engage in long, uninterrupted practice, detached from the fruits of our labor and with devotion. Long, uninterrupted practice is pretty self-explanatory. You do it vigorously and with effort, whether you feel like or not. Detachment means you don’t do it only to get ahead. You don’t practice so you’ll look good to others, or to serve your ego. You don’t do it only because you want to win or garner praise. You keep practicing even if none of those things happen. And devotion is the quality of mind and heart. It implies a loving dedication to the deeper values and the spirit of what yoga is about...

Practicing Yoga and Social Justice

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