by swatiyoga | Jan 19, 2021 | Meditation, Yin Yoga
Kunlun mountain is a holy mountain where Xiwangmu, the highest ranked goddess of Taoism, lives. She is the queen of the underworld, the goddess of life, death and transformation. In this meditation you imagine your body as Kunlun Mountain. The meditation starts at the...
by swatiyoga | Dec 15, 2019 | Ashram, Meditation, Yoga, Yoga Philosopy
1. Physical If you are stressed, your muscles shorten. To relax them, they need to be stretched in asana for at least a minute: the length it takes for the muscle to relax. The sympathetic nervous system causes tension; the parasympathetic system relaxes. Any...
by swatiyoga | Mar 29, 2015 | Ashram, Meditation, Yoga, Yoga Philosopy
Reading spiritual texts is an important part of yoga spiritual practice. Svadhyaya, study of both the self and the scriptures, is one of the niyamas or virtuous habits. The Niyamas are the second of the eight limbs of yoga as described by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras....
by swatiyoga | Jan 11, 2012 | Meditation, Tibetan Buddhism
I’ve been going to a Tibetan Buddhist temple on and off for about four years (in Florence and now in Bournemouth). The normal ‘drop-in’ sessions that I attend usually involve meditation, usually of the mindfulness type — i.e. focussing on the...
by swatiyoga | Jan 8, 2012 | Meditation, Tibetan Buddhism
I spent Christmas and New Year at Kagyu Samye Ling, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery on the west coast of Scotland near Lockerbie. It was very laid-back for a monastery. No six o’clock roll calls, compulsory meditation or lights out at 10. There weren’t even...
by swatiyoga | Dec 19, 2011 | Meditation
I have two malas: one clear quartz, the other green jade. The crystal one I bought at the Sivananda ashram in Austria. I chose crystal because this is traditionally used for devi (goddess) worship, and I was initiated into a goddess mantra (saraswati). An Indian...
