by Gregor Maehle | Nov 20, 2015 | Ashtanga Yoga, Kundalini, Meditation and Samadhi, Teaching
I have been asked to write about the “Dark Night of the Soul”. The medieval mystic Saint John of the Cross coined the term and it describes the painful relapses of a spiritual seeker who has tasted (possibly repeatedly) freedom, joy and ecstasy only to rebound and to...
by Gregor Maehle | Oct 10, 2015 | Ashtanga Yoga, Meditation and Samadhi, Yoga Philosophy
The Ashtanga Picture Project interviewed me on my latest book and its subject samadhi. Here it is: Q: What is Samadhi? A: There is actually a whole chapter in the book clarifying this and defining samadhi. Importantly samadhi is an impermanent state that you enter and...
by Gregor Maehle | Oct 3, 2015 | Anatomy/Rehabilitation, Asana, Ashtanga Yoga, Meditation and Samadhi, Pranayama
I was asked why we put the right leg into full lotus (Padmasana) first and whether it gets balanced out later on in the practice? In my 2006 text Ashtanga Yoga Practice and Philosophy I wrote: “Why is Padmasana traditionally done only by first placing the right leg...
by Gregor Maehle | Oct 2, 2015 | Ashtanga Yoga, Ecology, Meditation and Samadhi, Society/ civilisation, Teaching, Yoga Philosophy
You can get it here on this site at https://chintamaniyoga.com/shop/ or at your favourite online retailer. Currently available as hardcopy only but ebooks formats are coming soon. A summary of the content: The book culminates in a detailed description of the eight...
by Gregor Maehle | Aug 29, 2015 | Ashtanga Yoga, Meditation and Samadhi, Society/ civilisation, Yoga Philosophy
Objectless samadhi is like the summit of a mighty mountain. In order to reach the summit you must decide on an angle of ap- proach. Each path leading to the top represents a particular school of thought, a philosophy, a science, a religion, or a school of yoga. On the...
by Gregor Maehle | Aug 2, 2015 | Kundalini, Meditation and Samadhi, Yoga Philosophy
In moments when everything is taken away from us, we may remember, in deep grief, that there is something within that cannot be lost or gained. Something that is forever and eternally uncreated and un-born and that will never die. I had such a moment in my childhood...