Fredrick Turner

Samyama Patanjali brings together the final three limbs under Samyama.  Samyama is Sanskrit for holding or tying together. It consists of the three inner practices of Dharana or concentration, Dhyana or absorption and Samadhi or union. These three limbs also tie together all of the previous limbs and are why the yogic meditator has worked… Continue reading

Pratyahara The third and fourth Limbs are in preparation for the fifth – Pratyahara.  This is where the meditator consciously withdraws from external stimuli.  This is accomplished by closing one’s eyes, shutting off the outside and withdrawing from the day-to-day.  The meditator moves from focused breathing like the Even Count Breathing to simply allowing the… Continue reading

Pranayama For the Rauto [people of Papua New Guinea] much of the power of magic is thought to be carried on the breath of the magician.  When a leading magician begins to age, people will sometimes say that the magician’s breath has gone … or that the breath has lost heat and has become ‘cold’… Continue reading

Asana The third Limb is Asana or posture.  Let me be more specific, Asana is the right posture.  It’s what we think of when we think of Yoga.  Today Asana and Hatha Yoga are used interchangeably.   These poses did not come into Yoga until hundreds of years after Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras were written. When… Continue reading

Niyamas Continued Swadhyaya Swadhyaya is the knowledge we gain through self-study and introspection. It is spending time asking ourselves the important questions: Who am I as a person? As a performer? What impression do I leave as a performer and person? What impression do I want to leave? What is working in my performances? What… Continue reading