We are, by nature, discriminating beings. We develop taste — for art, food, fashion, architecture. We learn to tell what is real from what is imitation, what is durable from what is fleeting. We become connoisseurs of culture, cuisine, aesthetics.

So what happens when that same discriminating capacity is turned inward?

This is what yogic philosophy demands. It says: if you can be discerning with worldly things, how much more precious — how much more urgent — is it to become a connoisseur of consciousness?

• Instead of savoring flavors, we savor states of mind.

• Instead of curating experiences, we curate clarity.

• Instead of acquiring possessions, we acquire purity — śuddhi.

• And instead of merely enjoying the world, we seek to understand the enjoyer — the bhoktā — and realize its unity with the impeller, preritā.

The Yoga Sūtras speak of viveka-khyāti — the dawning of discriminative wisdom — as the final stage before liberation (YS 2.26–2.28). This viveka is not cynicism, nor cold analysis. It is the ability to discern puruṣa from prakṛti, the eternal from the transient, the seer from the seen.

Haṭha Yoga trains the body and prāṇa to become instruments of precision. But the real fruit of yogic effort is the flowering of this inner viveka: the clear, unmistakable knowledge of who we are and what we are not.

And this is where the teachings of the Upaniṣads and the Gītā converge: in showing us how to become refined enjoyers — not those trapped by the senses, but those who, through purification, become capable of tasting the divine in everything.

The yogin becomes, in this light, not a renouncer of life, but its most discerning participant — one who recognizes the unity of all three and acts accordingly, with wisdom, love, and purpose.

So let us ask ourselves: in the vast buffet of worldly things, we often become sophisticated. Can we become as refined, as nuanced, as discerning in the domain of the sacred?

Let us become connoisseurs of the spirit — cultivating taste not only for truth, but for the way it reveals itself subtly, mysteriously, intimately — in the breath, in silence, in scripture, and in selfless action.

To know Brahman, the Upaniṣad says, is to know everything worth knowing. That knowledge is not collected. It is tasted.

And the one who tastes it, becomes — śuddhir bhoktā — the purified enjoyer of the eternal.

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In the sacred journey of yoga, the figure of the guru—the teacher, the revealer—is not merely someone who instructs us in techniques. The guru is the light that removes darkness, the presence that dispels confusion, and the voice that calls us back to the Self. The Sanskrit word guru itself is formed from gu, meaning darkness, and ru, meaning remover. The guru is not the source of light—but the one who points us toward it, until we recognize it within.

Grace, or kṛpā, is not a transaction. It’s not earned. It flows freely, when the heart becomes soft enough to receive it. The final verse of the Guru Stotram offers this reflection:

dhyānamūlaṁ guror mūrtiḥ pūjāmūlaṁ guror padam

mantramūlaṁ guror vākyam mokṣamūlaṁ guror kṛpā

The root of meditation is the Guru’s form. The root of worship is the Guru’s feet. The root of mantra is the Guru’s words. And the root of mokṣa, liberation itself—is the Guru’s grace.

This grace isn’t limited to moments of instruction or dramatic realization. It flows in silence. It is in the way the teacher holds space. It is in the presence that awakens something long forgotten. It is in the unspoken transmission of śakti—spiritual energy—that begins to shift the very axis of the student’s life.

This is the dance of grace and effort. The student bows, asks, serves—and the guru, moved by love, offers the truth that sets us free.

So what is our work as students, as seekers on this path? It is to recognize grace, to receive it with reverence, and to never forget that the true guru is not limited to any form. The ultimate guru-tattva lives in the heart of all beings—as śraddhā (faith), as viveka (discernment), as that subtle inner pull toward the light.

In honoring the guru, we honor the light of wisdom itself—formless, eternal, and infinitely compassionate.

Tasmai śrī gurave namaḥ — Salutations to that glorious Guru.

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Many of us come to yoga seeking relief. Relief from pain, from restlessness, from uncertainty. And sometimes we find it. But over time, what we discover is more lasting than relief. We discover presence. We discover steadiness. We discover a kind of joy that doesn’t have to shout. It only has to be. So we practice. Not to get rid of pain, but to know it. To meet it with clarity and care. And in that meeting, we find something remarkable: joy is still possible.

It is a joy that knows sorrow. A happiness that is not threatened by difficulty. This is the depth of saumanasya. Saumanasya is defined by Patañjali as cheerfulness—it could also be translated as “mental clarity,” “gentle gladness,” or even “spiritual contentment.” But this is not about putting on a smile or chasing a feeling. It’s the natural radiance of a mind that has become unentangled. In Pāli, the same word appears as saumanassa, and it’s spoken of as a kind of mental vedanā—a feeling tone that arises not from external stimulation, but from deep, internal stillness.

It’s not the kind of joy that explodes in celebration or depends on everything going our way. It’s the joy that arises when the striving quiets down. When the noise fades. When the heart is unburdened. And perhaps most beautifully, it’s a joy that does not replace suffering, but includes it.

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In the closing prayer of the Ashtanga practice, we chant: svasti prajābhyaḥ pari-pālayantāṁ, nyāyena mārgena mahīṁ mahīśāḥ, gobrāhmaṇebhyaḥ śubham astu nityaṁ, lokāḥ samastāḥ sukhino bhavantu. These ancient words are an offering — a prayer for all beings to be protected, for the rulers of the earth to walk the path of righteousness, for all sacred beings to be blessed, and for every living soul across all worlds to experience happiness and freedom. The final invocation, Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ, repeats the call for peace three times — for peace in the outer world, peace within ourselves, and peace in the unseen cosmic realms.

This spirit of universal love is the very heart of yoga. In Sanskrit, the word for this love is prema — drawn from the root pri, meaning “to love” or “to gladden.” Prema is not an ordinary affection tied to desires; it is a pure, selfless love that flows naturally into service — seva. In the Bhakti Sūtras, it is said: sa tu prema-rūpā — “True devotion takes the form of pure love.” When we step onto our mats each morning, struggling and surrendering through the rhythm of breath and movement, we are invited into this deeper practice: not merely to perfect poses, but to offer every breath, every effort, as an act of prema — love — and seva — service — to all life.

Thus, Ashtanga yoga becomes more than personal discipline; it becomes a ritual of the heart. Every vinyāsa is an offering. Every challenge faced with patience is a prayer. Every fall and every rise is an act of love made visible. Through this spirit, we fulfill the timeless prayer: lokāḥ samastāḥ sukhino bhavantu — “May all beings everywhere be happy and free.”

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As we go deeper on the spiritual path—whether through yoga, meditation, or self-inquiry—we often discover a paradox: We feel more peace… but we also feel more pain. The highs become transcendent. The lows, unbearable. We start to feel everything more intensely. This intensity is not a mistake. It is the heart of the path.

The Buddha says: you have felt more grief than the ocean holds water. This isn’t just poetry. It’s a spiritual earthquake. This is not to depress us, but to awaken us—to stir our hearts. This stirring is known in Buddhism as saṁvega.

This feeling—though unsettling—is a sacred catalyst. It’s what Prince Siddhartha felt when he saw old age, sickness, and death. It’s what every sincere practitioner eventually encounters: not just the suffering of the world, but the raw truth of our entanglement in it.

You begin to see the pain in pleasure—how even joy is tinged with impermanence.

You see the subtle violence of craving, the ache beneath distraction.

Your old ways of coping no longer work.

This is grace, not failure. Because only when we see duḥkha clearly, can we begin to walk a path beyond it. These are cracks in the illusion. And through those cracks, truth pours in. The practice is not to patch them up, but to stay open.

Yoga gives us a container:

Asana: to ground the body as emotion rises

Prāṇāyāma: to stabilize the nervous system as old energy releases

Meditation: to witness pain without collapsing into it

Bhakti: to open the heart in devotion rather than despair

And ultimately, viveka—discernment—so that we can feel the pain of the world without losing our place in it.

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Sometimes we may not understand why it is necessary to engage in strong practice. This talk dives into how the effects we put into asana practice cultivate a powerful internal fire of purification. This was a talk given after a 4 day immersion with Kino and Tim in Bangkok.

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Kino and Tim discuss how to honor the lineage in the absence of our teachers. They further dive into the definition of what constitutes merit in the practice of Yoga. Ending with a Q&A that captures the spirit of the conclusion of their first week of teaching in Bali

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Why yoga? Anyone who has practiced for a decade, two decades, or even a lifetime knows that the answer to this question is anything but simple—or perhaps so simple that words fail to capture it.

Some truths can only be understood through embodied knowledge, a form of wisdom that arises not from intellectual effort but from deep receptivity. Yoga is a path of insight, not just the accumulation of facts or information, though it does not reject them. It is a path of Vijñāna—a deeper knowing, an awakened consciousness, a means of direct realization.

There are realms beyond what the mind can grasp, mysteries that logic cannot solve. But what the mind cannot know, the spirit can perceive, and the soul can experience.

This is why lifelong practitioners return to their mats, day after day, year after year. All who have touched this special knowledge—not of the intellect, but of the soul—are called them back, again and again, to what was once glimpsed in moments of deep practice.

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