Yoga Summer School
During the past two Saturday classes I assigned every one yoga study homework for the summer. I was asked to put up a post about the study plan, so here it is!
Just like asana practice, studying yoga scriptures and philosophy is best done every day, even if it’s a just a little at a time.
The main recommendation is to read parts of the www.swamij.com website regularly.
A good starting point is the article “Yoga Sutras – 7 Keys to Practice“.
Here’s an example of how to approach this article, and more generally a method for regular study:
- Read through the 7 keys article.
- Drill down on one of the keys, say, no.6 which is about “Witness everything” (with one of my favorite Swamij equations: Witnessing = Observation + Non-attachment).
- This will lead to the Witnessing Your Thoughts in Yoga Practice article (26 pages!).
- Read one part of that article thoroughly, for example What does labeling and witnessing mean? which encourages us to “Promote the positive, useful thoughts. Do nothing with negative, not-useful thoughts.”
- Apply this technique during your yoga practice, or at any point during your day.
- Rinse and repeat – meaning during your next study session you can read about another one of the 7 keys, or continue with a part of the Witnessing Your Thoughts article.
We can review our experiences in the next Saturday classes in August after I get back, starting on August 7.
Good luck with your studies and happy summer!