Journal Prompts for Yogic Wisdom

Return to Wisdom

Notes on items:

1. In Chapter 8 of Bringing Yoga to Life, Donna Farhi writes about yoga and "embodied awareness." She articulates the kind of awareness that practice of asanas and pranyama allow one to cultivate. In light of your own practice of yoga, reflect on the claims Fahri makes for cultivating an awareness of the body. What does it mean to "explore a pose" in Fahri's view? How does Fahri represent the role of bodily awareness in making progress in yoga?

2. Use your experience of meditation and yoga to assess the value of contemplative calm and quietness of mind in daily life. Try to evaluate what it means to obtain an "observer" standpoint. Does the Observer standpoint take you "out" of relationship with others? Think about this in part by noticing concretely how the effect of yoga or yogic meditation colors your social relationships.

3. Observe the practice of moral principles and observances (Miller Part Two, p. 44ff) self-consciously over a two week period. Notice specific situations in which the states implied by these principles and observances obtain and do not obtain. Keep a log. Make alterations in habits or practices relevant to the observances and restraints and try to notice effects. Do the moral principles and observances promote tranquility? How does this "limb" of yoga fit with the discipline of asanas and pranyama?