Summer

Welcome to the Yoga Church Sunday Sermons The Daily Practice of Love REFLECTION QUESTIONS Have you ever paid attention to how much energy you spend moving between feelings of like and dislike all day long? What experiences and habits have shaped your reactions of "like" and "dislike?" How do your automatic reactions and habitual patterns of attachment and aversion impact your ability to respond to the situations of daily life from the energy of love? Supporting = Loving! Do the Yoga Church Sunday Sermons bring you ... (Continue Reading)

A Three Legged Stool: the Practice of Kriya Yoga REFLECTION QUESTIONS Where does the energy and strength to do hard things come from? What helps you see things clearly (your thoughts, feelings, behavior, your situation)? Where do you find refuge and comfort? What do you have faith in? In the context of your daily life and personal practice, where are you established in discipline? Where are you able to take responsibility and put forth consistent effort? This is the practice of tapas. In the context of your daily life and personal practice, ... (Continue Reading)

Welcome to the Yoga Church Sunday Sermons A few weeks ago, as we celebrated the arrival of spring, I asked you to contemplate your sense of intention. To craft a simple phrase that captured something about the Truth of your Being, something about the energy you try to move from as you move through the world. Spring is a lovely time (a potent time) to work toward goals. But in order to move toward our goals with integrity, we need clarity on where we're coming from. So today, I have a new sermon to support your efforts to ... (Continue Reading)

We’re coming to the end of our study of the niyamas (for now…) and I’m excited to share a guest sermon written by my friend and colleague Marci Becker. She offers deep reflection (that I know so many people in this community will relate to) and her hope for what’s possible when we're able to do the hard work of personal practice within the container of supportive community. Doing My Work & Minding My Business: A Recap of the Niyamas by Marci Becker REFLECTION QUESTIONS What does it mean ... (Continue Reading)

Today's sermon dives into the final niyama, which asks us to explore our relationship with the Mystery we most often call God. I know this topic can be tricky. It can be difficult and loaded with painful baggage. And so I offer you this sermon, which I hope will arrive in your heart as an open invitation. Yoga Sutra 2.45 Ishvara Pranidhana (& Mystery) REFLECTION QUESTIONS How do you understand your place in the vastness of the cosmos? How do you understand your place within the complicated and beautiful ... (Continue Reading)

In this week's sermon we turn our attention toward the 4th niyama (remember, the 5 niyamas form the foundation of our personal practice). The 4th niyama is svadhyaya, which means "to move toward one's self." There’s an understanding in spiritual traditions that as we move toward the Self we move toward Divine Mystery and as we move toward Divine Mystery, we move toward the Self. It's an ever deepening spiral. The teachings of svadhyaya are rich and I'm excited to explore them with you. Yoga Sutra 2.44 Svadhyaya (& Clear Seeing) ... (Continue Reading)

Tapas is such an integral part of practice that my teacher says: “There can be no Yoga without tapas.” This sermon is about inner fire. It's about what it takes to build, contain, harness, and direct energy. It's about what it takes to create sustainable, transformative change in your life. It'll offer you a dose of realness ('cause we have to be real with ourselves) and a boost of inspiration ('cause sometimes we just get stuck). Yoga Sutra 2.43 Tapas (& Commitment) REFLECTION QUESTIONS What arises within you as ... (Continue Reading)

Yoga Sutra 2.42 Santosha (& Gratitude) REFLECTION QUESTIONS How often does your thinking take the shape of an if/then statement? If this happens, then I’ll be happy... When that happens, everything will fall into place... How much of your life energy do you spend on wanting things to be different than they are? What are the cravings, attachments, and aversions that cause you the most distress? Robin Wall Kimmerer reminds us that “contentment is a radical proposition” and that practicing “gratitude cultivates an ethic of fullness." Are you willing to intentionally take up ... (Continue Reading)

Yoga Sutra 2.40-41 Śauca (& clarity) REFLECTION QUESTIONS What are the habits that hinder your ability to think clearly, choose happiness, maintain focus, and remember your True Self? What are the "opposites" that you can focus on in order to begin shifting these habits (pratipaksa bhavanam)? What are the habits that support your ability to think clearly, choose happiness, maintain focus, and remember your True Self? How can you strengthen these habits? What gunks up your clarity? How can you clean it up? What gunks up your creativity? How can you clean it ... (Continue Reading)