Forged in Stillness

Real transformation requires engagement, not escape. The ancients yogis knew this and they developed these four different systems of yoga to help us start to work towards self-realization.How does this apply to us in our modern world? How can we use these teachings to improve our lives?

If yoga is supposed to change your life…We should probably be clear about what it actually is.That's tricky, though, because yoga is a dynamic, living system designed to help us dig deeper into who we truly are... In this podcast, Zeb and Myra shed a little light on the subject.

Originally yoga was designed as a tool to help us change and evolve... "a method of radical self-liberation". If that's the case, why are most practitioners stuck spinning their wheels? Zeb and Myra discuss...

Myra and Zeb dip their toes into one of the big topics: yoga philosophy... They discuss "Mekhala", the Yogic Studies program offered at Yoga Factory and also online via Zoom. They discuss the seven different levels of the system and how it evolved from a fun "belt system" idea to something more akin to a college course... Yoga Factory offers one or two Mekhala courses each year. You can read more about it at www.yogafactory.com/mekhala .

Zeb and Myra discuss the concept of stillness in yogapractice, exploring how every spiritual tradition recognizes its importance despite it being difficult to achieve due to the mind's constant distractions and fluctuations. They reference Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, particularly theteaching that "yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind,"and discuss various practices for cultivating stillness including yoga nidra, pranayama breathing exercises, asana postures, and mantra meditation. The conversation emphasizes that stillness allows practitioners to observe their true selves beyond the body and mind, with Myra noting that stillness provides an opportunity to "observe the miracle that is you."

Everybody has an origin story! Zeb and Myra discuss how they started on the path of yoga and how, by returning to Pittsburgh to share some of this knowledge, Yoga Factory came to be.