Downward Facing Blog

A weekend of dynamic vinyasa yoga, breathing, and philosophy with Adrian Phillip Cox
Lotus Center, Czech Republic
April 12-13 2008
Adrian teaches dynamic Vinyasa yoga using foundations in Ashtanga, and Ayurveda while incorporating esoteric techniques of mantra, visualization, and energy work. Originally certified to teach yoga under Cyndi Lee of Om Yoga in New York City and the […]

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If playing video games, smoking pot, and having sex produce Samadhi, why do yoga?
My last blog post on Samadhi drew this feedback from Mark;
“I have a question. Im assuming that when Samadhi burns up our mountain of bijahs it is only the yogic samadhi that is capable of doing this. Is it possible for the […]

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Whatever holds your attention leaves it’s own mark upon your mind
 
I used to think samadhi was this thing that happened to you after lifetimes upon lifetimes of hard-core yogic practice. And I’d probably have be born again as an Indian. Samadhi is the eighth limb of classical yoga, and some commentators make it sound like […]

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Higher yoga and greater success is based on superior concentration.
The yogic practice of trataka is one way to develop it
 
Years ago I was taught that concentration is really the basis of all success, or as my Nepali teacher, Dr. Yogi Vikashanand would say; “all successful people do what they say they are going to […]

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Why listening to yourself is really important for you and the world and how it connects to sound

Last night Shane and I were watching Joseph Campbell’s series “Power of Myth”. I’m a few years behind I know. My friends periodically ask me if I had seen it (yet) and would  reprimand me for not having […]

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Partner yoga at yoga elements Bangkok
(that’s Dodo and Ple)
My brain isn’t working too well today. Kind of sick. Shane and I did a brief fast which I ended badly (with coffee and eggs) and somehow I got a flu afterwards. I’m not built for fasts, I think I’m too vata.
Anyways, I bucked up and with […]

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When you chant OM with the right understanding, it becomes a powerful yoga practice in it’s own right.
Chanting OM has it’s own effect, and can be a powerful meditation. While it is a general mantra that does not require initiation, it is useful to know WHY we chant OM when beginning the practice of […]

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How to correctly focus the eyes while doing yoga
Although most people say there are THREE rules for ashtanga vinyasa practice, I always teach FOUR. The three are:
 
Mula bandha (engaging of the muscles on the pelvic floor)
Ujjayi breathing (breathing through the nose while […]

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The yoga practice of Shambhavi Mudra 
Or, maybe we should call it amrita, the nectar of immortality. Before you conclude that I’m selling you some new MLM wonderdrink, let me begin by saying that you produce this magickal elixir inside your own head. You can’t buy it. Although, if I could bottle it, I would definitely […]

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Years back I posted to an ashtanga yoga forum inquiring if there was a “scriptural” reference to the reason Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga is always practiced on the right, meaning, the right foot precedes all postures but two of them: Marichasana B and D.Nobody answered.
Bihar School of Yoga told me not to practice chandra bheda (left […]

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