The Edge Yoga School Manifesto
Build a COMMUNITY where souls feel SAFE in finding personal TRUTH.
Create a space where time cannot be STOLEN, EXCESS is not found and POSSESSIVENESS does not reside.
PURITY of thought may be explored while CONTENTMENT within the heart is discovered.
GENERATE WARMTH to help GAZE INWARD and learn to SURRENDER to that with which we are aligned.
Bodies will open, close, twist, bend and invert, as BREATH drives MOVEMENT.
Learn to DETACH from the comfort of the senses through the art of GUIDED MEDITATION. Aim for the mind to find peace through CLARITY.
A space where each soul crossing over this threshold is invited to become part of this collective BLISS.
⁃ Michelle Rae Sobi, Edge Yoga School
ABOUT THE MANIFESTO
How can the Eight Limbs of Yoga help a yogi live more in the present?
Please take these “snippets” of teachings as my personal view of how I apply the eight limbs in living yoga. These are brief and loose translations of ideas that have been intricacy examined by humanity perhaps since the discovery of fire. This concept was first introduced to me by Leslie Kaminoff, author of Yoga Anatomy. Prior to fire, humans would have spent much of their existence simply surviving, and unlikely to spend many resources on experiential thought. I invite you to read with an open heart and mind. May it be of benefit.
THE FIRST LIMB
The first limb is Yamas (community) and is about the relationships you have with those around you. There are five teachings in this first limb: Ahimsa (non-harming), Satya (truthfulness), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacharya (non-excess) and Aparigraha (non-possessiveness).
⁃ Build a COMMUNITY where souls feel SAFE in finding personal TRUTH.
⁃ Create a space where time cannot be STOLEN, EXCESS is not found and POSSESSIVENESS does not reside.
THE SECOND LIMB
The second limb is Niyamas (observances) and is more about the relationship you have with yourself (loosely translated). There are also five teachings to this limb, they are: Sauca (purity), Santosha (contentment), Tapas (heat), Svadyaya (self-study), and Isvarapranidhana (surrender).
⁃ PURITY of thought may be explored while CONTENTMENT within the heart is discovered.
⁃ GENERATE WARMTH to help GAZE INWARD and learn to SURRENDER to that with which we are aligned.
THE THIRD AND FOURTH LIMB
The third limb is the asanas (postures) we practice in the physical class and the fourth limb is Pranayama (breath). These two are inseparable within a yoga class and this relationship is what sets yoga apart from other fitness classes.
⁃ Bodies will open, close, twist, bend and invert, as BREATH drives MOVEMENT.
THE FIFTH, SIXTH, AND SEVENTH LIMB
The fifth is Pratyahara (withdrawal), the sixth Dharana (concentration), and the seventh is Dhyana (meditation). As we learn to withdrawal from our simple preferences surrounding us, and concentrate on simply being, we are then poised to find clarity within meditation. Most yoga studios (including Edge Yoga School) offer Dharana during savasana to aid students into relaxation, rather than true meditation found within Dhyana.
⁃ Learn to DETACH from the comfort of the senses through the art of GUIDED MEDITATION. Aim for the mind to find peace through CLARITY.
THE EIGHTH LIMB
Samadhi is the eight limb of yoga named by Patanjali. It implies nirvana. Some feel you need to pass on in order to experience this, while others feel it can be visited, left and revisited, throughout life. It is up to each one of to find our own definition of bliss.
⁃ A space where each soul crossing over this threshold is invited to become part of this collective BLISS.
Whatever the Eight Limbs of Yoga translates to you, I invite you to put it in practice in your daily life. That is where a yogi can change the world by leaving it better than it was found.
Shanti,
M.
