Does 1 + 1 = 1? 🧐
Does 1 + 1 = 1? 🧐
Why yoga doesn't always mean union
As I prepare for The Truth of Yoga online course – which runs live as a four-week immersion in November – I’ve been reflecting on some common misconceptions.
The video below presents a free talk on perhaps the most widespread – the notion that yoga is all about oneness. It’s an accessible overview of dualistic frameworks, and shows how ideas from the Yoga Sūtra, the Bhagavad Gītā, the Upaniṣads and Buddhism enable wise choices. To quote the site hosting it:
“If you ask modern teachers the meaning of yoga, the most popular answer is ‘union’. However, many texts have a different perspective. Instead of suggesting that all things are one, they highlight the importance of seeing distinctions. The ability to do so can lead to liberation – while also being helpful in worldly relationships…”
The full talk includes recorded Q&A. And as this video explains, you can ask your own questions via the website, or book a one-to-one session with me.
INTRODUCTORY VIDEO
Click the button to watch the whole presentation. And if you’d like to dive deeper, join me next week for The Truth of Yoga online course…
* Explore how yoga evolved in The Truth of Yoga course – live from Nov. 5 *
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Absolutely! For Patanjali it means the opposite of union, disentangling the purusha from the prakriti. I find it fascinating that today many teachers of yoga read Patanjali through the nonrealistic lens of Advaita Vedanta. There are historical reasons for this (I explore some of them in by book The Ethics of Oneness: Emerson, Whitman, and the Bhagavad Gita U Chicago Press 2021), of course, but philosophically it's a little vexing! Thanks for your good work.