The Inner Tradition of Yoga

Michael talks about yogic-materialism, having a yoga crisis and the true heart of yoga.

For many initiates, yoga may appear to be purely a corporeal activity—a practice related solely to the pursuit of fitness—or perhaps as a recreational and social pastime to be enjoyed with friends. While yoga may indeed serve as a means to physical well-being or provide opportunities to forge new relationships, it also extends to us an opportunity to turn inward and “let go.” As Michael Stone—yoga teacher and psychotherapist—suggests, moving beyond the presumed externality of the body in the practice of asana (pose) is something that requires us to move more deeply inward into the heart of yoga itself. But for a beginner who’s just attended a series of classes that have focused on the very physical sensations and positioning of a downward dog or a spinal twist, what does it mean to turn inward, and just what exactly is the role of asana then anyway?

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Editor: Lynn Hasselberger