What is Urban Sadhu Yoga™?
Urban Sadhu Yoga™ is a method of applying ancient yogic wisdom in a contemporary context. The Urban Sadhu Yoga™ Method is a modern, integrated Yoga method that incorporates many unique aspects of a traditional Yoga sadhana (practice) for the contemporary urban spiritual seeker. The method draws from the ancient yogic wisdom of India – Raja Yoga, Tantra Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Nada Yoga, Jappa Yoga, and Bhakti Yoga – but does not exclude spiritual teachings from other cultures. Spiritual activism is a key component within the Urban Sadhu Method.
While Raja Yoga, also known as Ashtanga Yoga (Eight Limbs of Yoga), does not acknowledge Kundalini shakti, both Tantra Yoga (ritualization through a daily yoga practice) and Hatha Yoga (yoga asana) do. Urban Sadhu Yoga™ utilizes the latter two in order to reach the ultimate goal of Raja Yoga, which is samadhi or union. To help guide the practitioner to the goal of union with the Higher Self, the Urban Sadhu Yoga Method is supported by six pillars, SADHANA, AHIMSA, SVADYAYA, DHYANA, AIKYAM, and DHARMA.
Yoga should bring about harmony within, and that harmony should be expanded externally into the world around us. Yoga makes us better humans, more loving, insightful, grateful, and compassionate toward others. These attributes are useless unless expressed in the outside world around us. Urban Sadhu Yoga™ expresses yoga in the world through spiritual activism focused on key issues such as veganism, environmentalism, and social justice for all beings. ™
EXPLORATIONS April 2021
The Child is Black, The Child is White
YS IV.28
hanam esam klesavad uktam
Meaning: By letting go of misconceptions and discriminations, obstacles are terminated. – Interpretation: Austin Sanderson
“It is the eye of ignorance that assigns a fixed and unchangeable color to every object; beware of this stumbling block.” – Paul Gauguin, artist
The song “Black and White,” written in 1956 (but famously covered by the band Three Dog Night in 1972), was inspired by the US Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which ended racial segregation in America’s public school system. The lyrics depicted race and color in America through rose-colored glasses:
“The world is black, the world is white
It turns by day and then by night.
A child is black, a child is white
Together they grow to see the light.”
In 1956 maybe the world could be viewed like a black-and-white TV or, if you were progressive, like a box of Crayola crayons with eight colors that fit neatly into a slim flip-top box. An eight-color system is still quite limited when it comes to understanding the complexity and sophistication that exist in the true range of color.
new classes beginning in january
We are very excited to begin several new class types in January.
• Tri-Guna Yoga Class – In the Tri-Guna class the class is divided into three equal sections, giving equal time to the three energetics. 25 minutes vigorous Vinyasa Yoga, 25 minutes healing Yin Yoga, and 25 minutes pranayama and meditation with a final result of total yogic bliss.
• Yoga Nidra (yoga sleep) – Yoga Nidra is a form of Pratyahara (sensory withdrawal), where awareness is slowly drawn from the external world, the body, its functions, the mind, its thoughts and feelings, allowing us to connect to the deeper unconscious inner peace.
• Pranayama Meditation – A new class beginning with breath work that allows us to enter a state of deep meditation with ease.
• Fundamentals & Foundational Vinyasa – Bringing back these classes.
For more info please see the updated schedule.
Listed below are both in person and virtual classes. If you register for a virtual class, you’ll get a link in an email 30 minutes before the start of class.
Online Class Archive
We are also pleased to offer an archive of online classes where you can practice at your own convenience at usyogalive.com . Pricing is $35 per month for unlimited classes. You can cancel at any time..
