Kindness and compassion are at the very foundation of yoga. They are not simply virtues to practice, but expressions of our true nature. Yet make no mistake—an authentic yoga practice will dismantle the ego. That's how you know it's real. Yoga challenges every assumption about who we think we are and the stories we tell ourselves. It invites us to discover something far greater than our personality.

One of the ego's greatest habits is personalization. It constantly asks, Why did this happen to me? Why did they say that to me? The ego survives by taking things personally, assigning blame, and reinforcing separation. Left unchecked, it can trap us in an addictive form of victimhood where lasting joy becomes nearly impossible.

Lao Tzu reminds us, "If you blame someone else, there is no end to the blame." As long as our peace depends on someone else changing, freedom remains out of reach.

YS 2.1 तपःस्वाध्यायेश्वरप्रणिधानानि क्रियायोगः॥
tapaḥ-svādhyāya-īśhvara-praṇidhānāni kriyā-yogaḥ

You must be fueled by a burning desire to continuously study the Self, which is only available in the present moment, and to devote your self wholly to this effort—these are the actions to be taken to attain Yoga.

Follow Your Bliss
- Joseph Campbell

Take From Me All That Is Not Free
The phrase is a popular chant often dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali, symbolizing the removal of ego, fear, and illusions. It entered modern spiritual culture largely through the chanting and teachings of spiritual teacher and musician Bhagavan Das.

This month’s Pusht is a revisit from June 2024’s Pushti. It is very apropos given that we are in the midst of Summer heat. So come sweat. May we utilize it. Let all your physical, mental, spiritual, and energetic impurities burn up in the fire of our great desire for true joy and bliss. May we be forever transformed by the fire!

YS 1.2 योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः
Yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ
When you stop identifying with your thoughts, fluctuations of mind, then there is Yoga,
identity with Self, which is samadhi, happiness, bliss and ecstasy.

॥तत् त्वम् असि
Tat Twam Asi
That Thou Art or You Are That
- from Chandogya Upanishad
The non-dual teachings of Advaita Vedanta suggest that your true nature is not the body or mind, but Brahman, the limitless consciousness that is one with all existence.

The following excerpt is from I AM THAT, Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, (always on sale in our boutique). One would be hard pressed to find a passage that is so succinct and embodies the deepest understanding of the reality of who we are and how to obtain it. I read it almost everyday.