The Yoga Mind Quotes

“There is so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, that it ill behooves any of us to find fault with the rest of us. —James Truslow Adams”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“the chakras and studying the practice of yoga. It comes full circle.”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“CROWN CHAKRA MEANING Sahasrara, the seventh chakra, is located on the crown of the head and represents our connection to the divine. Hello, Divine. Anyone home? SIGNIFICANCE The crown chakra keeps us true to our higher ideals, the purpose behind healing all”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“THIRD EYE CHAKRA MEANING The Ajna chakra, energetically located between the eyebrows, is the sixth chakra. It represents your insight, wisdom, and developed intellect. SIGNIFICANCE This chakra is essential to transforming your knowledge and random, undigested information to wisdom and calculated, digested truth, thus bringing you closer to Yoga.”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“HEART CHAKRA MEANING Anahata, the heart chakra, is the fourth chakra and is located in the heart region. It represents the life lesson of cultivating love within. SIGNIFICANCE Love is defined as a universal identification with all beings instead of a preferential one. When you can experience this kind of love, you have reached Yoga.”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“SOLAR PLEXUS CHAKRA MEANING The Manipura chakra is located in the solar plexus and represents your self-esteem. We all need more of this. SIGNIFICANCE Your ability to believe in yourself helps you stay on course when challenges arise, which we know will be plenty. EFFECT When your Manipura is healthy, you feel confident and empowered. Yay! When it’s unhealthy, you feel belittled and rejected. Boo! The Manipura chakra represents the life lessons related to our ego, personality, and self-esteem—all correlated with our personal power. When unbalanced, we are insecure, lacking self-confidence and self-respect. We live as victims and are unable to take responsibility for our present state. We tend to take things personally and are sensitive to criticism. We live in fear of rejection from all categories, especially appearance issues such as aging and weight changes. Consider where we tend to gain weight—in our tummies, a.k.a. the solar plexus region. Consider whether this could provide insight into emotional imbalances that make us cover up who we truly are.”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“SIGNIFICANCE Because Svadhisthana involves healing our physical relationships, we must heal the one with ourselves first. This creates the life needed to stay on our journey to Yoga.”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“SACRAL CHAKRA MEANING The Svadhisthana is the sacral chakra said to lie between the pubic bone and navel. This life lesson refers to our relationship with sexuality, creativity, and work.”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“ROOT CHAKRA MEANING Muladhara, the first chakra, is also called the root chakra because it’s located at the base of the spine. Are you rooted? SIGNIFICANCE Chakras are energy centers in the body—each with its healing function to your spiritual”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“Pratipaksha bhavana is an instrumental practice in the development of your intellect (see here). Simply put, it’s your ability to change a negative thought to a positive one. It’s easier said than done, because when your mind (see here) takes control, negativity tends to take over and drown out the clear, positive voice. With higher awareness and deeper understanding, you’ll see the negative thoughts coming and you’ll know how to tackle them immediately. Imagine someone gives you red sunglasses. The world will now look red, but it’s only that way because of the lenses on the glasses. Nothing external has turned red, but your perception has changed so you see it as red. The same thing happens when gaining wisdom. You’ll be wearing “wisdom” sunglasses, and you’ll see”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“SIGNIFICANCE Reaching the state of Yoga requires this fundamental practice of changing perspectives because the sakshi (see here) is able to see the truth and quickly apply it.”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“MEANING Pratipaksha bhavana is the ability to see things from a different point of view by understanding a higher absolute truth—flipping the mental switch.”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“Philosophically, bandha means “bound,” implying entrapment to your worldly impressions (samsaras). As yogis we are working toward liberation (moksha). Physically, the three primary bandhas are: 1.Mula Bandha, the root lock, is the contraction of the perineum, turning the energy upward instead of down and out. 2.Uddiyana Bandha, the abdominal lock, is a suction of the abdomen pulling the energy inward and upward, like a “J” formation up the spine. 3.Jalandhara Bandha, the chin lock, doesn’t allow the energy to dissipate through the top but preserves it in the throat and chest. When all are simultaneously engaged, they form the Maha Bandha, meaning the Great Lock. Engaging Maha Bandha releases stored prana from its associated energy center, letting it flow freely throughout the body. Bandhas are an excellent resource for the day-to-day advancement of your practice.”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“prana in the body to facilitate further development in the practice.”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“MEANING Bandhas are energetic body locks created to help the yoga practitioner gain a physical lightness in the body. Sorry, not meant for beginners. SIGNIFICANCE Bandhas are another tool for consciously harnessing, increasing, and directing”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“MEANING Mudras are symbolic hand, body, or face gestures meant to guide the seeker into bliss and joy. SIGNIFICANCE The symbolism behind the mudra is more important than the physical gesture. They are handy tools on your path toward Yoga.”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“MEANING Sakshi means being a witness, implying we must find objectivity in all areas of our lives. Observe yourself reading this. SIGNIFICANCE The only way to Yoga is to make everything impersonal by becoming a sakshi. This”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“Do every act of your life as though it were the very last act of your life. —Marcus Aurelius”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“Mindfulness is being conscious and considerate of others and yourself without adding judgment or preference.”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“MEANING Mindfulness is the ability to be aware and pay attention to others, your surroundings, and within yourself in the present moment. Easier said than done. SIGNIFICANCE Mindfulness is the temporary state of being present, which requires some development of the intellect (see here) so that eventually,”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“Philosophically, your drishti is when your sight is on higher ideals and deeper truths.”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“Each pose tends to have a specific drishti point associated with that pose. When in doubt, your default drishti point is a few feet beyond the tip of your nose diagonally downward.”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“MEANING Drishti translates to “gaze,” but it is used externally and internally. It’s not only what you see, but how you see it. I spy with my spiritual eye. SIGNIFICANCE The eyes are the windows to our soul, so when we shift our inner vision, our outer vision changes, leading to the truth.”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“MEANING Om is the most powerful primordial sound, or mantra, from which the entire universe becomes manifest, and is the vibratory essence of Brahman, your true nature (see here). Yes, you are that powerful! SIGNIFICANCE When we chant om with devotion, we summon the transformative powers of the word-”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“•Om Shanti, which means “Peace.” •Om Namah Shivaya, which means “I bow to the divine Self within me.” •I love myself. You know what that means.”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“MEANING A mantra is a sound, vibration, or word repeated to focus one’s mind (see here) on one point so as to connect to something higher. SIGNIFICANCE Mantras were originally meant to be chanted in Sanskrit, making them more powerful”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“teachings, when you enter the fourth state, you get that same feeling of relief from waking up from the waking state. You realize the waking state is also a delusion and dissolves.”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“Samadhi is equivalent to entering the fourth state of consciousness: turiya. There are three main states of Consciousness: deep sleep, dream state, and waking state. The fourth state, turiya, is often not discussed. In deep sleep, we wake realizing we felt nothing. That’s the best! Reflect on the feeling you have when you wake from a horrible dream and realize it’s all a delusion and it dissolves immediately.”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“Samadhi, the final stage of the Eight-Limbed Path, is equivalent to Enlightenment, thus requiring the practitioner to have no more desires or delusions of the Self. Your single-pointed focus, Dhyana (see here), to reach Enlightenment has paid off. The practice of Dharana (see here) led you to Dhyana, which led you to Samadhi.”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice

“MEANING Samadhi is the eighth and final limb of Raja Yoga, where one gets absorbed in the nondualistic and highest state of consciousness. Enlightenment, baby! SIGNIFICANCE Samadhi happens automatically when one has been fully purified by the wisdom gained; it’s synonymous with the true essence of Yoga (see here).”
― Rina Jakubowicz, The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy to Deepen Your Practice