 Photo by Samuel Austin on Unsplash Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better to take things as they come along with patience and equanimity. - Carl Jung This blog post is part of our Yoga Sutras series. Want to start at the beginning? Yoga Sutra 4.7 र्माशुक्लाकृष्णं योगिनस्त्रिविधमितरेषाम् karmāśuklākṛṣṇaṃ yoginas trividham itareṣām The actions of the Yogi are non-white and non-black; but in the case of others are threefold (white, black and gray). Yoga Sutra 4.7 is a final punctuation to the thought we were exploring last month in Yoga Sutras 4.4 - 4.6. When the mind of a yogi has been conditioned through meditation, the ego is slowly dissolved. Thoughts created within this meditative, ego-less state are not subject to karma.
As we saw through the progression of the third pada of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, by effort in concentration one develops the ability to meditate. Through meditation, the seeker can learn to live their life in a deepening state of continual meditation and complete equanimity. At least this is the goal.
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 What brought you to yoga?
Yoga came in and out of my life as a teen and college student as a workout and outlet for community but it wasn't until the COVID-19 pandemic that I began developing a more consistent yoga practice and showing up for myself. Living in isolation and dealing with lots of uncertainty in the pandemic, I experienced a lot of anxiety and yoga was my outlet for presence, regulating my emotions and nervous system, and staying consistent with movement in a time where we couldn’t leave our house. What is your approach to teaching? I am passionate about creating a welcoming and inviting atmosphere in my yoga classes, where all students feel respected. I believe that yoga is for everyone - no matter your race, body type, economic background, language, or gender. Representation and accessibility matter, and I aim to uplift all voices in my classes. I enjoy teaching yoga as a tool for personal growth and helping students feel more confident and empathetic towards one another, and themselves. Why did you choose to teach at 5KY? Because of the community atmosphere! When I first discovered 5KY as a student, I loved how accessible, intimate, and community oriented the studio was. Additionally, I love how 5KY is women-run and has a diverse range of classes and teachers. There’s something for everyone at 5KY, whether you are a beginner or have taken hundreds of classes, and the instructors have diverse backgrounds and styles, so always something new to learn and try. :) What makes your soul sing? Hanging out in the sunshine, walking in the forest, spending time with my loved ones and kittens, and eating a good vegan donut.  What brought you to your yoga practice?
I was looking for something like this because I felt like I needed this for healing and to help me move and build my self esteem. I was feeling not myself during the COVID time, feeling isolated, stagnant and wasn't feeling right mentally and physically. I wasn't feeling good about myself and kind of depressed. I tried yoga a few times before but never really stuck to it more than once or twice. What benefits did you notice once you started practicing consistently? More flexibility, my body is able to be more flexible, and it taught me how to breathe and meditate and stay in the moment. It also helped me with digestive problems that I started having during the pandemic. What would you now tell yourself before you started practicing yoga? That I need to get out and do something for myself. Life is not always comfort because if you stay comfortable it doesn't help you in the long run and after a while you start to digress. I will keep coming back.  What brought you to your yoga practice?
I tried yoga in high school and loved it, but had focused on my on-again-off-again relationship with cardio for the past years. Last summer, I attended yoga classes at Gallagher Way hosted by Five Keys, and I fell in love with yoga as a communal and cultural practice. I've been attending a class at least once a week ever since. What benefits did you notice once you started practicing consistently? Immediately, I experienced pain relief in my hips and back. I grew in confidence, and experienced a much deeper relationship with my body; one based on respect and love for its capabilities. Those things make it easy to turn yoga into a priority in my schedule. What would you now tell yourself before you started practicing yoga? I would tell myself that respecting and honoring what my body is capable of is much more important than meeting my own expectations of image. Health is so much more holistic than you think. How I show up to class mentally is almost as important as the practice.  Photo by Ashley Batz on Unsplash No one can deny his own being. - Ramana Maharshi This blog post is part of our Yoga Sutras series. Want to start at the beginning? Yoga Sutra 4.4 निर्माणचित्तान्यस्मितामात्रात् Nirmāṇa cittāny asmitā mātrāt Fluctuations of the mind are created solely from the sense of individuality. Patanjali’s explanation of karma extends to our own psychology in Sutra 4.4. If we think back to Yoga Sutra 1.2, wherein Patanjali explains the concept of citta, or the fluctuations of mind we call thought, remember that Patanjali defines yoga as calming these fluctuations.
Now Patanjali tells us that the citta is born solely from our sense of individuality or in other words, from our ego. Ego is not inherently bad but it is the thing giving rise to our thoughts and what we must overcome in order to feel at peace in all situations we encounter in our lives.  What brought you to your yoga practice?
I need movement in my life to be happy, and for a long time before yoga I exclusively practiced martial arts. While there are a lot of benefits to that and I don't regret it at all, there came a time where engaging with it was no longer supporting what I wanted my life to become. I came to yoga looking for a more supportive community that would let me engage on my own terms and an activity that would challenge me in new ways physically and mentally. I found both! What benefits did you notice once you started practicing consistently? I'm a lot more gentle with myself when I need to do something differently than what I feel is expected of me. The practice of sitting with whatever your limits are, right now, today has made it a lot easier to "take a modification" in real life to accommodate what I need in the moment. What would you now tell yourself before you started practicing yoga? You don't have to work at it. It's not something you need to stress about improving or changing. Your practice today is as valid as your worst day and your best day, and if today you just sit down and don't move that's your practice then maybe you worked just as hard as anyone else.  Photo by Photoholgic on Unsplash Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go. - Oscar Wilde This blog post is part of our Yoga Sutras series. Want to start at the beginning? Yoga Sutra 4.3 निमित्तमप्रयोजकं प्रकृतीनां वरणभेदस्तु ततः क्षेत्रिकवत् Nimittam aprayojakaṁ prakṛtīnāṁ varaṇa-bhedas tu tataḥ kṣetrikavat Incidental events indirectly cause the evolution of nature by removing obstacles on its pathway. On the other hand, this energy may be channeled like a farmer removing barriers within a watercourse. Sutra 4.3 is one of my very favorite Yoga Sutras. It is poetic but also clear and direct. But before we get to that…
Let’s not gloss over Yoga Sutra 4.2 because it is tied to the meaning of Sutra 4.3. In 4.2, Patanjali discusses the idea of karma, which underpins the philosophical background of this text. As Vedantic scholars, the scribes listening to him would be intimately familiar with the idea of karma. These days karma seems to be shorthand for justice or punishment, which couldn’t be further from the truth. To begin with, karma is not that orderly.  Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams - Eleanor Roosevelt This blog post is part of our Yoga Sutras series. Want to start at the beginning? Yoga Sutra 4.1 जन्मौषधिमन्त्रतपःसमाधिजाः सिद्धयः Janmausadhi mantra tapah samadhi jah siddhayah Accomplishments in yoga can come through birth, medicinal plants, mantra repetition, intense spiritual practice or by samadhi. Patanjali returns once more to the siddhis, which we are calling “accomplishments” here for simplicity and readability. Siddhi implies something much more than simple accomplishments.
A siddhi is a spiritual phenomenon that is a “superphysical” (Satchidananda, 237) sense. Much like we can see, hear, smell, touch, taste, and even sense ourselves in space and from within, some yoga practitioners also achieve sensory phenomena that don’t seem to align with the laws of physical science that we observe with matter. This makes perfect sense. The mind is not like matter and as Patanjali has already explained to us in pada one, the mind has lots of states (dreaming, imagining, remembering) that produce mental phenomena that don’t correspond with physical reality and yet, physical reality is shaped by it.
What brought you to yoga?
Curiosity! Everyone is doing it or wanted to do it, what is so compelling about yoga? I searched social media and of course, yoga looked so elastic and beautiful, yet hard. At first, I believed yoga was what I saw on social media—deep shapes and extreme flexibility—so I pushed into hyperextension while my mind raced constantly with my to-do list. In case I end up in a slow flow yoga class, my mind would scream “boooring and you have so much to do.” Over time, yoga taught me something very different: how to slow down, listen, breathe, and move with care and alignment. That shift became a turning point for both my practice and my life. What is your approach to teaching? My approach is heart-led, mindful, and supportive. I focus on breath, safe alignment, and nervous-system regulation, offering classes that are grounding yet challenging. Before teaching yoga, I worked closely with the heart and saw how deeply stress impacts overall health. Because of that, my goal in every class is to reduce stress, help students feel safe in their bodies, and guide them toward strength, ease, and presence—on and off the mat. Why did you choose to teach at 5KY? I chose to teach at 5KY because the studio is not a commercial space, it values authenticity, community, and thoughtful teaching. The emphasis on the whole person aligns deeply with how I practice and teach yoga. 5KY feels like a space where students are encouraged to show up as they are, and where teachers are supported in leading with heart. What makes your soul sing? Seeing students leave class feeling calmer, more open, and more connected than when they arrived. Quiet mornings, meaningful conversations, good laugh, time in nature, and sharing breath and movement in a supportive community.  Photo by Guille Álvarez on Unsplash Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory. - Mahatma Gandhi This blog post is part of our Yoga Sutras series. Want to start at the beginning? Yoga Sutras Book Four: Kaivalya Pada Book Four of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is an enigma to me and many other serious yoga practitioners. As we’ve been hinting at throughout this series but especially in our discussions of the third book, Vibhuti Pada, the final stages of a practitioner’s journey are beyond the mind and thus, extremely difficult to describe in a way the mind understands. This work is something that needs to be experienced to be truly understood.
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