Yoga means yoke, or union. In the Yoga Sutras Pantanjali defined yoga specifically as mastery over the mind-body. This involves active practices that transform both our inner world as well as our relationships in pursuit of Samadhi, a state of enlightened consciousness and clarity. Dialogue and happenings in the yoga world today continually illuminate how relevant and important our relationships with our Selves are to the vitality of our communities and our world. Everything is connected.
Paulo Freire, the late Brazilian educator, philosopher, and advocate of critical pedagogy defined praxis as "reflection and action directed at the structures to be transformed." Praxis necessitates actions that are intentional and embody the reflection behind them. Praxis necessitates that the people must be at the front of any effort towards their own liberation.
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Our relationship to our bodies, thoughts, emotions, and movement are intertwined with our relationships to others and the systems that shape our lives and that we shape back.
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I define yoga praxis as reflection and action towards our internal and external experiences that must be made conscious and/or transformed in order to move us closer towards individual and collective liberation. ​
Listen to the Yoga Praxis podcast.