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    Deeper Matters

    The world is dominated by masculine (Yang) energy. Yang energy is competitive, aggressive and domineering. Feminine (Yin) energy is healing, loving and peaceful. (The world could use a lot more feminine energy.) Yin Yoga is simply the practice of cultivating healing qualities, and is a particularly effective means to experience and cultivate stillness, silence and peace. Really, all yoga should cultivate Yin. Yoga is a science of the mind and a physical art form only incidentally. It is a deliberate act of looking contemplatively within at the contents and inner workings of the mind in order to explore, to study and to become aware of the authentic Self, or Soul. The goal of yoga is two-fold: the Soul as it is, and the present moment as it is. The yogi knows there is no distinguishing between the two. Yoga is never something we can find outside of ourselves – it can never be seen or expressed through the external form of a posture. Rather, it is a particular state of consciousness signified by radical contentment, peace and dispassion for the material world. At the very least it is the effort made to achieve this state. Traditionally, this meant the austere practice of formal seated meditation. Purportedly, such aesthetic means is whereby Patanjali formulated the Yoga Sutras and Eight Limbs. All true yoga practice, therefore, must be grounded and supported by a philosophical understanding of the Sutras and Eight Limbs. As the pace of modern life continues to quicken, what people need more than anything is inner stillness; as the modern environment grows more complex, what people need more than anything is silence; as external stressors continue to mount, what people need more than anything is peace. ‘Deeper Matters’ is a potent way to find stillness, silence and peace within.