Think Twice & FTWMI: A Reminder About Separating the Baby from the Dirty Bathwater (w/an excerpt) December 14, 2025

Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing Advent, the Nativity / St. Philip’s Fast, Chanukah, and/or sustaining kindness, friendship, peace, freedom, understanding, gratitude, and wisdom.

May you be safe and protected / May you be peaceful and happy / May you be healthy and strong! May you be nourished!

“Yoga is for all of us. To limit yoga to national or cultural boundaries is the denial of universal consciousness.”

— quoted from Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health by B. K. S. Iyengar

You may not think twice about how you sit or stand. However, how you sit and how you stand (on and off the mat) informs how you move through the world;, how you interact with people and how people interact with you; as well as how people perceive you and how you perceive a moment. Just as we can “cultivate a steady and stable; easy, comfortable, or joyful seat or pose” (YS 2.46) on the mat, we can work to do the same off the mat. Of course, to do this, we must keep in mind that none of this is just about the physical body and/or the mind.

The Yoga Philosophy is an 8-limbed practice that includes an ethical component, the elements of a physical practice, and an awareness of something spiritual, something energetic — something more than an individual person and their body. Even when we just focus on the asana and pranayama — the third and fourth limbs that make up hatha yoga, the physical practice of yoga (regardless of style or tradition), we cannot escape that there is something more, something deeper.

Practicing without the ethical components has the potential to create great harm — sometimes to ourselves and sometimes to others. This truth has, unfortunately, been demonstrated again and again by some of the greatest teachers and practitioners in the world. (See post excerpted below.) I would also argue that practicing without the awareness of the spiritual and energetic elements makes it easier to ignore the ethical components and, therefore, easier to create harm. (Again, see post excerpted below.)

Yesterday, while talking about Saint Lucy, I mentioned:

“When we practice āsanas (“seats” or poses), a significant amount of energy and awareness goes into how we sit (or stand). This deliberation and intention allows us to pay attention to our breath (which is a symbol of our spirit and life force) and also to extend and direct our breath (and therefore our spirit and life force). In a sense, we are careful about how we stand specifically so that we can be intentional about how we use our energy. Another way to think of this is that how we move and hold our body, as well as how we breathe and pay attention to our breath, allows us to very intentionally, deliberately, and mindfully start to focus on our inner light. When we focus-concentrate-meditate on our inner light, it appears to get brighter. In fact, over time, our inner light begins to shine out into the world – but, first we have to be able to see it.”

Sometimes, we do not see the light because we are focusing on the darkness. That is a very real danger here in the United States and overseas where, even as people began celebrating light, darkness encroached. Tragic and traumatic events can lead us to even darker places and, if you find yourself being drawn into the dark, seek out some help.

Help can come from many sources. Just as light can come from many sources.

“Yoga is a light which, once lit, will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter the flame.”

— quoted from Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health by B. K. S. Iyengar

For Those Who Missed It: The following reminder and excerpt were previously posted.

“Throw the baby out with the bathwater (or more accurately das Kind mit dem Bade ausschütten) is a German proverb that dates to 1512. It was first recorded by Thomas Murner in his satire Narrenbbeschwörung (Appeal to Fools), in which he uses it as a chapter title. Murner uses the phrase several times in his chapter and the original manuscript even has a woodcut of a woman tossing a baby out with the wastewater.”

— quoted from Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends by David Wilton

B. K. S. Iynegar was born today in 1918, in Pune, India. Click on the excerpt title below for a related post (which includes a popular word myth).

Practice Responsibly

Please join me today (Sunday, December 14^th) at 2:30 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “04192020 Noticing Things”]

NOTE: These are double playlists. You can start with Track #1, Track #11, or Track #12

If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.

White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.

If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).

I will offering in-person classes during January 2026. Click here for more details and to reserve your spots now. Let’s start the 2026 together!

In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).

Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.

Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.

### PRACTICE & TEACH RESPONSIBLY ###