06/29/2025
Letโs get it together, shall we?
Round Two: International Yoga Day, Pride Month, and the Truth
June 24, 2025Round Two: International Yoga Day, Pride Month, and the TruthOnce again, the theme for International Yoga Day, as it was in 2023, is a verse from the Maha Upanishad, Chapter 6, verse 71-73: Vasudhaiva kutumbakam. Translated from Sanskrit: "The Earth is one family."The literal breakdown,...
04/23/2025
Sign up! Only 25 spots๐ง๐ฝโโ๏ธ๐๏ธ๐งCanโt wait to practice with you๐๐ป๐โ๐ป
Free Yoga & Meditation
Lara Moon, founder of Chilltown Yoga, will lead an all-levels yoga session to restore your body followed by mindfulness meditation.
04/23/2025
Getting ready to share sweet relief in a FREE 30-minute yoga and meditation session this Friday, 11:30 am .collective. Visit Eventbrite Jersey City or Narra Collectiveโs website to sign up.๐ง๐ฝโโ๏ธ๐๐๏ธ๐๐ปโ๐ป๐ง
04/16/2025
The original Chutes and Ladders helped tune oneโs moral compass. ๐งญ โ๏ธ๐๐ป
The 13th Century CE, Indian poet and saint Gyandev created a children's game called Moksha Patam. The British later named it as Snakes and Ladders instead of retaining the original Moksha Patam.
Originally, the game was used as a part of moral instruction to children. The squares in which ladders start were each supposed to stand for a virtue, and those housing the head of a snake were supposed to stand for an evil. The snakes outnumbered the ladders in the original Hindu game. The game was transported to England by the colonial rulers in the latter part of the 19th Century CE, with some modifications.
In the original one, a โhundred squares game boardโ, the 12th square was faith, the 51st square was reliability, the 57th square was generosity, the 76th square was knowledge, and the 78th square was asceticism. These were the squares where the ladders were found and one could move ahead faster.
The 41st square was for disobedience, the 44th square for arrogance, the 49th square for vulgarity, the 52nd square for theft, the 58th square for lying, the 62nd square for drunkenness, the 69th square for debt, the 84th square for anger, the 92nd square for greed, the 95th square for pride, the 73rd square for murder and the 99th square for lust. These were the squares where the snake waited with their mouth open.
The 100th square represented Nirvana or Moksha.The tops of each ladder depicted a God, or one of the various heavens (Kailash, Vaikunth , Brahmalok) and so on. As the game progressed various actions were supposed to take you up and down the board as in life..The game had been interpreted and used as a tool for teaching the effects of good deeds versus bad ones.
The game was popular in ancient India. It was also associated with traditional Sanatan philosophy contrasting karma and k**a, or destiny and desire. It emphasized destiny, as opposed to games such as pachisi, which focused on life as a mixture of skill and luck. The underlying ideals of the game inspired a version introduced in Victorian England in 1892.
The modified game was named Snakes and Ladders and stripped of its moral and religious aspects and the number of ladders and snakes were equalized. In 1943, the game was introduced in the US under the name Chutes and Ladders.
04/03/2025
I miss the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, such a haven of peace and beauty.
Spiral magazine - Interdependence issue
04/01/2025
Looking forward to sharing and .collective on April 25 ๐๐๐ป๐งโโ๏ธCome join us๐๏ธ
02/16/2025
Sh๐ฉt yoga teachers do: grab ur mat bag on the way out the door, even though youโre not teaching, but leave ur umbrella on the light rail.
02/03/2025
โHow often and how long do you need to practice yoga to get this effect? So far researchers do not have a conclusive answer, but most of these research studies implemented yoga programs that lasted from eight to 12 weeks with a frequency between once weekly to daily. Yoga classes in the research studies range from 30 to 90 minutes. As with most mind-body practices, regular consistent practice yields the most promise.โ
New Research on How Yoga Boosts Your Immune System
A review of randomized control trials on yoga's impact on the immune system yields promising results.
01/20/2025
Happy Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day ๐๐ฟโฎ๏ธ๐๐ป
12/30/2024
A very merry Yule to you! ๐ฅณ๐๐ Did you give or receive the gift of yoga this season? ๐๏ธ๐งโโ๏ธSure hope so! If not, come practice online with me Still the most affordable, top quality, inclusive and accessible yoga instruction in . . . the universe๐๐Visit chilltownyoga.com to book online today! โ๐ป๐๐ป๐