Hilton Yoga Studio

Yoga is not solely what we practice, but how we practice.

In the Yoga Sutras, the physical practice is presented as sthira sukham āsanam: posture that is steady and easeful. This teaching invites us to look beyond the shape itself and pay attention to the quality of our experience within it.

The physical yoga practice becomes a doorway: a place to study breath, sensation, effort, resistance, and the subtle ways the mind and energy respond.

Can we stay connected to the breath? Can we meet effort without forcing? Can we soften where we are gripping and steady ourselves where we feel scattered?

Over time, “advanced” may begin to look less like reaching the fullest expression of a pose and more like practicing with honesty, steadiness, care, and discernment.

That kind of practice may not always look impressive from the outside, but it can transform the way we move, breathe, and live.

Tag someone who’s redefining what “advanced yoga” looks like on social media.

Curious what this shift can look like over years of practice?

Sarah Ezrin shares a beautiful reflection on the journey from chasing poses to practicing with deeper awareness in “The More I Practice Yoga, the Fewer Poses I Can Do.”

Read more here: https://yogainternational.com/article/view/sthira-and-sukha-steadiness-and-ease/

If you listen closely, your breath is already repeating a mantra.

In yoga, mantra is traditionally understood as a “tool for the mind”—a way of placing and steadying attention. Or, as Rolf Sovik described it: “a thought that protects, guides, and leads.”

So’ham (pronounced “so-hum”) is a mantra that moves with the breath. Rather than creating the sound, you listen for it.

Inhale: a subtle so
Exhale: a quiet hum

In traditional yoga teachings, these syllables are associated with a deeper meaning.

So (“That”) refers to pure, undivided consciousness.
Aham (“I”) refers to the whole of who you take yourself to be.

Together, so’ham: “I am That.”

As your attention settles into the mantra within the breath, its meaning becomes less conceptual and more direct—
less identification with each passing thought,
more familiarity with the awareness in which those thoughts arise.

Because the breath is continuous, this yoga technique can be threaded through ordinary moments—walking to your next meeting, looking out the window, even waiting for the toast to pop.

A quiet thread of recognition, always available.

📖 To explore the roots and method of this practice, read “A Mantra Meditation for Everyone” by Rolf Sovik: https://yogainternational.com/article/view/a-mantra-meditation-for-everyone/

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