Higher Yoga Academy

30/08/2024

Dear friends, hello! 🤗🙏🏼

It's been a while since I last posted on Facebook. I don’t visit often, so I apologize for any unanswered messages and comments.

Life has been busy, but I’m excited to share some updates! 🙌🏼

🔵 First, I’ve created a unique Yoga Philosophy course for both students and teachers. It’s the result of 25 years of study distilled into a 40-hour program. It’s probably one of the most comprehensive online courses out there, designed for modern minds. If you’re looking to deepen your practice beyond the physical, check it out!

https://www.higheryogaacademy.com/page/489601

👉🏼 This course is Yoga Alliance certified and can be used as a Yoga Philosophy plug-in for 200 or 300-hour Yoga Teacher Trainings. If you or your yoga friends run YTTs, feel free to contact me through the link below, and let’s collaborate. 🔥

https://www.higheryogaacademy.com/page/512325

🔵 Second, I’m working on a book 📚 with my dear friend and colleague Christiaan, which will be published this October. It’s actually a series, with Book 01 coming out in October. 🥳

🤓 If you want to start reading now, there’s a free part available for download on the page below. There are also two advance purchase options to support our work and get an early bird discount. 🥰

https://www.higheryogaacademy.com/page/564927

🔵 Lastly, almost a year ago, my friends, students, and I started a Meditation Sangha project. We meet every Saturday to meditate, discuss philosophy topics, answer questions, and more. We’ve had 47 meetings so far, all recorded and available to participants.

I’m thrilled to share that we’re seeing some amazing results! The secret is consistency—retreats and trainings alone don’t bring profound shifts. Both yoga traditions and modern science agree that regular meditation practice is key, but many people struggle to maintain it at home. So, if you’re looking for a community to grow with, you’re more than welcome to join us:

https://www.higheryogaacademy.com/page/314242

That’s all for now. 🤗💫 I probably won’t be on Facebook much, but we can always connect through any of the programs I mentioned above—this is where I spend most of my time when I’m not teaching in person.

🤍 Sending you all lots of love. May we all be happy and free from suffering. Om 🕉️

26/01/2024

«When a person sets aside all the desires running through the mind and satisfies himself in the Self alone, he is then described as one whose wisdom is steady”. 🧘🏽

The Bhagavad-Gita 2.55 (translated by Nickolas Sutton).

P.S. want to get my certificate 50-hour Bhagavad-Gita Course (YACEP)? Please comment or send me a message! 🙏🏼

26/01/2024

We start this Sunday, so join us today!

These are answers to questions about the Mastering Love Challenge I received recently 😊🙏🏼

26/01/2024

Starting few new projects this year… here is the first video for one of them. 😊

P.S. Verse from the video: “When a person controls the mind, and fixes it on the Atman along, untouched by any desires, he is then said to be properly engaged in Yoga”. || Bhagavad-Gita, 6.18 (translated by Nickolas Sutton).

23/01/2024

https://www.higheryogaacademy.com/page/375695

11/01/2024

✨ Join me for an in-depth exploration of Love from a yogi’s perspective. ❤️🕉

2023 was a challenging year with lots of conflicts in the world, break-ups and disappointments. It’s time to realign with love and set the right tone for the new year. 🤗 It’s so important! So, let’s get together and do it!

👉🏼 7 classes (60min each) + enough time for self-practice to embody Love in all layers of your being!

👌🏼 Attend live classes OR watch recordings moving at your own pace! (All course materials will be delivered straight to your inbox 📨 and replays shared in our private chat).

👆🏼Check out the link below to learn more, and don’t miss the Early Bird offer! 💚

https://www.higheryogaacademy.com/page/375695

Have questions? Drop them in comments or via dm, and I’ll reply as soon as possible! 🤗🙏🏼

24/12/2023

23/12/2023

Higher Yoga Christmas Bundle has been released! 💥🎄🧘🏽

I’m happy to offer this meaningful gift (to yourself or, perhaps, one of your Yoga friends) which can help turn your next year into a year of growth and transformation. 🙌🏼✨

Christmas Bundle includes most important courses and practices that I recorded in 2023 (including a very special 50-hour Bhagavad-Gita Course), and that will hopefully serve many more people in 2024. 🤗🙏🏼

💭 Imagine soaking your mind in soothing and transformative Yoga teachings whenever and wherever you want all year round, mastering techniques that allow to embody these teachings, and staying connected to a community of like-minded practitioners (including myself) through private course chats… 💫

If this sounds like something you would like to have next year for yourself, or gift it to a friend, click the link below and check out the Higher Yoga Christmas Bundle! 💚 (will be available for 2 weeks):
https://www.higheryogaacademy.com/page/372392-hya-christmas-bundle

21/12/2023

There might be many different paths to Self-realization, as they say… However, all these paths lead to one door. No doubt about it! (There is only one Truth ☝🏼)

You’ll most likely be choosing your path according to the unique nature of your personality, but the only way to enter this most important door is to drop your personality and leave it behind.

This final door is only opened through complete surrender - deconstructing and letting go of the “you” that you think of as you...This is the essence of Yoga 🙏🏻

13/09/2023

Dear friends 🤗,

I’m starting 2 online projects which might be of interest to some of you, so please take a look:

1. Meditation Sangha. This one has already started - every Saturday our international community of practice meets via Zoom to meditate, share insights, discuss the philosophy behind meditation and questions that arise in the course of practice or in daily life. Meetings are recorded and shared in our private group chat, that is also our safe space for discussion and sharing.

Please, join here*:

https://www.higheryogaacademy.com/page/314242

*Note, that it’s subscription based, and you can unsubscribe any time.

2. Online Yoga Philosophy course. September 24 I start a unique yoga philosophy course for a small group of earnest practitioners, that you can also join from anywhere in the world. We will be meeting via Zoom each Sunday for about 5 months. Philosophy takes time, and online format is what gives us time to really go deep into the essence of Yoga. Therefore, it's more comprehensive, and much deeper than what you can get in any month-long Yoga Teacher Training. And if you’re a yoga teacher, this knowledge will allow you to stand out of the crowd of teachers who are only skillful in the modern physical aspect of the practice.

You’re welcome to see details and join here*:

https://www.higheryogaacademy.com/page/317116

This is too a subscription based course, so you don’t have to commit to the whole program, and can unsubscribe any time, if you change your mind.

Wishing you all a great week, and hope to connect very soon! 🙏

Refine your understanding of Yoga with one of the most comprehensive online courses specializing in Yoga philosophy and meditation.

23/06/2023

🧘🏽🧘🏻‍♀️ Modern chakra model and most related practices are re-interpretations of original teachings developed and promoted by members of Theosophical Society (mainly Blavatsky), and several influential psychologists (Jung, Leadbeater and few others) in the beginning of 20th century.

These guys weren’t yogis, and many things they changed, added and then popularized are not aligned with original teachings. So, the model is in many ways confusing/misleading and has different effects compared to original ones. 🤷🏼

I invite you join me for a weekend workshop to get more clarity on this topic 🤗

👉🏼 Please follow the link for more info and sign up! 🙌🏼
https://www.higheryogaacademy.com/page/294661

19/05/2023

🧘🏽‍♀️🧘🏽 We all seek lasting peace and happiness, consciously or unconsciously…

🤔 If you think that you desire something else, there are 2 simple steps to test yourself: 1) identify what you want very much (for example, attractive body, successful business, fame, wealth, deep intimate relationships, etc.) 2) Ask yourself: if I get this, but it will also bring anxiety and misery/distress, do I still want it? 99.9% will answer ‘no’, because what we really want is lasting peace and happiness/deep fulfillment, and we only chase other things, because we mistakenly believe they will bring it.

Another way is to apply ‘the 5 (or 7) whys technique’: identify what you want, and then ask yourself, why you want it. Then ask, why you want this something that came up after asking the first ‘why’. Keep asking ‘why’ 5 or 7 times until you get to the core deepest desire, which for most of us will be one or another name for lasting peace and happiness.

❗️Now, everything material is 1) changing and temporal (in other words, not lasting and unstable), and 2) gives only short-term satisfaction. So, it’s unwise to put your trust in something so uncertain – without any doubt, it can NOT bring you lasting peace and happiness. (As Buddha said, ultimately, everything material is the source of ‘dukkha’ – 'distress' 💯).

✅ The only ‘thing’ that CAN bring it (which is not ‘a thing’, of course) is awakening to truth of what we really are.

Ability to abide in awareness of our changeless innermost Self is the natural and proven source of lasting peace and happiness. 🕉🙏🏼
P.S. By the way, isn’t it a good enough reason to join our virtual 300hr Higher Yoga Teacher Training course entirely focused on authentic yogic methods of Awakening? (To help you save time (in fact, years!), we intentionally exclude modern postural yoga, which though gives short-term stress release, is pretty useless in the context of awakening.) Are you ready to start taking real steps towards your deepest desire. Or do you think there is more time to waste on something that feels good for a moment but can’t get you closer? As always, it's up to you..

18/05/2023

🔮 'Darshana' is the foundation of authentic Yoga practice. It is often translated as ‘philosophy’ or a ‘philosophical system’.

These are though valid, are not very accurate translations in the context of Yoga practice.

📚 Philosophy means ‘lover of wisdom’… In ancient times it could be related to any area where intelligence was expressed (such as politics, economy, different crafts, etc.) So, this word has quite a loose meaning and might not show practical value of 'darshana' for a Yoga practitioner.

👉🏼 Darshana (lit. ‘seeing or viewing’) is viewing reality in a way conducive to achieving true goals of Yoga – awakening and liberation. Darshana provides map, direction and compass to clarify and then navigate your path to these goals. And practices are means to embody darshana. (Without it practices have just surface effect and there is no progress in the context of awakening).

Have you heard of anamorphosis? It’s an ingenious perspective technique (in the visual arts) that gives a distorted image of the subject represented in a picture when seen from the usual viewpoint, but so executed that if viewed from a particular angle, the distortion disappears and the image in the picture appears in its true from. ✅

(In my childhood these anamorphic images were very popular: me and my friends would spend hours to find the right viewpoint and see the real picture hidden behind apparent scribble and meaninglessness).

✨ In the same way, the world around you and your own self, in reality, are not what they appear to be. This is a distorted image seen from the usual viewpoint. But if viewed from the yogic ‘angle’, illusion gradually disappears, and you realize, or awaken to Reality as it is.

☝🏼Darshana is the required viewpoint! And if we don’t study and don’t cultivate it, techniques won’t bear desired fruits.

How and where to study? 🧐 • Read original authoritative yogic texts (by original, I mainly mean texts composed before 12th-13th century, because
Muslim invasion was quite destructive to the Yoga tradition, and thus influenced later writings), and or join our virtual 300hr Advanced Yoga Philosophy, Pranayama & Meditation Teacher Training - the only Yoga Alliance certified virtual Yoga Teacher Training that focuses on authentic teachings of the Yoga tradition (you'll find link below)👇🏼🙏🏼

https://300hr-hytt.mysimplero.com/

10/03/2023

I have several times mentioned a growing knowledge gap in modern spirituality in general, and in particular in Yoga industry...

The main reason for this gap is lack of study of original texts that share time proven teachings, opposed to confusing New Age spiritual soup offered in the majority of Yoga workshops, retreats and teacher trainings (which might sound attractive for the ego, but usually turns out to be useless or sometimes harmful in the long run).

To have clarity for yourself, and for your students, if you teach, please join my Bhagavad-GIta Course that begins this Saturday.

We will read and study one of the greatest texts of ancient India, that discusses core spiritual concepts and methods one must understand to live fulfilling life as well as confidently and safely follow spiritual path.

Here is what Mahatma Gandhi wrote about the Gita:

“To me the Gita became an infallible guide of conduct. It became my dictionary of daily reference. Just as I turned to the English dictionary for the meanings of English words that I did not understand, I turned to this dictionary of conduct for a ready solution of all my troubles and trials.”

The course will include 20+ classes via Zoom, that will be recorded and shared with all participants, so you don't really have to attend live, if your schedule is busy in weekends. But if you have time, it would be just amazing to connect weekly and immerse in the Gita's wisdom together.

When you are ready to join, please use this page to sign up:

https://www.higheryogaacademy.com/page/276392

See you in the course very soon! 🤗🙏