Musings with Mugs

My teacher Hari taught me this meditation, which is meant to help us find harmony in prakriti. Prakriti is nature, or all of the manifested Universe, which is subject to the effects of the three gunas. The gunas are the three potential qualities found in everything...

BRING OUT THE NETI POT! SPRING IS HERE! As spring arrives and the plants come into flower, pollens can begin to play havoc with allergies and sinuses. Spring colds and flus start spreading around as well. The yogic cleansing practice of “Neti” is a perfect first...

Practicing kumbhak pranayama with bhavana is a technique of loving kindness, where we develop a mental attitude that is rooted in compassion and love toward ourselves and others. Love is the ultimate expression of God, the Creator. Bhavana means “concentrated...

A yoga teacher training that includes teachings beyond asana by Mugs McConnell Seeking out a yoga teacher training must be one of the most confusing things to do for a yoga student. Most people who desire to become a yoga teacher do so because of the great benefits...

The Puja Ceremony by Marion (Mugs) McConnell There is one invisible, formless spirit called Brahman which manifests itself inside every living thing. Hindus believe in one God, and they worship God through the many forms of gods and goddesses known as deities. The...

The Upanishad Mantra Meditation is one of my favourites in Letters from the Yoga Masters on page 165.  It includes four mantras that are intended to help awaken our consciousness to the spirit within. Along with the mantras we visualize the flow of prana. I have...

(another sneak peak from Mug's book) Sarva means "all", dvara means "door", and baddha means "bound."  All the doors or gates where prana can escape are closed. Sit comfortably and apply shanmukhi mudra (cover the ears with the...

Chanting the Sound of Om By Mugs McConnell In many yoga classes we open and end the class by chanting “Om,” but for many students they don’t really know much about this powerful, sacred mantra. I hope from this article the next time you chant it the Om sound will be...

Pushpaputa mudra is a gesture of offering a handful of flowers to the Divine. You are the offering - you are the flowers, when you are open to what the Divine lays before you.  A great time to try this mudra is after opening yourself up with...

 by Mugs McConnell SOYA, ERYT500, IYTA Back in 1978 I did my initial yoga teacher training at the Sivananda Ashram in the Bahamas. Swami Vishnudevananda and his disciples worked diligently to train us in the science of yoga philosophy as well as the skills of...