Elizabeth Elson

Everyone’s talking. Yoga asks a better question: what kind of talk is this? Meet vāda, jalpa, and vitaṇḍā—and a simple check that can transform every conversation.

The Yoga Sutra says practice “well-grounded over a long time” changes us. What if non-cooperation starts inside—refusing illusion—before it shows up in public life? Here’s how a yogic long game works.

Step into a cave so quiet the world disappears. A candle’s steady flame taught me more about samadhi than any hot take. Here’s why a few minutes of stillness can help you meet a chaotic world with clarity.

What if detachment isn’t indifference but disciplined compassion? In a week of hot takes and hard truths, I turned to the Bhagavad Gita for a steadier view.

At 8 pm, our block erupts—lids, whistles, and car horns. It isn’t chaos; it’s a centuries-old tactic with a surprisingly hopeful purpose. Here’s why I’m joining DC’s nightly cacerolazo—and what the Bhagavad Gita has to do with it.

Another “emergency” sweeps D.C.—not crime, but a theater of power. Yoga philosophy names what’s happening: karma without dharma, executive power in unqualified hands. Drawing on the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam’s portraits of rulers, this piece contrasts fear-mongering with the marks of true leadership and lands on yoga’s first principle—truthfulness—as the daily practice that pushes back. If you’ve wondered how to respond when facts are bent and language is weaponized, here’s a clear, tradition-rooted way to live—and speak—your practice.

“Is this seat saved?” “No—but we’re praying for it.” A light moment at a religious-freedom summit opens into a serious point: why yoga philosophy supports pluralism and genuine religious freedom, not coercive “religious liberty.” Drawing on Vedic ideas of dharma and the state’s duty to protect everyone, this piece points to justice that’s merciful, equitable, and free of duplicity. If you’ve wondered how to speak about faith, ethics, and policy without sectarian spin, you’ll leave with language that lands.

Ask “What does yoga philosophy say about… anything?” and the honest answer is: a lot—and not always the same thing. Step into a landscape of Vedanta, Buddhism, Sankhya, and the Yoga Sutras—different maps with overlapping ground. You’ll see where views diverge (nondual vs. theistic, mind-first vs. enumeration) and where they converge on shared ethics: non-violence, compassion, humility, non-attachment, and social responsibility.

Stress got me back on the mat—but it also raised a bigger question: who and what am I serving? From asana and pranayama to meditation and the Bhagavad Gita, this reflection links inner steadiness to outer peace. I share why yoga is more than self-care: it’s service—acting “without attachment” for the world’s welfare. If you’ve wondered how practice can guide public life as well as private calm, read on.

On a childhood train ride, a stranger told me, “If you remember me hard enough, I’ll remember you, too.” Years later, the Bhagavad Gita gave that line new weight: samsara (reincarnation), the eternal self, and a God who remembers every life—Krishna. What if memory is a path, not a scrapbook? Follow this thread from one goodbye to a simple practice of remembrance that quietly points us home.