I never knew what it meant to choose mySelf. Since childhood, I was so used to pleasing everybody, that I would never think consciously about my own desires and needs. “Consciously” - is an important word.   Of course I had desires and needs -just like everybody else - only I had become an expert in repressing them and putting them off. I remember how proud I was as a child to be able “to stand on my own.” I loved it when people praised me for how “mature” I was for my age, and how proficient I was at almost everything I started. I almost looked forward to talk to everybody about all the wonderful things I had achieved by myself. I wanted to be an easy child for my parents. …

What are body sensations?  Are they useful? I am not taking about our five senses, which connect us to the outside world. I am talking about those body sensations that happen within us.  Being hungry is one of them. We all know what to do about that. But what kind of sensations do we feel when, let’s say, we sense that we are in danger? Or, when we face the unknown? Or when we are in the presence of someone we really like? More to the point, what do we sense from our body when we stop reading or working, and scan the body? Or when a beloved person says something that appears to hurt us? The fact is, that most of us simply don't stop and don’t scan our body for …

For many Yogis, the best time to focus inward is in the early morning, when we engage in Sadhana, a daily spiritual practice. Sadhana has changed my life beyond my wildest dreams. I did not really “dream,” nor did I “make plans” or consciously ask myself: “what my life should look like?” Professionally, I have always been strongly guided by my values, but personally I lacked vision as to how, where and with whom I wanted to live. In the past, life was something that just kind of happened to me. Fast forward many years, I now live intentionally. To do that I need to focus inward on a regular basis during Sadhana. What are some things we can do in order to focus inward? Ask yourself how you feel about …