When attaining enlightenment under the bodhi tree, the Buddha touched the Earth in bhumisparsha mudra showing that nature is the ground of liberated awareness. The environment, the heart of nature, is essential to our yoga practice and all yogic attainments.

Sāṁkhya (also written as “Sankhya”) philosophy is the foundation of Ashtānga Yoga as expounded in the Yoga Sūtra of Patanjali, its principles are discussed throughout the Bhagavad Gītā, and it provides the theoretical foundation of Āyurveda. So, especially for yoga practitioners and wellness professionals, Sāṁkhya is worth looking further into!

It was as if Sahasrabuddhe’s voice, and the gentle play of the tabla accompanying her, were describing for me what the plants themselves were feeling in that moment. How she held the notes and how she let them go, how the tabla underlined the rhythmic pulse of all that was occurring; the raga landed in my ears the way the water and sunlight seemed to land on the plants: transient but intentional, and most of all, nourishing…