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Priya Raman

Priya Raman writes about yoga's philosophy and history - the Sutras, the eight limbs, the Gita, and how the old ideas map onto a modern practice. She grew up around the stories long before she studied them, and she reads the classical texts the careful way: several translations side by side, with an eye on where the translators quietly disagree. When translations differ or scholarship is unsettled, the disagreement makes it into the article instead of getting smoothed over. Her shelf of competing Yoga Sutras translations is, by her own admission, out of hand. She also covers the styles beat from the traditions side - where a lineage actually comes from, what its early teachers said, and what got added along the way to the studio schedule. Her own practice is quiet and mostly seated, which she considers entirely on brand.

Priya Raman

By Priya Raman

The Yamas and Niyamas: Yoga's Ten Ethical Guidelines, Explained - by Priya Raman
Yoga Philosophy & Wisdom The Yamas and Niyamas: Yoga's Ten Ethical Guidelines, Explained
Yamas and niyamas - what do yoga's ten ethical guidelines actually teach? They come before the poses, and many students never hear about the...
Priya RamanJuly 6, 20265 min read
Yoga Beyond the Mat: How a Daily Practice Reaches Into the Rest of Your Life - by Priya Raman
Yoga Philosophy & Wisdom Yoga Beyond the Mat: How a Daily Practice Reaches Into the Rest of Your Life
After class ends and the mat rolls up, yoga keeps working on you. See how a daily practice reaches into the rest of your life.
Priya RamanJune 15, 20264 min read
Restorative Yoga: The Practice of Doing Almost Nothing - by Priya Raman
Yoga Styles Restorative Yoga: The Practice of Doing Almost Nothing
Restorative yoga is not a workout, not a stretch session, and not a nap with props. It's the practice of doing nothing on purpose - deceptiv...
Priya RamanJune 14, 20267 min read
Ahimsa: Understanding Yoga's Practice of Non-Harming - by Priya Raman
Yoga Philosophy & Wisdom Ahimsa: Understanding Yoga's Practice of Non-Harming
The red pen had been living in the mug with the dead highlighters for months, and I grabbed it without thinking. The journal page looked lik...
Priya RamanJune 13, 20265 min read
Vinyasa Yoga: What 'Flow' Actually Means on the Mat - by Priya Raman
Yoga Styles Vinyasa Yoga: What 'Flow' Actually Means on the Mat
Vinyasa is simply yoga where the poses flow together, one movement per breath - that's the whole idea behind the word. So when the studio sc...
Priya RamanJune 13, 20266 min read
The History of Yoga: From Ancient Roots to Modern Practice - by Priya Raman
Yoga Philosophy & Wisdom The History of Yoga: From Ancient Roots to Modern Practice
I propped my phone against the water bottle and got the mat in the frame, the purple so new it still had the fold-crease down the middle. Th...
Priya RamanJune 13, 20265 min read
Ashtanga Yoga: The Fixed Sequence That Either Hooks You or Doesn’t - by Priya Raman
Yoga Styles Ashtanga Yoga: The Fixed Sequence That Either Hooks You or Doesn’t
A new student settles onto her mat for her first Ashtanga class and waits for the theme announcement, the playlist, the "today we're explori...
Priya RamanJune 12, 20266 min read
The Ethics of Teaching and Practicing Yoga: What Every Student and Teacher Should Understand - by Priya Raman
Yoga Philosophy & Wisdom The Ethics of Teaching and Practicing Yoga: What Every Student and Teacher Should Understand
Yoga in the United States has grown fast - new students, new teachers, new studios. That growth raises ethical questions every student and t...
Priya RamanJune 11, 20265 min read
Ishvara Pranidhana: The Yoga Practice of Letting Go - by Priya Raman
Yoga Philosophy & Wisdom Ishvara Pranidhana: The Yoga Practice of Letting Go
The columns had seventeen rows now, each possibility branched into sub-possibilities, the pen's blue ink gone thin where she'd pressed too h...
Priya RamanJune 9, 20265 min read
Patanjali's Yoga Sutras: A Beginner's Guide to the Eight-Limbed Path - by Priya Raman
Yoga Philosophy & Wisdom Patanjali's Yoga Sutras: A Beginner's Guide to the Eight-Limbed Path
Go deeper than the postures - Patanjali's Yoga Sutras map the eight-limbed path, and this beginner's guide walks you through the basics.
Priya RamanJune 8, 202610 min read