For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish

 How do we overcome lust and greed and discover self-sufficiency? Today, we investigate the awakening stories of masters like St Francis of Assisi, Ramana Maharshi, Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Eckhart Tolle etc. to explore some of the deepest topics in spiritual practice: 1. What is renunciation? 2. Why would a person want to give up the world and the sex craving? 3. Okay, you've decided you wan...

A beautiful Q&A exploring the role of sexual desire in spiritual life, how to overcome sexual craving, the Left-Hand Path Tantrik practices involving sexuality (and their misconceptions), the ethics of Ahimsa (Non-Violence) and much more! For more videos and instruction, visit me at patreon.com/yogawithnish Hit Me Up x Support the show Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at...

Happy Easter! Here is mystical interpretation of some of the hidden meanings of the Christian gnostic tradition presented in a guided meditation to awaken within you the ever-renewing joy of your very own Christ Consciousness. May we all remember that Divinity is WITHIN us (the Kingdom of Heaven is within) and that our true wealth is not in the things we want. Rather, what we want are the feeling...

The Yogic solution to the sexual craving is NOT repression...it is transmutation.  Almost all mystical traditions in the world prescribe some form of celibacy as preparation for deeper states of meditation. Often, the yama of Brahmacharya in Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga is frightening to the Western mind. What do you mean I have to give up sex?  In this video, we talk about what the sex drive is...

Happy Spring Equinox! In this 20 minute Tantrik-styled guided meditation, we combine Mantra (sacred sound), Mudra (sacred gesture) and Bhavana (imaginative visualization) to experience the Divine on all levels of our being.  In this meditation, you conjure up the image of your Ishta Deva (Chosen Spiritual Ideal) and then merge into it, allowing your small self to be subsumed into the divinity that...

For more videos and instruction, visit me at: patreon.com/yogawithnish Almost all spiritual traditions around the world insist on "renouncing the world" in order to mature spiritually. What is there to be renounced? Why would you even want to renounce it? And finally, how do you go about doing that in this day and age? I will explore the way different religions present renunciation as an...

For more episodes and instruction, visit me at patreon.com/yogawithnish  Do you have free will? We look at a few ideas from Yoga and Tantra and compare them to similar ideas in Christianity and Kantian philosophy to investigate this age old question of what free will really is. I will show you that you (as the Jeeva, Individual) are a completely determined being and that is an incredibly freeing c...

Here a few of my favourite ideas from ancient Indian philosophy to whet your appetite for a deeper dive into these profoundly transformative, eternally relevant and heartbreakingly beautiful South Asian schools of thought that can help anyone anywhere live a more meaningful life.  Welcome to For the Love of Yoga, a podcast series where we explore various topics in Yoga, Vedanta, Tantra and other s...

We suffer because we cling on to three perceptual errors. I will present some arguments to loosen the hold of these misperceptions in an effort to free you from their sway! For more episodes, visit me at: patreon.com/yogawithnish Hit Me Up x Support the show Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST  Use this link and I will see you there: https://www.zoom.us/j/7028...

We discuss how "spiritual awakening" works in order to dispel the myth that there is a "progression" or "a set amount of work you have to do" to become enlightened. After all, you cannot BECOME enlightened because you already ARE that now. It is your fundamental nature. All it takes is one Insight. In an attempt to give you this insight today, that is, to prove to you...

God is the blissful awareness of your own Being, God is only thing that exists and the Universe as we see it is just an emanation of diversity arising out of the one Unity that you Are. And yet! We still experience ourselves as a separate from the world around. We experience suffering and contraction. If we are indeed God, how could this be? Why don't we immediately intuit our nature as the A...

Perhaps one of our deepest discussions yet, today we explore the concept of Atma Bodha (Self-Realization)/Brahma Jnana (Knowing God)/Nirvana/Perfection/Enlightenment etc. to figure out what the ultimate goal of spiritual practice REALLY is. We explore a Tantrik creation story to explain why the world as you see it came to be and what "your" role in it is. Who are you really? And why are...

The Shamanic Roots of Yoga, the Core Teachings of the Upanishads, the story of how Yoga first came to the west and the brilliant life of India's Greatest Saint: Swami Vivekananda! Support our work here: www.patreon.com/yogawithnish Naturally, one hour is not enough to capture to beauty and brilliance of Swami Vivekananda, India's foremost saint and beloved disciple of Paramahansa Ramakri...

Today we talk about the Problem of Suffering as articulated by the Shakyamuni Buddha in order to understand what it is exactly that we're trying to achieve in Yoga. Naturally, we discuss the subtle ideas of Yogic phenomenology (the study of how we perceive the world around us) to show that we are projecting our universe into existence through our mental representations (vikalpas). Then, we ta...

We discuss Shakti, the Goddess: the fierce, fiery, powerful principle of the Divine Feminine as expressed by Shakta Tantra. We compare conceptions of the Female with mystery traditions like 15th CE Alchemy and Occultism, Taoism and Mesopotamian mythology. We make frequent visits to modern gender politics and Jungian psychology to see what relationship the psychic principles of Yin and Yang have to...

In this powerful meditation from the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, we work with the power of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. We call upon this energy through a lush visualization meant to bring the power and profundity of your own Inner Teacher into your heart-space so you can access the guidance and wisdom of your Higher Self whenever you need. Finally, you will receive a popular but potentized 5th CE...

A humble yogic perspective on what it means to live a fulfilling life. We talk about all the different orientations to life and why many of them don't work and then when we figure out why! Hit Me Up x Support the show Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST  Use this link and I will see you there: https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815 For more videos, guided medit...

To celebrate today's Winter Solstice and the Great Jupiter-Saturn Conjunct, I expound on 9000 years of yoga philosophy, teasing out the biggest themes and most revolutionary concepts to nudge you into a transformative shift that you may come home to your True Self which is ever free, blissful and at peace. What are the major takeaways from the Vedic and Upanishadic era? How did these ideas ev...

We discuss the various Gods and Goddesses in the pantheons of the Indus valley compared to pantheons from other traditions. We explore the concept that Gods and Goddesses aren't "out there" but are rather metaphors for what's going on "in here". They are metaphors for subtle psychic forces that are sometimes too "behind the scenes" in our day to day life for...

Now that we've discussed the methods to practice spirituality and the various pitfalls along the path, we turn our attention to a much deeper question: why practice at all?  Hit Me Up x Support the show Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST  Use this link and I will see you there: https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815 For more videos, guided meditations and inst...

We discuss the origin of Suffering in the Buddhist and Yogic literature and then we look at Vidyaranya's famous argument from his 15th CE Pancadesi to prove how you are not the Mind nor are you the Body and as such, you are beyond all suffering! Then, we talk about the Divine Romance, which is the story of Shiva and Shakti's courtship: he descends down from the crown chakra; she rises up...

The Way of Spirit can be steep and winding at times, and broad and obvious at other times. During the journey, you will encounter true and sincere teachers of Spirit but you will also encounter just as many charlatans who peddle peace and take all your money! In the beginning, old patterns that you seek to break through spiritual practice will find their way into your spiritual practice; you becom...

In Part 2, we explore the vast array of spiritual practices with the hope that one of them resonates with you, We also delve deeper into the subtle aspects of asana and pranayama  practice and then we explore the Bhakti Yoga and Jnana Yoga paths for cultivating svadhyaya (study) and isvara pranidhana (devotion) which are integral practices to develop spirituality. Hit Me Up x Support the show Lect...

Spiritual practice: you've been reading about it, hearing about it and listening to your friends rave about it. Now you've decided to take it up yourself! But where to start? The world of spirituality is wide and varied with many roads to salvation and equally many pitfalls and dead ends. This is a journey peppered with unassuming enlightened masters and grandiose charlatans who would pe...

Today, we talk about past-life memories, exploring Om Sety (Dorothy Eady) and other stories of people who have vivid recollection of past lives. We explain why it is that you might not remember your past lives. Is there technique enabling you to do so? Your past lives are much closer and much more available to you than you might expect!  We also discuss the First Incarnation, or the Purpose of Cre...