First Light
How First Light worksTuesday 27 October·
- Sunrise
- 07:55
- Quiet hour
- 06:19–07:07
- Brahma Muhurta
- Moon
- Waning gibbous
- Next full moon: Tue 24 Nov
Autumn
The quiet hour (Brahma Muhurta) is the traditional time for practice, just before sunrise.
ततोऽणिमादिप्रादुर्भावः कायसम्पत्तद्धर्मानभिघातश्च
tato 'ṇimādi-prādurbhāvaḥ kāya-sampat tad-dharmānabhighātaś ca
From that come the powers such as becoming minute, the perfection of the body, and freedom from the limits of the elements.
Yoga Sutras 3.46 · verse 152 of 196
Unfolding the thread
The classical texts list eight great powers, beginning with aṇimā, becoming infinitely small. The body becomes perfect and no longer obstructed by the elements. These are the most extravagant claims in the Sutras, and Patanjali has already told us how to hold them: lightly.
Try today
Notice one limitation of your body today and accept it kindly. Perfection is not required for peace.
The Echo
The same truth, heard in another tradition
“Knowing that this body is (fragile) like a jar, and making this thought firm like a fortress, one should attack Mara (the tempter) with the weapon of knowledge, one should watch him when conquered, and should never rest.”
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