З Днем незалежності! 💙💛

Той факт, що ми вітаємо одне одного з цим святом, свідчить: ми добре знаємо, що означає бути в іншому статусі. І ми точно не хочемо інакше.

Подяка всім, хто працює задля слави й свободи нашої країни.

Нехай світло осяює наші думки, а наші серця єднає спільне прагнення бути незалежними.

Одна вайрагья — хорошо, а четыре — лучше. Коротко о круглом столе, посвящённом этому понятию.

В этом году круглый стол вышел особенно плодотворным: удалось запустить живой поток общения, заинтересовать слушателей и вовлечь преподавателей в прямой диалог друг с другом. Особенно заметно проявилось разное понимание вайрагьи: как процесса, как состояния, как практики, и как парадигмы. Но и это не всё. Выяснилось, что у ряда зрелых преподавателей йоги вполне «ведантические» взгляды; более того, в одном из подходов ясно прозвучало влияние философии, далёкой от Индии — Жан-Жака Руссо. Отсюда мы вышли на другую актуальную тему: конгруэнтность практик из разных эзотерических традиций без сопутствующей им метафизики — сегодня нередко говорят о «секулярных» практиках.

Несмотря на роль модератора, и мне доставалось — участники задавали самые непростые вопросы. В целом получилось бодро, тепло и интеллектуально. Вот запись:

https://youtu.be/l7YOW4ZLWbE

Круглый стол о Вайрагье.
Превью того, как это было 👆

👉 Полная запись на YouTube: https://youtu.be/l7YOW4ZLWbE

Приветствую всех!

Хочу уточнить про набор в новые группы йоги.

В этом году я открываю англоязычную онлайн-группу. Если вы хотели бы порекомендовать занятия друзьям, коллегам или близким, в ближайшие дни я выложу несколько постов — расскажу о своём подходе к преподаванию, программе и немного о себе.

Писать можно в личные сообщения — в Telegram (@DimitriosD) или в Instagram (@danilidis_dimitrios). Мы сначала переписываемся, затем созваниваемся для короткого знакомства. Если всё совпадает по ожиданиям и формату, через две недели начинаем онлайн-занятия.

Мой англоязычный канал в Телеграм: @Yoga_Discourse

New group. Invitation to join.

When I invite people to a new yoga group, I never know how others see yoga and what they expect to encounter in a class.

Yoga today has many faces and Instagram avatars. For some it means dynamic bodily postures; for others — silent sitting with closed eyes. It can be linked to great Vedic seers and profound philosophical texts, yet also to “goat yoga” or even “beer yoga.”

The yoga, however, is difficult to describe before it is practised. Many things a new student will meet cannot be fully explained without experience. How can we know what a journey will bring before we take the first step? How can someone explain mathematics to a person who has never studied it? And those who have already “done yoga” often come with expectations that can obscure what a class will truly be about.

Still, I want each new student to have at least a glimpse of understanding of the program. I would describe it like this:
• We will practise yogic postures (āsanas), but the outer form is not what matters — it is about the science of moving and directing energy through the body;
• We will work with practices that «control the mind», exploring the many different shapes that control can take — this is one of the most interesting part of self-study;
• We will discuss emotions, beginning where the mechanics of Western psychology stop;
• We will enter the esoterics of yoga — not as incense sticks or New Age psychedelic imagery, but as a clear and precise inner discipline of communication with others;
• We will study the methods behind insight and mystical experience — beyond the modern picture of an ecstatic or intoxicated figure.

I hope this contrast helps to return yogic categories to their real meaning, apart from how mass culture has appropriated them. We will study yoga; you will discover more about yourself than you knew before. Self-actualisation and transformation will be the long-term goals.

@DimitriosD

продолжаю на этой неделе писать на английском о йоге 😊

Human life is both simple and complicated. At first, it seems enough just to “be ourselves.” But here lies the first challenge: to know who we truly are — and to live accordingly — is rarely easy. Inside, we often feel either larger or smaller than what we show outside. And as time goes on, we change; the person we were yesterday is not exactly the one we are today.

Complexity grows. Our ways of acting, feeling, and desiring can become more refined if we are willing to learn. Our ability to hold control — or to release it — can also evolve when we know how to train it. Some days we feel in harmony with the world; everything flows and supports us. Other days we feel alone, clumsy, and blocked. Some people naturally light up a room with their presence; others struggle to do so.

These are only pieces of the vast puzzle of ordinary life. Psychology and philosophy may describe such states in theory, but a crucial question remains: how can we return to them, repeat them, live them intentionally? How can we step into the flow, express ourselves with clarity, gain mastery, or awaken charisma?

Here yoga — in its authentic beginning — enters as more than fitness or cultural curiosity. It offers not just explanations but a whole inner cosmos: a precise map of consciousness and practical ways to explore and transform it.

Allow me to share a little about my path.

My primary identity is that of a practitioner of yoga. I entered my first class 22 years ago in Ukraine and have loved everything about yoga ever since. Studying yoga feels like travelling back in time to explore the history of the human mind and its often hidden potential. Being fully immersed in yogic activities, at some point my professional interests began to shift toward becoming a yoga teacher — for me, simply another and more advanced stage of the same path. Teaching carries greater responsibility, yet it also gives a deeper and more vivid experience of meeting the structures of our consciousness, its limits and its possibilities. It fosters profound relationships with students — something one comes to understand and truly value only over time.

Having initially studied economics, my yoga practice and teaching led me first to a master’s degree in physical education and later to a PhD in philosophy, which I dedicated to studying the transformation of meditation (dhyāna) in yogic texts. Today this path has brought me to an elected position as President of the European Union of Yoga. This personal — and at the same time social — responsibility has quickly become an inspiring, intellectually engaging, and at times political activity, offering a unique experience of meeting remarkable people both in the yoga world and in wider cultural contexts.

I was born in Ukraine in a Greek family and early in life found myself moving between worlds — travelling widely and studying in Europe and the United States. This Ukrainian-Greek heritage has always been a strong part of my family’s history and identity, and naturally it shaped my own. I mention it here so that my students can better understand the cultural and personal background that influenced my approach to yoga.

In my teaching, I aim to unite rigorous self-inquiry with practical transformation. Yoga, as I understand it, is a discipline of attention: it refines perception, clarifies thought, and helps one meet life and emotions that come with it with intelligence and courage. My classes combine philosophical reflection with embodied practice, inviting students not only to move and breathe, but also to think, question, and consciously evolve.

For me, yoga is not only a practice but a way of seeing — a dialogue between body, mind, and the mystery of being.

@DimitriosD