The studio’s August theme is Jijnasa, the Sanskrit word for curiosity.
Humans are curious beings and in that respect, no different from other creatures of the animal kingdom. But we begin diverging from the pack as curiosity leads us on a quest for more knowledge of ourselves and the world around us.

We chose Jijnasa this month because curiosity fuels our spiritual journey and sustains it through the subsequent stages of self-inquiry, self-study, then self-knowledge and eventually, awakening. It felt like a perfect segue from Lila (playfulness, light-heartedness), which was the July theme.

On a practical level, we can use our sense of curiosity to observe the breath or watch the mind during meditation; notice different parts of the body during Yoga Nidra, savasana, or a flow practice; meet our mental or emotional state while practicing self-study. We can even ask ourselves a simple, “why?” as a meditation prompt and see where that leads us. . . Aren't you curious?

Curiosity is a close kin to wonder, and the two words are sometimes used interchangeably. We often use the word “wonder” to describe how we feel about the vast and mysterious universe we inhabit, but we rarely use it to refer to our intelligent inner world. We can start to behold the mysteries of our internal world with even just the mildest of curiosity, and appreciate how a spiritual quest begins with Jijnasa, one breath, one pose, one mindful moment at a time.