Scott Anderson, Ph.D.

Things are a bit unique in Madison, WI. You're as likely to see your doctor riding a bike to yoga class, as observing that your lawyer just got another tattoo. It has been said that Madison is 78 square miles surrounded by reality . This past weekend was different, however, even by Madison standards. At the Overture Center for the Arts (the home for the Madison Symphony Orchestra and other yardsticks of Western culture) monks and adepts from around the world were present in unprecedented numbers. Less than one mile away, the leaders of mind/body science presented their recent research findings to His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Later in the afternoon, the Dalai Lama dialogued with renowned scientist Richie Davidson about his latest research...to a packed concert hall! The dedication of the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds was a weekend to be remembered - even by Madison standards. Check out the slideshow here: http://www.news.wisc.edu/slideshows/26/slides/194 . The be...

Very early in my studies, a teacher pointed out a number of my weaknesses. Though a humbling moment, it ultimately inspired me to practice the things I had been avoiding. Like so many of us, I found that working from my existing strengths blinded me from seeing much below the surface. This can be a painful process. We build a notion of who we are and then we assemble evidence to support this notion. We generally watch the news channels that coincide with our existing view of the world, and when we encounter a radio or television program at odds with our worldview, we generally turn the channel quickly. It's human nature, and one of our greatest impediments to growth. The role of a capable teacher is to guide us to visit our blind spots. Rather than practicing the same thing in the same way, the teacher asks us to see the world another way. Along the way, we find more effective and efficient ways to navigate this life. My teacher had a particularly hard-headed student on his hands....

Each March, the Alignment Yoga Advanced Studies program graduates a new class of teachers. We're as pleased as ever with our current graduating class, and wish them all the best. Below is the message we send them off with: Congratulations on completing this 15-months of study. We’ve covered a lot of ground together, and it’s been gratifying to watch where you’ve each gone with this yogic path. What now? Where to go from here? As we found with your Diversity of Practices projects, there are any number of ways to express the practice of yoga. The goal of this course has been to give you the tools to make intelligent choices in your practice and teaching. There are only a few rules to follow when working with bodies; and similarly, very few rules in working with mind and spirit, though there are many interpretations. The primary thing is to practice. Even if you only have five minutes to practice on a given day, you’re building the principle in your Yogic Savings Account (YSA) with e...

The first yoga conference I ever attended was in the Spring of 1992. The Ann Arbor MI yoga community hosted the Iyengar Yoga Convention , and it was a thrill to be in the presence of so many experienced teachers - particularly the presence of Mr. Iyengar himself. Most everyone was referring to Mr. Iyengar as Guruji, and despite some misgivings, I began trying this on for size. Mr. Iyengar my guru? What would that be like? Being very tall and one of the youngest attendees, the convention organizers quickly put a top-hat on my head, and asked me to announce room assignments. Without even thinking about it, I used my loudest outdoor voice to announce the whereabouts of Guruji. It came out of my mouth... my mouth! Guruji will be in room ___ at 9:30am! I wondered where the confidence to say Guruji came from? Was it the top-hat, or did I really mean it? That spring found me deeply conflicted. I'd been steadily advancing toward my Iyengar Introductory certification until Jumpin' Jul...

The job of a teacher is to break a certain subject matter down into manageable bits. While the pantheon of yoga can indeed seem overwhelming, a good teacher introduces new information bit-by-bit as the student is ready. Over a few years, much progress is made in both externally observable criteria such as flexibility, and more subjective internal progress such as patience, generosity and compassion. Once in a great while, however, the good teacher pushes the student well outside their comfort zone in the path to understanding. Over the years, I've worked on developing my capacity for generosity. As a young man, I was convinced that donating/giving was the province of the wealthy. If I'm rich someday, I'll donate a pile of money to _____________. That someday lasted a number of years, and it wasn't until a conversation with my friend and spiritual mentor Morari Bapu that I began to truly understand generosity. Bapu made it very clear that giving/generosity was not bas...