There comes a time for most of us when we realize that all of this jumping around, backbending, and toe-touching is part of something bigger. The question is: what? If you are starting to get curious about what's beyond asana, you may want to take a class or workshop with Sean Feit.

A Buddhist meditation and yoga practitioner, Sean teaches a pranayama and meditation class at The Mindful Body on Tuesday nights, and also leads occasional workshops and kirtans. He often starts class with a short asana practice first, but it is in preparation for a deeper meditation practice during which he introduces the other limbs of yoga, including pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses) and dharana (concentration). This past Sunday, in a workshop called All Eight Limbs, Sean talked about everything from modern day spirituality to brahmacharya—the, um, touchy subject of celibacy.

I first learned about these concepts five years back when a teacher recommended The Heart of Yoga by TKV Desikachar (a great book, by the way), but I always wondered why no one was talking about it in my classes. I love the jumping around and the toe-touching as much as the next person, but it's also nice to be reminded where our Hatha practice could be leading us—if we want it to. Sean's intimate classes are the place to go to ask personal questions about your pranayama or meditation practice; he always has time to talk on and off the mat.

We've got so many amazing asana teachers demonstrating the perfect Urdhva Dhanurasana, but very few talking about samadahi. Of course, it's not like we can reach samadahi just by taking a class that addresses it (wouldn't that be nice?) but we can at least get a better idea of what's possible. "My hope in presenting these practices," says Sean, "is just to plant a seed."

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Coming Up: Lululemon yoga benefit for the Healing Yoga Foundation of San Francisco on Saturday, July 28, 8:30am, at 1981 Union Street (Go, if you can!)