Saturday, October 31, 2009

Shavasana - The Corpse pose


"The best sign of a good shavasana is a feeling of deep peace & pure bliss. Shavasana is a watchful surrendering of the ego. Forgetting oneself, one discovers oneself". - B K S Iyenger

Shava means corpse. Here the body lies on the floor face up & completely relaxed., while the mind is alert The eyes are shut, arms by the side, palms up, body motionless. The mind moves from the toes to the head relaxing each body part. There are 16 "marmasthans" or sensitive body parts where one holds tension. There are relaxed systematically in shavasana.

The influence of this asana is incredible. Shavasana gives the experience of symbolic death & points to the need to be born anew.

In shavasana, passion, egocentricity & self importance is kept aside. Rest acquires a new meaning. There is a need to surrender, just BE. The body at rest can do its repair work. shavasana gives relief to the mind from driving forces & emotions. The effects are profound .

How are we using the time that remains? This is one qustion surely to surface. On analysis, we can find meaning & definition to our REAL goals & dreams. Let the inner self guide you, rather than just go after things that are socially considered as goals worth achieving.

Shavasana is a very important asana & make sure you keep atleast 10 minutes of its practise daily. You can do it independently, prabably in the evening after coming from work or just before falling asleep.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Joy & detachment

The credo of the true self is joy with detachment. The joy comes from no longer having to cling to a small, defended territory. The detachment comes from having such wide awareness that everything is at once yours and not yours.

Adapted from The Deeper Wound: Recovering the Soul from Fear and Suffering, by Deepak Chopra (Harmony Books, 2001).

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Circus trip

Last evening i went to watch the circus at Bandra Reclimation. This being my first visit, it was very engrossing & amazing to watch such marvellous feats. The flexibility, talent & sheer daring on display was awesome. Kind of inspired me to try on postures aswell.

Having said that, i couldnt help but think of flexibility, gymnastics & their connection to yoga. well, gymnastics is a physical sport whereas yoga is got to do with disciplining the mind. We use the body in asana as a medium to reach, teach & control the body & the mind. In this process we have tremendous benefits on the body viz great health, improved strenght, flexibility.

The posture to become an asana, one needs to stay in it for some time. This time depends on your level of comfort- 30 seconds or 2 minutes. You decide how long to hold the asana with comfortable breathing. If the breath is disturbed the stay in the asana is quite pointless. Benefits go along with smooth breathing.

so try holding 1 posture for a longer time & see it go beyond just the physical level. Listen to the thoughts that surface. Explore them & learn something about yourself :)

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Asana defined

Sage Patanjali is the person who gathered all the available knowledge of yoga & systematically put it together. He is the author of The YOGA SUTRA, a set of 198 aphorisms. It is divided into 4 chapters.

In the second chapter Patnjali defines asana as "sthiram sukham asanam". This means a steady, comfortable posture is an asana. In the entire Yoga sutras only 4 sutras are related to asana. 5 sutras are dedicated to prayanama.

And most of the yoga practise done these days are simply about asana & pranayama.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

How do u feel now

It is so important to know how you feel. Just this evening i was to go out with my sisters shopping. But out of the blue, i felt tired, even angry for no apparent reason. So plans were shelved, i just drove back home. So, i did shavasana & later sipping tea i realised that i was feeling unappreciated in my earlier work & this set a spiral effect on my mood & my body felt drained out. Lack of energy, lack of interest. Had i realised this earlier, perhaps i could have just laughed it off with my loving sisters.

The key here will be, as always, be aware of your thoughts & feelings.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Fantastic food

Yesterday i went to matunga to sample the south indian fare & it was worth all the efforts!

I ventured into Arya Bhavan, opposite station (central). The interior was a bit different from our regular udipi joints, brighter. The service was great as was the food.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Pranayama - The basic

Because the breath is the most tangible manifestation of prana–the power of consciousness–a person with disturbed breathing is bound to be unhealthy, while a person with balanced breathing will have little or no room for disease. Breathing has a potent influence over the functions of our nervous system, brain, and thought process. To ensure a healthy body and a clear, calm, and tranquil mind, we must establish a healthy and balanced breathing pattern. That is the purpose of pranayama practices.

According to Patanjali, the author of the Yoga Sutra, pranayama is the mastery over the flow of inhalation and exhalation. The practice of pranayama begins with cultivating awareness of how our inhalation is followed by exhalation and how our exhalation is followed by inhalation in an uninterrupted flow; how an interruption in this flow disturbs our cardiac function; how a pause, jerk, or noise in the breath disturbs our thought process; and how chest breathing stresses our lungs. Before we attempt to gain mastery over our breath, we need to become aware of the distinction between a healthy way of breathing and an unhealthy way of breathing. In the initial stages, we have to make a conscious effort to cultivate this awareness. Through sustained practice we eventually reach a point where healthy breathing becomes automatic.

Diaphragmatic breathing is the foundation for a healthy breath. We inhale and exhale in response to the expansion and contraction of our lungs. Our lungs expand and contract in response to the movement of our diaphragmatic muscle. When the diaphragm contracts, it moves downward, filling the lungs with air. When the diaphragm relaxes and moves upward, the lungs deflate, causing us to exhale. In short, the movement of the diaphragm is the main cause of inhalation and exhalation. Our modern lifestyle—long hours sitting in cars, in chairs, and on couches, along with pervasive anxiety, fear, and stress—weakens our diaphragm and disturbs its natural cycle of movement. Establishing healthy breathing, therefore, begins with strengthening the diaphragm and restoring its natural movement. One of the best ways to accomplish this is the practice of abdominal breathing or Yogendra Pranayama IV.

Abdominal Breathing
Lie on your back. The legs are slightly apart. Bend the knees, place the feet hip-distance apart on the floor and let the knees rest against each other. Place right hand on the navel. Relax the body and feel the breath flowing in and out. Be aware of the abdomen rising and falling and let the breath flow without pause.

The hand will focus your attention on the abdomen. Let the hand rise and fall naturally with the breath. There will be some effort involved while inhaling, but there should be no strain. The inhalation and exhalation should be about the same length. Make sure you are breathing quietly through the nose.

After about five minutes, remove the hand. Now pay attention to the rise and fall of your abdomen as you inhale and exhale. Sit up after a few minutes.

You can start with three or four minutes a day and increase to 10 minutes. You can also increase the weight by keeping a hard bound book as your diaphragm gets stronger and the movement becomes more effortless. Eventually this will reset the natural cycle of your diaphragm’s movement, making your breath deep, smooth, even, and free of jerks, noise, and pauses. After a few months, you may want to add deep diaphragmatic breathing.



Yoga mudra


This is my favorite posture as it makes me feel so calm & peaceful. To stay longer in the pose you can hold your hands behind the back & relax elbows & shoulders.

As the name suggests this is the symbol of yoga as it unites, harmonises the body to mind & spirit. Yoga means joining, uniting the three aspects of our being into one thought, idea, place. In yoga mudra the dominate thought is of vairagya. Vairagya is a broad concept. It means to be in the mindset of relaxation after doing your efforts, duties. This relaxation comes when you have done your job to the best of your ability & have left it to the Higher power with full faith that the result of your efforts will be in your best interest, for your greater good. There is no worry or anxiousness towards the outcome. So one can let go mentally & physically, relax.

In other words, vairagya comes in when you have done your part & surrendered to the Universal will in good faith. "Whatever happens i can now accept because i know its for my best"

Practise Yoga Mudra when you need to quieten an angry, confused or disturbed mind. When you are low on patience, yoga mudra to the rescue :)

On the physical level as well the effects are marvellous. This asana gives a wonderful massage to all the internal organs aiding assimilation & movement. Its perfect for faulty digestion, constipation & all urogenital related problems.

The variations are twisting to the sides so as to give a boost to peristalsis movement. Try practising it in padmasana. If you cant do this try it in ardha padmasana ( one leg up on thigh & the other down). Change sides to get maximum benefit.

Give more to yourself


It feels wonderful to be complimented, right !! It simply makes our day, everything seems rosier, we may think about it & probably tell a loved one.

what I'm trying to bring to mind is this, why do we not compliment our self? why wait to hear it from someone else? I mean, we are always doing something - lets look carefully & recognise the wonderful things we are doing, how gorgeous we look right now or what an amazing chain of thought?

We are one way in which the universe is expressing it self right now. lets be aware & enjoy it, NOW !!

Friday, October 16, 2009

Acceptance & Gratitude

Just to continue yesterday's theme - when you really accept things, people with all your heart, you cant fail to notice that you feel thankful for having that thing in your life. It might just be a small experience in your life which you cribbed abt but if you have tried saying its ok & go on with your life, it might happen that you notice that something good came from that very experience. Think abt it !

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Acceptance

Acceptance is the first step on yoga.

Acceptance of your self & your world.

Lets take the case of your body. Acceptance of its strenghts & abilities as well as its limitations & lack. Very often with my students i have seen that they keep comparing with others or complaining of their shortcomings. Just pause & ask your self "How is that going to help?". ok, now think about this - if i get to know & understand my body & my mind, i can then begin to fashion it to the way i want to be. So, i need to spend time to gauge, understand & know myself. I can do this by observing, listening & feeling my body & mind. I can only do this if I am quiet enough to see, hear & feel. Now, if your gonna be thinking of a lack or about others, how will you do your own assessment?? while practising engage your entire being, body & mind, on what you are doing, feeling & listen carefully. This will not only give you valuable knowledge abt yourself but you will also enjoy the session.

Taking this concept further, try acceptance of your life- exactly as it is right now. Acceptance of everyone around you - your family, friends, neighbours, collegues, boss.

try this during your next session & see it you feel any differently. Happy practise!!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Hansaji of The Yoga Institute says that instead of trying to practise yoga for a n hour or so , try to bring in yoga practises through out your day. Like, when ever you need to bend down try squating in Utkatasana. Before beginning any new task try breath awareness for a minute. If you have been sitting for a while, get up and do some konasana or a hand to toe or padahastasana.
So, you can do practises through out the day and feel energised all day long. Also, you will not have to keep a speacial time slot for yoga !! This way you do not miss out on your practises.
Instead of finding time to practice Yoga, practice Yoga all the time.” ~ Bob Weisenberg

Saturday, October 10, 2009

If you’re getting stuck in negativity, you’re likely to assume that other people feel the same way about you, and mostly that’s not true. People who really love you keep on loving you, even when you’re not loving yourself. The love you get is limited only by your ability to receive it.

It’s amazingly easy to shut someone else down. Without thinking about it we let pass countless occasions during the day when love makes a tentative appearance – in other words, we turn our backs on spirit.

Your beloved may start to say something nice or give you an affectionate touch or ask how you are feeling. Notice how often this seed isn’t allowed to grow, how quickly you simply cut the gesture off or take it for granted. In this way you limit the love you are receiving, rather than nurturing its faint beginnings.

Being shown a gesture of love is like being offered a portion of God.

Look into the eyes of your beloved and learn to believe that love is really there.

Adapted from The Path to Love, by Deepak Chopra (Three Rivers Press, 1997).

Thursday, October 8, 2009

The secret by Rhonda Byrne talks about the law of attraction & how to use it to live a full life. This is also what yoga talks about. Things like filling up your mind with so much positive thought that there is no place for negative thought is exactly what Yoga is about.

The base is the same - be aware of your thoughts, control or direct them to what you want. Its an inside job - apply the secret or yoga technique - its the same !