When we attempt our sadhana, what are we pursuing?
Excellent health! Exhaustion of our karmas! Relaxed state of mind! Closer to the divinity! Blessings! Our guru will elevate us because we are applying due diligence! Continue reading
We have eight senses, and they all require prana management. Our five senses which we are familiar with are sight (vision), sound (hearing), smell (olfaction), taste (gustation), touch (tactile perception), and the three senses we are not so familiar with are vestibular (balance), prioceptive (movement) and introceptive (internal). Let us take a quick look at them. Continue reading
It is a busy life. We want to be everywhere at the same time and dabble in everything. It is becoming even more frenetic as most of us are juggling multi tasks. We are always searching for a quick way to relax and meditate. Continue reading
We all take great care of our body. We use fragrant soaps, lotions and perfumes. Our desire is to look good and attractive. We touch up and blow-dry our pictures on facebook and want to present a beautiful persona to the world. We eat healthy as we aspire to be full of energy and have a glow of wellbeing. We exercise and many of us came to Yoga because we wanted to remain fit. When we are unwell, we go to the doctor and take care of ourselves. We are completely involved with our external appearance. Continue reading
Ether element is about space and the visshudhi chakra works on our five senses, our communications and our spirituality. Miscommunication in our thoughts leads to disconnect and disruption. We are moving upwards with our diligence and our sadhana is the practice of ujjayi pranayama. Continue reading
The universe originated from the Tattwas (elements) Space, Air, Fire, Water and Earth. And we are created from the elements. The elements within us influence our auditory, tactile, visual, gustatory, and olfactory senses. When we take to the practice of Yoga, we are looking at how to remain okay. Literally most of us who start our practice have this as our objective. Continue reading
I remember when I was a child, the word Prana was used very frequently. My mother would call us her prana, or say my prana left me when she was concerned. The saying in English would be my heart was in my mouth. Also another saying was my prana dried like the desert. It means that I was so hungry or thirsty, and that I had no energy left. Continue reading
Our heart harbours our feelings and emotions. The phrases are all there and we have used them all. Let us start with we all said, when we were in school. Cross my heart and hope to die. It means I will never give up the secret. To lose heart, to feel a sense of hopelessness. To make the heart bleed, it can be taken sarcastically or feeling very touched by some distressing episode. Continue reading
So much is written about beauty. Kingdoms have been lost and gained. The price for perfection is exorbitant and sometimes devastating. This morning reading the newspaper, all I could read was about body shaming, how to look more radiant, what to eat and what to buy to look more attractive. Continue reading
We require to unblock our left and right nostrils. It is extremely uncomfortable when our nostrils are blocked and we cannot breathe. We breathe through our mouths and it also leads to bad breath. The Ida nadi flows through the left nostril and the pingala nadi flows through the right nostril.
Today when people speak of Hatha Yoga, their understanding is a flexible body and to be able to perform complicated asanas. The actual meaning of Hatha Yoga is to create balance between the body and the mind. Hatha represents the two aspects of within the body and mind. The Surya shakti (solar energy) and Chandra shakti (lunar energy). The solar energy is associated with prana shakti, vital energy, and the lunar energy is associated with chitta shakti, mental energy. Hatha Yoga balances these two energies. We are alive because of these two energies which combine and purify our Prana. Continue reading
Swami Satyananda has a very different view of snorers. We all know people who snore and we can laugh at them, or get mad at them, but they continue to snore unrelentlessly. Once I was travelling in the night train and two compartments away there was a man snoring. He was so loud, we could hear him over the chugging and whistling of the train. My teenage son was with me. We started imitating him, but it had no effect. My son, shouted and said bro please stop. It had no effect. We passed the night sleepless and our neighbor woke up bright eyed. Continue reading
The basis of Ajapa Japa is the repetition of the mantra So Ham with Ujjayi pranayama in the sushumna passage. This process incorporates ujjayi (psychic breath), mantra (psychic sound), sushumna nadi and psychic awareness. It is the best and easiest practice to awaken Prana. The practice of Ajapa Japa is essential for developing the psychic passage, psychic breath and psychic sound, which are the important keys to Prana awakening and wellbeing. Continue reading
What is a yogic life style? It is a way of life, a sadhana and a philosophy. When we start the practice, initially we think that the asanas are good for us. However when we perform an asana, we are keeping three things in mind. We are watching ourselves, we are aware of our breath and we are counting our breath. Continue reading
Pratipaksha Bhavana is the teaching of Swami Sivananda. It is described by Swami Niranjanananda as conversion of negative thoughts into positive thoughts. You cultivate a positive thought every time a negative thought enters the mind. Continue reading