Yogic tip for today

Doing gomukh (cowface pose) will help you reach your hand to your ankle for more easily in the half-spinal twist...

Daily Health Gyan

Saw this in the Times, but I too have been blabbing about this for a while: fruit juices are `unhealthy'. According to the Times health capsule, having fruit juices is as bad as having soda! Fructose is the culprit -- weight gain, sugar crash, blood sugar yo-yo, blood pressure yo-yo...

Al-Batin, the hidden one: my third tattoo ... on a tough spot, on the neck

When u read the meanings of the names of Allah (99 -- did u know there is a story that the camel looks so proud because it is the only creature which knows the 100th name of Allah:) u get the feeling that it is the One -- Brahman -- that is being spoken of. I get the same goose pimply feel  when I read Biblical verses. The mystical experience is unifying and any case beyond words, more implied than spoken of directly. . The religious experience, where rituals overtake the message, can be rather disturbingly me-Vs-u...

Sometimes I worry yoga seems to be headed that way ... pure yoga is unifying, non-dualistic... yoking, uniting, sharing, giving, accommodating, adapting, growing... But u know, when I write on yoga, the sort of hate mail  that some people spit out on the message boards below my article, it makes me really wonder if  ` their yoga'  is different... But more, if these  guys practice yoga at all. Because if they did....

 

Zaheer Chhatriwala (Below is his email, and if u wish to contact him for your tattoos, u will find him in my friends' list on facebook.U can't miss him on facebook either: And his number is 98209 67870)

who did this tattoo, has used English fonts that look Arabic. So I think, that is like, so Wow!  And he has also  slanted the entire word, so that it straddles the neck region in a curve, making it look extra elegant. It does not draw as much attention as my other two tattoos, because it is hidden by my `dreadlocks', but maybe, this is the call I needed, to cut my hair off, close to scalp (it costs a lot, because u need to cut your hair every two weeks! plus high maintenance... I'd done that few years ago, making two hairdressers so nervous they ruined it. I got it right only with the third one!! Then,  since,  I have wavy hair, it would meander everywhere, making me lose that cool look that I wished to sport:). 

Any case, Al-Batin, one of the names of Allah, means, THE HIDDEN ONE, the inner face.   Interestingly Zaheer means the "outer face' !!! did u know that Zaheer?) 

I loved that meaning because it makes the search for that Hidden face so much more exciting, in every moment, in all gestures, in others who align with u, and even in those who disturb that alignment. This meaning of Allah, is one of the most mystical ones, and just now, for me, feels so right -- to be on the look out for this. According to Isamic mystics, reciting this name will reveal the Truth!! And help u see the truth hidden in things! 

Agnostics don't have a reference for a god who is good. But only `feel' the one who is powerful, everywhere, omnipotent, omnipresent, beyond good, or bad.  This One I relate to, is even in things I simply do not understand, in moments that defy explanation.... I am that close. And sometimes, I feel.... fleetingly.

And all my moments, now, and for sure in the future, are only a craving to extend that flighty moment, too soon gone... 

... this is my yoga.... :)

He is the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward . He has knowledge of all things. (Surat al-Hadid, 57:3)

Eyesight cannot perceive Him, but He perceives eyesight. He is the All-Penetrating, the All-Aware. (Surat al-An‘am, 6:103)

Warrior headstand, dynamic version

From Headstand, combat or warrior variation I feel a bit awkward presenting this video, because I just saw it on you tube and immediately tried it, without having done it before. So, there is something gangly about it, plus the ab working out... Yew! If I was that glam doll yoga teacher, I would take more care, na, on how I present myself? Never mind... U guys become glam, using this type of yoga... I myself am headed for the woods:) So this one is a warrior version. For this, ur nirlamba, unsupported headstand, should be  super strong. At least two-three minutes min in it, before u go for this version. You must not have any fear of falling. you must use your stomach muscles for the entire action, lifting and dropping the legs with most of the work happening at the belly.   The sideways leg drop is difficult, and the bending of legs inevitable.  But the angle should be sharper, than what I am doing. But hey,any case, do I have to repeat this: it  is the first time I ever tried this:) So, those of my students still working on the cycling in the basic headstand-- u know what I have next planned for u all:) So keep at that cycling,  gain more confidence, and longer hold in the  nirlamba sirsasana. And those of u shy of such movement, and deny it by dubbing it  gymnastics --  I have only this to say:  remember all movement, when it is focused, is deeply meditative. Do not listen to armchair yogis(mostly the local inst teachers) tut-tutting  when u try such things. This is meditation...  more releavant even spiritually than debating eosteric  points which has evaded one's own personal experience....

Yesterday's answer, today's query

ANSWER: Actually, it is a kriya, though often used as a pranayama. It is done first before all pranayamas, since it cleanses the lungs...


QUERY: Who should not do trataka, eye exercise, with candlelight, fromt those suffering from following ailments ... high bp, epilepsy, depression?

Today's yogic tip

Activating the left nostril is ideal solution for insomnia -- hyper ventilation (shutting the right nostril) from left side, lying down on the right side of the bed, or ujjayi from the left nostril (plugging the right) would help according to swara yoga wisdom.

Daily Health Gyan: aura and u

I prefer and dissuade people from discussing problems they have in a asana/ pose only because  one it creates a nocebo effect ... makes others around think that the pose is difficult or often u will find others beginning to complain of similar issues or pains or difficulties  in a pose. Even one positive person can break this pattern... but equally, a negative person can disrupt the class high. The positivity or negativity of a person, according to David Frawley, whom I admire humungously, says can be seen as a person's aura.... the energy they exude. According to him, the positive aura means the person displays "integrity, creativity,will power."  Any case, according to Frawley, dark-coloured black/blue or purple  gems ward off negative aura(when there are people who either envy u or who are low energy and thus `cannibalise' your energy.) . Red and warm gems energize an aura (when u feel down or negative or low), and nurturing gems like pearls, diamonds, yellow saphire feed your aura (again when u are down or low or ill and feel overwhelmed).
Sometimes, when I write such stuff,  I worry what rationalist scientist best-seller Richard Dawkins will say. Or Stephen Hawking, for instance. It sounds so unscientific, na? Yet, as the bard noted, there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than was dreamt of in your philosophy:)

In class

Simrat came for a walk-in (she lives in Mulund, and it is huge she should make it for a class here in Bandra).. and as usual shone -- doing everything so smoothly. Edit, new,  is also doing walk-ins. She has a calm, centered presence, does a strong headstand already, a steady crow, and settles into the zone easily. We had a peaceful class, though the heat is getting to be rather disturbing, the pre-monsoon swelter, which is terrible in Mumbai's humidity. Avriana and Simrat did long holds in the hand-up/leg-up variation of the chakrasana. This inspired Claudia to follow suit, and she got it right and held each sequence with great control too. Anuya is back, though in a rushed mode, since she switched on to the morning batch, and her cooks are giving her trouble, so she is even more super-rushed. But she always goes into any pose with comfort. She has great holds, in standing poses and her only issue is the headstand. But one day, Anuya, that too:)  The headstand students are now moving into the cycling, simple variation, forward one. This should help them steady up in the scorpion.

I myself am feeling rather stiff since I am trying to spruce up my personal practice, so trying advanced variations -- the problem with that is that you never leave the mat feeling fully satisfied. Plus that feeling I have cracked up this or that tendon or muscle, or pushed too hard in something  and on top of it all  feeling totally dissatisfied doing something I  could do a while ago, and cannot do now  simply because I  have become too smug to practice those things again and again and again! Argh!

Sachi's headstand is getting neater. Her crow also happened. So that is fanstastic. Sarika is back and doing well as usual, though I know it bothers her that she still cannot go up into the headstand on her own:) Jit attempted the wall-crawl in the wheel today, and found it `stimulating' -- which means we can proceed into the backward drop into the chakrasana next week! Yippee!  Kavita, poor thing, despite late nights makes it to class early mornings. And for me, that itself is a huge yoga zone especially in beginners.  Mayank has got the peacock and comes out of it with more confidence. Petros is also attempting the wheel variations, and now that he can kick his right leg and know that it is indeed his leg, and it is indeed the right one, it makes him happy:) But as I keep saying just attempting will get u there, in the final pose,  soon enough... Sai too has got a great peacock, slipping into the more relaxing forehead-to-ground version.  Suzanne is still feeling her way in my class ... and since she has done several other types of yoga before this one, I can sense it is inevitable that she should find it difficult to fall in step with the military rhythm , and an austerity of practice and focus, I put up in the class... The no-flourish yoga class, this one:) No flowery talk about kundalini rising up, prana moving about, or  doing some other softer poses or flourishy moves and twirls,  to break the tempo:)  But then, each teacher has a core belief: and mine is that a yoga class should offer this:  fat loss if your obese/ health if you have normal weight -- in terms of priority. Then, you must progress towards super- tone of muscles, then build on emotional stamina. Then  then work towards pure spiritual integrity/mental stamina and clarity in your yoga class . They  should ideally be achieved altogether. But if you have not got the first one(fat-loss or normal health)then  you must work on that before relaxing /chilling in a yoga class
...   Mmm, I am sooooo narrow-minded, opinionated yoga instructor... na?? Mmm. am trying to work on that, too:)

Oh, wow, deep yoga... and its subtle meaning

Got this amazing book Yoga Kosa, by the Kaivalyadham inst, which is a dictionary of sorts. I make that vague, because it is more than a dictionary. It not only  gives the meanings of the yoga terms, but also gives the interpretations which is very very experiential..Wow... how much more to learn in yoga...
In my tweets... the few exciting terms I found out...as yoga leads you deeper... to that place where we all resist going!!  For me,really, yoga is about the suddha state -- working, unprompted by what u like, dislike, or fear!  . A pure, sheer tone of the mind.
Terms I found exciting today, definitions provided in my  tweets : avarana, ananda, suddha, asuddhi, asakti, kundayoni...

In class and this time it is me!

Last week, I quarrelled with my personal muay thai instructor for keeping me at the same level and not letting me overextend myself. Since I am a woman, and learning alone, I often have to forgo the conditioning that comes from getting kicked and butted in a class, esp with those who have no form -- these types can cause a lot of damage, I assure u!..But the thing, it quickens your reflexes in guarding, defending and retreating. Plus conditioning the muscles and bones to take the blows.
Though even now, I know when I kick, the guys are very surprised. I am always very polite. I warn them gently that it is going to hurt. They don't believe it one bit, since I apparently don't have the `killer-instinct' look (whatever that is, chicklet-chewing chick look??) . So, it is very satisfying for me to see them yelp with pain when my foot grazes their thighs in a slapping, sweeping  kick, my  foot neatly turned back, my shin bone contacting their unprepared thigh. (I have my own punching bag... and for long, my ankles had that dark, unkempt look from kicking it,  that I did not bother about at all, till I realised that everybody trying the scorpion in my class had to look at my awful foot, before kicking up. So, I have tried to  spruce that ankle up, if not to elegance, but at least to looking clean:)
But as a rule, I get bored in a general kick-boxing class because most people do not treat the art with the seriousness it deserves, especially women who treat it as a fitness routine!! Or as an excuse  to fall on the guys!! Really, it is quite embarrassing to be in such classes.   The only last general class I went, the boys held their crotches giggling nervously, to indicate, that they were worried I would kick them!! :) But heavens, who goes to a kickboxing class to cuddle up (so many, at the last count!!)...

So, I  got my instructor worked up enough to give me some kicks and jabs and punches. So, my forearm swelled up beautifully, precisely at the spot where I have to place it for the scorpion. From a red-outlined wide map, it developed a bumpy road look because in the next class also I got punched in the same place (again, again, and again... such self-flaggellation!!: )So, it turned a sickly yellow, with a bump half-inch out in front which hurt even in the headstand:)  The thighs and above-knee spots also got some spectacular bruises .. At the last count, all of seven bruises, huge ones, including some painful ones at my shin. But the interesting thing about these bruises, is that though technically they are meant to last for two weeks, they disappeared in less than a week. The only reason they are stubbornly there even for that one week is  because I get punched/kicked there again. The same thing happens with my shoulder, which goes into an inflamed mode when I overdo the punching.. Then in the night, it freezes into a pain zone..  but the thing is, the minute I get back on the mat, the pain has receded and gone!!  And it seems to me, what the doctors say about resting out pain is a lie... because whether it is my bruise or my inflamed joints (from my overenthusiastic knockabout) the pain always goes completely away when I initiate movement. Not just any movement, but truly hardcore movement -- with even pressure applied against the spot -- seems to just sends the pain scurrying off! Nursing the pain,  I firmly believe, would aggravate it...(That is my core belief -- which may explain why some of my students think I am an authoritarian, unsympathetic teacher:)

(See that bruise in the forearm, towards the elbow,  that was before I got punched the second time there, after which it became a `nice' yellow')

So, now feeling the need for a calming yoga class I had enrolled in a yoga class for myself... and today was my first day. .. I intend to do walk-ins once, every week.

My first class, after more than a year-and-half  (when I was at the ashram, with Prahlada instructing us)  felt like heaven.  Shavasana ahead of the class. Long holds in each pose. Reaching deep into a pose, involuting and meditating in a pose without some one ringing my home  phone (how does a new number get so many wrong-number callers, esp when I am meditating??!!) or the door bell, or my mind gadding about  thinking of what to get ready for tomorrow, or of my umpteen deadlines that needed to have  been done yesterday.  So, in a class finally -- to forget all that, have someone else giving me instructions. leading me through the paces. . Winding up with yoga nidra.  God, I needed that so bad!!

I like being a yoga student so much:)

Rather a student, than a teacher...

Any day!

Yesterday's answer, today's query

ANSWER: Inhale, as u lift your head up. Exhale, when your drop your head down.

QUERY: Is kapalabhati (the hyperventilating practice that is often done along with breathing exercises in yoga) a kriya (cleansing practice) or pranayama (breathing practice)...

Daily Health Gyan

If knees give you trouble, the best option -- and this really works -- is to make the supporting muscles about it -- on thighs and calves, super strong. What this does is, remove the burden off your knees. Plus make your legs more supple, so that your `bounce' (there is a huge pressure we apply, everytime u lift and drop your leg, making a small step!) has great shock absorbers that will protect the knee from further damage. This is very important for those who gym, do aerobics, run, walk or treadmill. Also, for dancers who stress their knees a lot...

Today's yogic tip

To improve your lotus, u may want to try crow-walking pose. It is extremely difficult, though regarded as a beginner level pose, requires a lot of stamina.

Saraswati and the wisdom pose, lotus

In the latest column, Devdutt Pattanaik writea of  your choice of deity may actually reflect you.  If u worship the goddess Lakshmi, u want wealth. If you worship Saraswati, you want wisdom. Also, he talks of the contrast in depiction, of the former as fabulously bejewelled, in bright attire, while the latter is in pristine white.. an austere projection.
Her Veena, the flow of wisdom. The anurag or rhythm of wisdom flowing  in music or language or speech
The book, the spiritual prose that one reads ..
The pot of water, reflects the cleansing purity of purpose 
Crystal japa mala sometimes meaning poetry, or spiritual aspiration or sadhana. 
Her preferred choice of seat -- the lotus, a pose of wisdom, and comes from somewhere within I believe, for meditators: beyond flexibility of mind or contraction of muscles. 

I love the prayer too, asking to be removed from lethargy, sluggishness and ignorance. No money, no fame, no following, just you and wisdom:) 

<sup>We Sivananda students say this prayer in our yoga class, and if you are serious practitioner, u may wish to start ur practice with this  prayer, which is part of the main Sivananda starting prayer called  Gajananam. My  Monday morning batch, because it ihas been the longest with me, recites the prayer once of week (Rest of the week, we say the shorter Sivananda prayer -- Sahana vavatu..) 

So, here it is, the supplication to remove lethargy:)</sup> 

Yaa Kundendu tushaara haara-dhavalaa,
Yaa shubhra-vastra'avritaa
Yaa veena-vara-danda-manditakara,
Yaa shweta padma'asana
Yaa brahma'achyuta shankara prabhritibhir Devai-sadaa Vanditaa
Saa Maam Paatu Saraswati Bhagavatee Nihshesha jaadyaa-pahaa.

Meaning...
She, who is as fair as the Kunda flower,the moon, and a garland of Tushar flowers;
She, whose hands are adorned by the excellent veena, and whose seat is the pure white lotus;
She, who is constantly praised and glorified by Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh and other divinities;
O Mother Goddess, remove my mental inertia!



And the lotus ...

My own experience with the pose is peculiar. I don't need to be warmed up, but need to have dropped my ego (that damndest thing, ever:). I recall, while doing vipassana, for the Adhithana period of one hour (four times a day) I would decide to sit in the lotus... and then, of course, it is the ego taking that decision, and already it contracts me and my pose! So even though I can hold on in that pose, I do with with excruciating pain (the ego is that pain quotient in us yogis:)
But on other days, even when I am not warmed up I can just slip into it naturally. Then  I have the softest sense of the legs opening up just that little bit more. I am `settling' into that pose without trying at all, everything having  receded, when the pose  feels sweet and easy. And bit by bit, the pose becomes reaches even  deeper into itself, like the lotus bud opening, blossoming into a flower...  It is a peculiar experience that ... sweet beyond description. That is when the ego has gone behind, and I am in a state of yoga, and the pose happens naturally to me...
Sigh... if I can cut that shadow (ego)  off my mind-body...  Working on that for sure:)

Free MySpace Animations!
Happy sadhana!

My student Sarah Windover, leaving -- to grow more....

Amongst all my students who aspire to be instructors, I vote for Sarah as one of my favorites .. She is immensely dedicated and focused on her love for yoga. In class, she is involuted, yet connecting. Some people involute but project the dont-touch-me attitude. Some others  connect, only  to distract other students from performing!  Both are subtly disturbing to an instructor!!   But with her, u can sense she has nothing against you if she does not talk, it is just that yoga practice/class is her me-time, and she wants to be there, with herself:)
Also, she has her opinions, I am sure, about my style, but she does not project it as a criticism against me.. which sometimes I can sense from some others, when I prod them out of their comfort zone:)  If I give her a scientific explanation to why I am pushing her to do something (fast surya namaskars for instance, which was an issue with her, when she started since like most serious practitioners she likes it slow-paced)  she will accept it, and try her best to fit in, and actually work around her issue with that, and step right into the zone.. This is very very tough for many people. As an instructor, often my entire energy gets diverted trying to prod and move people into certain things, not because it is convenient for me (it is far easier for me, not to do that, if u actually apply your mind to it you will appreciate that:) but because it is the best, I believe, for that person. So, she conceded me my attempts and my half-baked gyan talk:)  And that is huge, in a student. The way I see it Sarah (since I know u are reading this) is that you are earning yourself great karma points as an instructor!! And you will get cooperative students who will trust their yoga teacher...
I recall that she got the headstand in just three sessions or so when she started with me a few months ago. Her crow was very strong, but she picked up the arm balance variations easily. But her preference has been for returning to the basic poses, which I appreciate a lot -- this ability for perfection in the basic poses and ability to pick up new things, on first attempt.
Today was her last class with me. So we did the astavakrasana (first attempt, she got it!), lotus in headstand (also got that!), twists in lotus in the headstand (also that!),  grivasana ... And the one-legged chain pose, which is a rather tough pose (but which, btw, Prathana,  my student,  can do very well!!). I had not known that she was leaving, or else I would have showed her the other poses that thrill me... She is shifting out of Mumbai, to Goa, where she will be training to be an instructor.

Since she was leaving, we said the usual sweet things to each other. So, I said this to her, and repeating it, that I learnt a lot from her...  the depth she bought to each pose. The involution of mind in each pose.  The steadiness. The grounded approach. The non-interfering connection with the others in a team....
But most importantly, softness, definitely, that is also very strong.

Best of luck dear.. May the Sadguru's grace be with you:... Om!

Daily Health Gyan

The emergency spot, in acupressure, in the cleft between nose and lips, right in the middle .. pressing on that can help u recover from fainting (if u faint, someone should do it for u, obviously!), feel nauseated...

Today's yogic tip

Want to look young, feel vital -- the fish pose it is.. the thyroid masssage it provides seems to be activating powerful acu-spots involved with anti-aging, and keeping you on a health high. Other poses that do that are similar ones, which we use as counter poses, where the neck is twisted back, to activate your thyroid....
Also helps with weight loss...