I realised recently that I have to practice what I preach a little more and something I have been failing to reach is contentment. I asked my father about it. “How do I become more content?” He replied that it was easy and that we just have to focus on...
Why Do Yoga – The Big Detox
Yoga is not just another exercise and those of us who practice it can vouch for that. Others who see yogic postures from a distance make their own assumptions. Ten years ago yoga was only for a selected few but over the decade it has been revolutionised and has become...
Ahimsa
The five disciplines that Patanjali called the ‘great vow’ are known as the Yama’s, the first limb of Ashtanga Yoga. As you begin to practice them you will see that they not only benefit you but everyone that you come into contact with. If you believe that you get back...
Attachment to Yoga
I started practising my asanas again last week after a break of about two months! My neck was operated on, the surgeon did a miraculous job and put two cages in the my neck, did some graphting and plating and gave me a couple of small pieces of my bones...
Yoga as a Mirror
One of my teachers told me that practicing yoga is like polishing the mirror that you look at yourself through. If the mirror is clouded then you can’t see clearly in its reflection. You can’t see your own behavioural patterns, your reaction patterns, your triggers and buttons. When we act...
Complete Fitness – Sunset Warrior
Keeping the mind in check, which lives in the body with acute awareness to your emotional being is complete fitness. Can just the body be fit on its own? Nah! Mind has to be kept quietly aware and present with meditation. Now, meditation on the other hand is a vast...
Happy Mistake Making
So yesterday I dropped myself on my head! Another hard day at the office! I was learning how to do drop backs on my own and had asked Nancy Gilgoff about it. (If you haven't encountered drop backs yet then it is what it sounds like. you stand upright and...
Steadiness and Ease
Yoga Sutra No. 46 Asana is a steady, comfortable posture. I remember when I first started practicing my legs would tremble, my arms would shake, my mind would wander. The mind would tell the body that it was really hard, that it wanted to give up, that it didn’t want...
Ayurveda and Yoga
Ayurveda (AYUR=LIFE,VEDA=KNOWLEDGE) the sister science of yoga is more than a medical system. Ayurveda teaches that all elements that exist in nature are reflected in the living body in its minutest form. The medicatedoils used in Ayurveda are prepared from different herbs and have the medicinal properties to strengthen the...
Is Your Mind Quiet?
Is your mind quiet? Do we even know what that is? Are we aware enough? Is our practice helping us do that? If yes, keep it up as that's a yardstick to know that you are performing your asana practice well...and its taking you closer to your true self. If...