Following Footsteps of Western Yogis

One of my young students is suffering from high blood pressure and hyper-acidity frequently. I advised him to make some changes in his diet and overall lifestyles if he wants his body to work impeccably. He knew that following my advice will benefit him but he couldn’t execute it. 

He used to choose food items which will make his health condition worse though he knew it is not good for him. He was also under stress because of uncertainties in business as well as in personal life. He knew that life is not perfect and one is bound to face problems throughout the life.

I told him many times that if you want to take care of your ailing father, primarily, you need to take the charge of your health. Again he could understand it but acting as per his own understanding was difficult to him. Recently he started coming regularly to classes. I asked him to come for a weekly meditation session too. He obliged and attended few meditation sessions too. But he failed to make it a regular affair.

But things have changed now in a good way. He has become a regular yoga student and also started having home-cooked food. He re-discovered his love for cooking too. Now, many times, he prepares his own break-fast. He gets up early regularly now and has shifted from late evening batch to early morning yoga sessions.

What has brought this sudden change in him? Recently, he attended seven days workshop at The Yoga Institute, Mumbai from where I did my Teachers Training in yoga. Being a student of The Yoga Institute, I was sure that he will love it. But I didn’t expect any ground breaking change in him which I am observing in him it now. The credit goes to environment and teaching of The Yoga Institute for which I have a very special place in my heart. He didn’t learn only from the teachers of the institute but also from his fellow students—particularly foreign disciples.

He was surprised to see disciplined international yoga students when he attended the workshop. He could observe that they were leading a simple routine at the institute without any fuss. They traveled thousands of kilometers to be here while my student has to spend barely half an hour to reach to the institute in the morning. They were eating our sattvik food with lots of interest and love. These students were listening to the teacher with utmost focus and curiosity for yoga.

 
he observed that they were sitting on the floor throughout the long day though many had difficulty with it.One of my gurus, the sound maestro, Rivesh Vade always say that we are becoming more and more seekers of technology and money. And there is nothing wrong if you earn more and become more tech savvy but the issue is we are losing the touch with the self. We have lost our connection with spirituality—mean the connection to higher self. We forgot to take journey within when we are becoming more advanced in terms of technology and income. Hence we are also at the high risk of hypertension, PCOD, hypothyroid, diabetes and cancer which are associated with stressful life.

We have forgotten the importance of a simple routine. We forgotten the food which we ate was simple but nourishing and tasty. When we Indians are hogging on burgers and pizza, Western yoga practitioners are adapting a simple Indian recipes like kichari.  You should taste all the international cuisines but making it a part of everyday diet, living in India will not compliment your health.  

Many western yogis love to study yoga in detail than us. It doesn’t mean that Indians don’t study in deep but the number is not that great. But the future seems promising as young Indians are turning to yoga. They are practicing yoga for fitness but there are few who want to explore various aspects of yoga.

When we see sculpted bodies of foreign yogis, we strive for that and there is nothing wrong in it. But they haven’t transformed their bodies overnight. They practice asanas and pranyamas regularly.  You can also get a best shape for you through diligent yoga practice. But striving to become someone else will invite just irritation not appreciation.

I am happy to see many of my yoga students have made yoga an integral part of their life.
I got the opportunity to lead few sessions for Ashley Song who is a true global citizen (Resides in Indonesia now) and a certificate yoga teacher herself. I was surprised to see her quest to learn more of yoga tradition. She asked me few questions after reading few yoga books. She is not teaching yoga but continues to practice it with utmost passion.

One guy from Netherlands attended our classes for a month. He was here for research and studies. He asked me which books he can refer to understand everything more in details. 
I was pleasantly surprised and at the same time, I felt, why never one of my yoga students asked me this?

We have taken so many things from westerners?

Why can't we take their urge, curiosity and sincerity to connect to our own roots through yoga?

28 Signs Yoga Is Working For You

 

Health and fitness goals are generally measured in terms of weight loss or inches loss. Even those who practice yoga are not immune to this trait. A goal of healthy weight is always desirable and appreciable as you can protect yourself from lifestyle diseases, look more beautiful and young, and live longer healthily and happily too. But considering your yoga regime just a mean to shed your extra pounds is like asking a Genie a fruit plate or a glass of water when he can offer you something more magnificent than your expectations.

Some of my students keep on asking me when they will achieve their targeted weight loss (in kilograms). This question generally comes after they registering desirable changes in their sleep quality, breathing patterns, and shape of the body, looks and overall health. Sometime they carry just 5 to10 pounds excess weight than their ideal weight. And I have to observe their body through zoom lenses to find out where those extra pounds reside in her/his body as his/her appearance looks quite in shape and attractive too. But obsession with ideal weight doesn’t allow her/him to enjoy other side-benefits of yoga practice which make a yogi; a real yogi.

The concepts of health, fitness or wellbeing cannot be defined mere in terms of weight loss. You need to focus on many other dimensions like sound sleep, constructive thoughts, inner peace, positive emotions, balanced diet, well-defined day-to-day routines, challenging yet self-satisfying work, harmony in relationships and self-love. When Patanjali put together Yoga Sutras around 2000 years back, he had on his mind the total wellbeing of individual.

If you are the one who is practicing yoga regularly can check following changes/signs at physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level. These radical changes motivate several yoga followers continue their yoga practice forever.

1. Body feels lighter.

2. You cultivate respect and love to your body. So you don’t allow your body to put on extra pounds or inches. You follow a healthy body and mind regime that includes hatha yoga, balanced diet, well-defined day-to-day activities and motivating thoughts & feelings.

3. Body pain and aches start dissolving as you progress in your practice.

4. Body follows a natural cycle of hunger.

5. Energy level goes up. You feel more enthusiastic. You could take up more work without getting fatigue.

6. Overall improvement in the shape of your body as your muscles are toned and tightened.

7. There is a considerable loss in circumference of your upper arms, waistline, hips, thighs and calves.

8. Your core muscles become supple and strong.

9. You feel that your skin looks younger. It feels fresh and soft.

10. Eyesight improves (applicable if you practice trataka regularly).

11. You digestion improves.

12. Your constipation gets relieved.

13. Acidity and gas occur less frequently.

14. Your backache of many days either out of posture disorder or slipped disc starts settling down.

15. You get relief from migraine or tension headaches.

16. You can notice improvement in breathing patterns. You breathe more deeply from diaphragm and recognize the changes in the breath in different situations.  Your breath notifies you of joy or stress before your mind.

17. You can see remarkable improvement in functions of lungs. There are many cases of asthmatic people going on off medication with the help of yoga.

18. Your immunity may soar to new level.  A need to visit your physician frequently may change into occasionally or rarely.

19. If you are suffering from hypertension, your blood pressure may settle down to normal level. 

20. You can observe a correction in sleep patterns. Your sleep is more sound, undisturbed and deep
now.

21. You choose healthy food, not out of compulsion but out of awareness.

22. You can register a good boost in your willpower, confidence and self-esteem.

23. You can keep cool even during crisis whether personal or professional and respond to it in a better manner.

24. You loses interest in smoking.

25. Enhancement in focus and concentration power.

26. You accept yourself the way you are.

27. You identify your strengths and weakness.

28. You can witness more moments of inner peace and calm.

10 Fables of My Yoga Teaching Story

There are two different ways you can fall in love with other person—one you fall in love at first sight and in a second situation, you fall in love with him/her gradually as you start knowing each other. I am having that second kind of love affair with yoga. Falling in love helps you developing a unique understanding of other person and sharing one of its kind proximity with that person. So my bond with yoga is as exclusive and intimate as falling in love.


The purpose of taking up yoga, like many of you, was to manage my stress and at the same time take care of physical fitness. When I began my yogasana practice, I had no idea that my acquaintance with yoga will turn into a long lasting affair. I never thought, not even in my dreams that I will teach yoga. During childhood, thanks to 90’s televisions serials, I always perceived me as the dashing and dynamic investigative journalist, who would pen real stories of poor virtuous people who can’t’ stand for themselves. I literally believed that pen is mightier than sword. 


Post journalism studies, I tried to convey this fire of journalism inside me during my job interviews as the fresher, but I guess hardly anyone seemed impressed. For them, I was one more immature young girl, who will understand with the passing time that she cannot change the world. They were right. Actually you cannot change the world, you should become the change. I knew this theoretically but I could grasp its real meaning during yoga studies. The sad and hilarious part is that no one offered me assignment where I will push my limits as the journalist. I was surprised that how could movie/TV serial characters land up their dream assignments finally! It was my first stint with reality;  films may mirror of our lives but life is not that filmy. 


Later I had the opportunity to write business stories of precious metals and stones like silver, gold, platinum, diamonds, colored gemstones and masterpieces. But shine of gold and glitter of diamonds couldn’t add any special allure to my inner personality. But I can’t deny the fact that it offered me opportunity to roam across jewellery hubs of India and also confidence of having conversations with anybody—from a salesman to CEO of giant organization. But the mind always had irksome question that how long I would continue my association with slower growth (not at par with expectations) and lesser contentment.

Problems (including feeling of boredom) can be attributed to evolution of human beings.  Every invention whether fire; telephone or social digital networks are born out of stumbling blocks which human race faced from time to time. Longing for physical fitness and stress free life motivated me to take up yoga. Being a yoga student during teachers training course was an ultimate experience. The course changed me inside out. The immediate effect was highly positive and constructive, and it was visible in my personality. My enthusiasm to teach yoga was over pouring. But being a teacher has its own benefits and disadvantages too that I realized later. I considered my teacher training certificate the biggest milestone of my life. I believed that I will lead a very peaceful, happy and wonderful life thereafter.


This over-confidence was the outcome of my wholesome training in yoga. I was surrounded by madly in love with yoga people at the institute. So I naturally assumed that people in outside world (beyond institute) are dying to learn yoga. People will just flock to my yoga class as I communicate with them my knowledge and understanding of yoga. But it turned out self-acclaimed illusion. I realized that people have information on yoga but they are lacking profound understanding of yoga. So convincing individuals to practice yoga at affordable rates by promising weight loss (90% people choose yoga only for this reason) was a mammoth task. Nowadays I also take the promise from a new yogi that no matter what, he/she will continue practicing yoga.

My yoga teaching experience can be compared with butterfly’s journey of metamorphosis. One fine day, the caterpillar stops eating, spins itself a silky cocoon by hanging upside down to a leaf or the branch. After few days, the caterpillar emerges as butterfly.  To transform itself, the caterpillar goes through a struggle and hard work. But as soon as it becomes a butterfly, it is free to soar effortlessly whichever direction it wants. Though yoga is passion itself for many yoga followers like me, but it is much more than that--it actually offers freedom to yogi which directs him/her to soul’s purpose.

A profession of yoga teacher invites several experiences of various natures-- good, bad, worst and best. It has given me a chance to apply the philosophy to life and form my own life philosophy too. I am sharing here some fables/lessons/experiences of my yoga story with you. They are not purely yogic experiences but amalgamation of my life experiences infused with yoga. You will definitely find some connection with few of them as the student of yoga or a yoga teacher.

• Awareness, Acceptance: Yoga has made me aware of interdependence of body and mind. My mind can register even micro changes in my body. I know which part of my body starts aching when I am going through cycles of fear or anxiety. Awareness of breath helps me to track the changes in my feelings. I know how my breath reacts to fear, doubts, anxiety, joy and ecstasy. Earlier I used to get overwhelmed by identifying negative emotions inside me. It is quite easy to accept both good and bad aspects of me without any guilt.    

Business: I cherished to work with an MNC and earn accolades from my seniors who will push me up on the ladder of success. Though teaching yoga cannot be considered as the pure business but understanding of sales and marketing mechanics can help the teacher to reach more people, educate them for yoga and earn respectable income.

• Self-reliance:  Interacting with people with varied demographics and diverse socio-economic-cultural backgrounds helps broadening the horizons of yoga teacher as our life is enriched not only with self experiences but also by student’s life stories. In present times, the yoga teacher’s profession requires to preserve the purity of yoga and make a good living out of it at the same time, which can only be compared with walking on the tight rope.  Teaching yoga has equipped me with this rare skill of self-reliance.

• Decision making:  “To be or not to be” the famous phrase from William Shakespeare’s play defines the life of majority of us. Procrastination was the dominating force for quite period in my life. These days decision making is quicker and much better.

• Detachment & Empathy: Majority of the students turn to yoga on doctor’s recommendation. The stories of such yoga followers are powered by pain and miseries. So listening to their stories with empathy and detachment, is the tough art which every yoga teacher has to master. The most interesting part is that you cannot learn it; it just comes naturally to you with the time.

• Faith: Teaching yoga tests your faith in higher self.  A renown spiritual guru, Sadguru says one of its talks that lots of fears which we cultivate in our brain and hearts; don’t come true actually. But you can realize and believe it only when you actually face your fears with faith.  I was in doubt initially of my teaching skills and yogic knowledge but fears started flying away as I continued teaching even when I was in doubt.  Faith helped me standing firmly even in my personal breakdowns.

• Love: You cannot love someone completely without getting detached. Detachment doesn’t mean that you have to break all ties with your loved ones but it asks you to offer them freedom to do what they love. Paulo Coelho aptly describes the true love impact in his world famous book The Alchemist, “When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are; everything around us becomes better too.”

• Not taking everything personally: If someone used to stop coming to my class, I used to ponder over the bad thought that I may be not a good teacher and that’s why she/he has discontinued—overlooking multiple other factors like their convenience, preferences and priorities. Nowadays I don’t take everything that personally. 

•  Spirituality:  Yoga worked as the medium to experiencing true spirituality—means one's connection to higher self.  

• Being in the Present Moment: Outcome of my actions has always been different than I perceived of. I learned in a hard way through yoga teaching that you cannot control your unknown and uncertain future. Being in the present moment doesn't mean you stop working towards your better tomorrow. The only thing matters today is living and enjoying in the present. However, it is the most difficult understanding to apply in life but when you can; you can live a blissful life.

Please feel free to share your yoga story with us. It would be enriching exercise for all of us.

Conversation With Scientist Over Meditation

A regular meditation practitioner Meenakshi Singh is a scientist at Mumbai-based Cancer hospital. She shares her stint with meditation--how this practice has deepen her journey towards higher self and at the same time, what changes it has brought out in various facets of life whether personal, professional or household. She firmly believes that an ancient morning regime of Surya Namskaras along with Yogasanas and mediation can do wonders to our body and mind. 

Superyogis: From how many days/months/years are you practicing meditation?

Meenakshi Singh: I was introduced to Reiki form of mediation around three years back. The experiment with meditation was successful and I started practicing it regularly thereafter.

Superyogis: How frequently do you meditate?

Meenakshi Singh: Initially it was 30 minutes per day. Then gradually I was meditating for an hour. From last one year I can say that I meditate all the time. Meditation is not limited to sitting in one corner and concentrating on the breath. It has become a way of my life.

Superyogis: How was your pre-meditation life?

Meenakshi Singh: I was stressed and anxious most of the time. Now I am more relaxed. I take everything in parts and bits as it come. Avoiding stress completely is not  possible but I am able to deal with the tense moments in a better manner. I can tide over the waves of stress now.

Superyogis: How long it took see the results of meditation practice?

Meenakshi Singh: I began to see small changes within a year. I could register  more energy in the body. Biochemical changes started happening in my body. When I realized that I could co-relate it.

Superyogis: Did you take guidance for meditation from somebody?

Meenakshi Singh: There was a Reiki teacher in our society, who introduced me to a Reiki form of meditation. She told me miracles happen with meditation. It changes everything in a best way. You will able to achieve more success and receive lots of joy. Your wishes will get fulfilled. Just to disapprove their claim, I adapted Reiki meditation. It is known as Narayan Reiki.  Reiki meditation is practiced with chanting mantras The chanting of mantras helps to activate chakras. The moment your chakras activated, they establish harmony with cosmic energy, which removes negativity from the body in the form of toxic emotions like anger, jealousy, fear, doubt or guilt. Get more details of seven chakras here: https://superyogis.blogspot.in/2016/05/seven-chakras-science-meets-spirituality.html

Superyogis: Could you see the colors of chakras without imagining?

Meenakshi Singh: Yes, I saw the colors of few chakras before reading about it in detail. I am able to see colors of only three chakras;  Third-eye Chakra (violet), Throat Chakra (blue ) and Heart Chakra(green). I tried to focus on navel chakra to strengthen it but I couldn’t see it though I can feel vibration there.

Superyogis: that means this chakra is active…

Meenakshi Singh: Yes, one day when I was sleeping in the night I could feel something travelled from my root chakra to crown chakra. Some light has passed. It was may be kundalini awakening. It has, however, never happened again.

Superyogis: What kind of difficulties you faced in the beginning during meditation?

Meenakshi Singh: You know thoughts keep on coming and going away continuously. Hence, focusing was very difficult. But I didn't give up.   

Superyogis: How meditation has helped you to strengthen your bonds with loved ones or how relationships equations has changed post meditation, is there more love and affection?

Meenakshi Singh: I am a sensitive and caring person. I would say because of meditation I have become more forgiving.

Superyogis: Do you experience any changes in your professional output because of regular meditation practice?

Meenakshi Singh: I have become more efficient.

Superyogis: Did you discover any hidden talent of yours? Something like eureka moment? Meenakshi Singh: Healing! 

Superyogis: Do you think one can learn meditation from someone else or it is a self-learned?

Meenakshi Singh: I think for a common man meditation has to be initiated by person/teacher and then from there it can be carried on.

Superyogis: How people react when they come to know that you are practicing meditation, particularly non-meditators? What’s your response to their doubts?

Meenakshi Singh: A good question. People who know that I am meditating some are apprehensive, few of them scornful too. There are others who are very supportive.

Superyogis: Have you done any kind of reading or research regarding meditation?

Meenakshi Singh: I wanted to explore it little further. I read about Reiki meditation and Japanese meditation. I did my Reiki levels and Pranic healing too.  I keep on updating my knowledge through online channels.

Meenakshi Singh:Would you like to share something? What exactly happen during meditation?

Meenakshi Singh: Wherever your chakras are sitting, your endocrine glands located very close to it. We are healthy when our all chakras are active which means all endocrine glands are functioning properly and secreting right balance of hormones. But at the same time your body produces cancer cells too. Our body, however, is very capable of removing those cancerous cells. Imbalance in hormones means immunity level is down. It acts as the invitation to disease cells including cancer cells. You are able to bring that balance back by practicing yoga and meditation which strengthens your immune system.

For example, your BMR (Basic Metabolic Rate) goes up with yoga practice as it stimulates thyroid glands. A boost in BMR naturally what you eat is digested in your body. Read how yoga can restore balance in your thyroid glands: https://superyogis.blogspot.in/2016/04/can-you-restore-balance-in-your-thyroid.html

Superyogis: Why there are so many cases of cancer nowadays?

Meenakshi Singh: Have you ever heard that our ancestors died because of cancer? They didn’t have facility of expensive medicine but they could live longer as they were close to nature--into farming. They were not even practicing yoga or meditation, except yogis and rishis. But Surya Namskaras  were part of morning regime of many. Apart from smoking, tobacco and gutakha, artificial food are also causing cancer. We choose gym exercises and aerobics over yogasasns as we feel that we can burn more fat with it than ancient techniques like Surya Namaskras.

(Note: We learn fundamental life lessons of ethics, morality and practicality during childhood through stories of Panchatantra, Birbal, Buddha and Ramayana. We love the lead characters from these stories as they face challenges with courage, patience and wisdom.  The nature of problems may have changed but one needs to tackle them with same panache of these heroes.  Conversations with individuals like scientists to whom we look up to, can work as the push to our motivation to do yoga or meditation.)
 

 

 

Meditation in Fashion

Abhilasha Kale, Mumbai

Meditation is being practiced, discussed and studied by a large number of people today. Not only yogis and monks are practicing meditation but across categories whether professionals, scientists, school/college students, businessmen, home-makers, male-female, young-old are tuning self to meditation. Nowadays people with dominating logical minds also want to give a try as there is substantial research that suggests that meditation can do wonders to your body and mind. Meditation brings us close to our innate nature which is characterized by joy, compassion and absolute bliss. Once you get swept by the wonderful experience of meditation, you crave for it! It’s a blissful addiction.

First time I tried mediation, around four years back, when I was pursuing my teachers’ Training in Yoga. The teacher took us from our present location to some faraway place through imagination and visualization. We all enjoyed this journey. I was so happy, excited and proud of me that I practiced meditation though at the end of session my legs refused to move out of numbness. I felt like having it more and more, and I shared this feeling with each and every friend of mine. After that session, for me, meditation just remained present in conversations, discussions and books. But when I started practicing meditation regularly very recently and got the true taste of meditative experience. The experience was momentary but it was beyond breath, time and space. It was not about visualization and imagination, like first disguised experience.  

What is Mediation?

The word meditation is derived from the Latin word ‘mediatari’ which means to heal. The meditation is a loose translation of Dhyana. It is the seventh limb of Ashtanga Yoga Marg.  A wholesome yoga practice is incomplete without meditation. There are many ways meditation can be practiced. However, a yogic meditation technique, focusing on the breath is well known and practiced worldwide. Our breath is the only bridge that connects your body to the mind. Contemplating on the breath helps you to minimize frequency of thoughts which is prerequisite for meditation.

Meditation is like taming the wild elephant. The way a rope is used to tame the elephant, we use our breath to tame our mind. Our mind possesses qualities of wild elephant, if left unattended; like a wild elephant, it starts running in any pointless direction. Breath can be used to give a direction to mind which go wild with thoughts. But meditation is beyond taming your mind. Once your mind (just like tamed elephant) is controlled with the breath, you can ask it to do whatever you want. Here’s a link to
a Zen meditation story "Searching for Bull" will help you understand what meditation is in an interesting way. http://www.4peaks.com/ppox.htm

How can you use the breath to tame your mind?

When you sit down for meditation, your monkey mind will start chattering consistently. You may think something very absurd—about warm milk you had in the night, colour of your dress or a random person you come across while taking your evening walk.  When you try to concentrate on your breath, you may get itching sensations all over your body. Sometime you may feel that some insect is using your body for his lazy walk. These are all symptoms of wild mind. Your monkey  mind will start playing a game with you as it doesn’t like to be quiet. Your breath is the best defense you have against your thoughts.

Whenever you feel that your mind is wandering in the wild, just pull it towards your breath.  The best way to settle down the flow of your thoughts is to attend them without reacting. You can ask your mind to be still and non-reactive to your thoughts. Our response to thoughts actually keep us occupied and doesn’t allow to see beyond confusion and chaos. But keep coming back to your breath.
After some time, your mind will start enjoying the role of observer. Once you establish the peace with your mind, you will not require focusing on your breath as you will fall into trance effortlessly. And your mind will obey every command given to it—when you ask him to slow down, it will listen to you without any resistance.

Meditation is not only about sitting in padmasana or sukhasana and observing the breath. When you get fully engrossed in the activity or work, you totally forget about the time frame and the place. In this state, you don’t realize how the time flew away and you forget totally where you are now. You don’t feel exhausted even you put up long hours of hard work in the activity. It is a wonderful experience. Such a state is also meditation. Meditation is your complete presence into present moment. Listening to somebody with full concentration is meditation. So eating food with focused mind is meditation. 

What is mean by trance?

A simple definition of trance can be gap/distance between thoughts. The general tendency of our mind is that it thinks rapidly without taking a break. The trance is the phase when you are not thinking. You may not able to go in trance for 15 to 20 minutes straight but you can enjoy moments of trance.  This is nothing but mediation.

A meditative state is beyond all states we know waking, sleeping and dreaming. It is called turiya in Sanskrit—the fourth stage—pure consciousness. We have been told our whole life that ours is monkey mind which wanders continuously and we need to keep on engaging with something all the time, except deep dreamless sleep. But according to ancient rishis, the fourth stage is our original stage and it exists within us. Deepak Chopra in his book “Quantum Healing-Exploring the frontiers of mind/body medicine” explains meaning of word ‘Rishi’.  A Rishi is a person who can enter the fourth state (turiya) at will and observe what is there (in the state) with non-judgment, allowing himself immersing into shunya (zero) state of nothingness.

Meditation helps us to get into touch with our true state—pure consciousness. American physiologist Robert Keith Wallace proved that the fourth stage exists and it is not a part of our imagination. He recorded alpha waves in EEGs of meditating person supported by slower heartbeats and breathing. Four stages can be explained more scientific way like this. Human beings brain shows five types of waves (electrical patterns); gamma, beta, alpha, theta and delta.

Beta waves (38 to 12 Hz): waking, irritation, anxiety, stress and fear

Alpha (7-12Hz): visualization, relaxed state, meditation state

Theta (4-7 Hz): deep meditation, dream sleep, creative experiences like painting

Delta (4 to 0.5Hz):  unconsciousness, dreamless deep sleep, intuition

How can the practice of asanas and pranayamas help you to meditate?

When you sit in meditation, your all senses become hyperactive. You get the sensations of itching, tingling and the urge of constant body movements, and your legs fall prey to numbness. A regular practice of asanas and pranayamas provide you the base for meditation. Meditative postures like Sukhasana, Vajrasana, Sidhhasana, Ardhapadmasana and Padmasana offer you steady and erect posture during meditation. And breath training through pranayamas makes you aware of breath.

What are the different types of mediation?

The most popular Transcendental meditation was introduced by Maharshi Mahesh Yogi to America in 1960s. (Read: http://www.tm.org/enlightenment). Zen is the Japanese word for meditation and important aspect of Zen Buddhism. www.zen-buddhism.net. Kundalini Mediation helps you to awaken your kundalini, known as one of the path of enlightenment. http://isha.sadhguru.org/blog/yoga-meditation/demystifying-yoga/kundalini-awakening/

What exactly happens to your brain during meditation?

These meditative experiences are characterized by the practitioners' partial or complete absence of time, space and body sense. Frontal lobe is the most highly evolved part of the brain, responsible for reasoning, planning, emotions and self-awareness. During meditation, the frontal cortex tends to go offline. Parietal lobe is the part of the brain takes care of senses. Your senses provide us the experience of the world—you can see meaning in these alphabets because of our eyes and listen to wonderful music through ears with the help of brain. During meditation, activity in the parietal lobe slows down.  The research has confirmed increased gray matter in the brain, which is associated with learning and memory.
Understand more about changes in the brain after meditation here. watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZZZ55gXUAM.
Read: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/tag/mindfulness-meditation/

What’s a teacher’s role in learning meditation?

You cannot learn meditation. It just happens to you. But your teacher can lead you towards the path of meditation. Working on mantras can help you to focus better. Your yoga teacher can make you ready for meditation through asana practice and breathing exercises. You can sit in meditative postures for long time because of your asana practice. You can feel your breath through regular practice of pranayama. Chanting of mantras will help you to relax your mind too.
You can share your difficulties with meditation with your teacher; he/she may guide you overcome it.  And he will also make sure that you are on the right path.

How long and how regularly one should practice mediation?

You don’t need to sit in mediation for an hour every day. Even 20-30 minutes of mediation per day is enough to give you taste of you original being. If it is not possible to practice regularly, try to practice at least thrice in a week. Once you get the hook, you will be able to practice anywhere; in your hotel room, while commuting and even sitting in the café too. 

What can Mediation do it to you?

The ongoing research proved that it has desirable visible and measurable impact on our neurophysiological mechanism, particularly brain which controls our whole nervous system. Meditation is the tool to access our pure consciousness which influences our nervous system. Nervous system works as the communication channel between our cells, tissues, body parts and other system in the body. It plays a very significant role in our breathing and our breath is what that confirms our being alive.

Few benefits are listed for your reference:

• You will develop body and mind awareness. You will be able to understand what’s wrong with your body and mind, and you will also realize how to fix it. 

• You will start looking younger and feeling more energetic. The process of ageing will be slower for you than non-meditators.

• It will help you to relieve stress and you will respond in a better way to ongoing stress moments in the life.

• The practice lowers blood pressure and facilitates relaxation. Highly recommended for individuals with hypertension and sleep disorder.

• Immunity improves. You will say good-bye to many small illnesses like common allergies, cold and cough. At least, they will occur less frequently than before.

• You will experience your true self characterize by intuition, inner peace, inner joy, compassion, love and wisdom.

• You can see significant improvement in relationships whether personal or professional. You will see more love, understanding and meaning in your relationships.

• It helps you control your appetites and also you can manage extreme emotional reactions.

• You learn how to become free from fear, doubts and anxiety.

What are the common misconceptions of meditation?

Though meditation has become a healthy kind of fashion, it doesn’t demand any kind of body, race, diet or beliefs. This is the fashion which can suit everybody irrespective height, weight and figure. This is the fashion that will make you feel beautiful inside and outside.

• A Positive self-talk: if you are talking to yourself during meditation, specifically positive self-talk, it is not meditation, just a mind game.

• Imagination and visualization is not meditation. If you are visualizing something deliberately then you are just using your imagination power creatively.

• Some believe that an individual who is meditating regularly may drift away from normal life. But it is an absolute myth, a mediator is as much as normal any non-mediating person. I will go further and say that people who meditate may value and celebrate life more.

• Enlightenment is used very carelessly. It is not necessary that if you mediate every day you will be getting enlightened. Whenever it happens, you will know it. And you will not lose interest in grahasthashram—worldly things. But you will live with more awareness. The same life will seem more beautiful and meaningful.

• You don’t need to turn a vegetarian and stop drinking alcohol to practice meditation. But the possibility is that you may choose your food more consciously.

Power Your Practice with Basics of Yoga

Nikita Gupta, Mumbai

At yoga studio, we receive many enquiries frequently from new yogis, particularly for weight loss. New yogis, here, mean who have very little knowledge (basic) about the tradition of yoga and its practices.

As the yoga teacher, we get the opportunity to converse with many kinds of people, specifically on phone.  Sometime we enjoy the conversation; sometime we don’t know what to say to the person on other side of receiver.

Asking precise questions is the key to get right information but many new yogis fail to put their curiosity and confusion in defined questions.

To understand their queries, we need to ask back few questions. Some of them get intimidated by our questions. But it is actually required if a new yogi wants to make the informed decision.

Though all information is available at the fingertip, very few take the trouble to go through it before making an enquiry. Without sufficient knowledge (basic), some new yogis expect the answers what they want to hear, not the right information. However, only correct information can actually help you to make a right decision. 

 Let me share excerpts from a typical telephonic conversation which goes like this:

“Do you teach power yoga or normal yoga?” asks New Yogi. (Here normal yoga means traditional yoga--hatha yoga.)

“We teach hatha yoga.”

“What is that?”

“Hatha yoga, is traditional form of yoga, a physical branch of yoga is called hatha yoga.”

“Can weight loss happen with traditional yoga?”

“Yes, you can lose the weight!”

“How many kgs (kilograms) I can lose in a month?”

“I can’t tell you this on phone now as I don’t have any idea what kind of lifestyle you are leading, your health issues if any and most important I haven’t seen you yet,” the teacher responds.

Many new yogis don’t find this answer from the yoga studio very encouraging as they just want absolute details of forthcoming results of their practice which they haven’t started yet. So new yogis, you may find such answers not so sweet but the teacher wants to help you to find what is best for you. Before thinking of joining a yoga class for weight loss, many try extreme dieting and few weight loss programs and then they think trying out yoga.

So we understand you want to enroll yoga class out of need, not out of love. But some basic research on different types of yoga on the internet will land you in the yoga studio which is best for you. You will be able to ask exact questions and the high possibility that you will receive accurate answers from the teacher who may suit you. 

Considering your major enquiries and misunderstandings, we are providing you very basic details of yoga (physical) practice. First and most important, every type of yoga (physical form) which is practiced on the mat is Hatha Yoga only. Iyengar Yoga, Asthanga Yoga (Mysore style), Bikram Yoga and even Power Yoga are all forms of hatha yoga. Lord Shiva is considered as the Adi Yogi—the first yogi. Matsyendrnath is known as the founder of hath yoga and the author of Hathayogapradipika, the ultimate guide of hatha yoga.  

Let’s understand in brief the difference between various types of hatha yoga.

What is Power Yoga?

The term power yoga was coined in 1990s. The American yoga teachers  Bryan Kest and Beryl Bender Rich recognized  as the originator of Power Yoga. This type of yoga mostly focuses on ultimate physical fitness and hence typical power yoga session will be more asana oriented than inclusive one with various practices like asanas, pranayamas, chanting and relaxation.

Power Yoga has its root in Mysore Style Ashthanga Yoga which was developed by K Pattabhi Jois. The founder of Power Yoga took few lessons of yoga from K Pattabhi Jois. You can learn more about the concept of power yoga and its origin here… http://www.poweryoga.net/history_of_power_yoga.html.

The power yoga taught in Indian yoga studios follow different styles. You may find that somewhere it is combined with aerobic exercises while some studios choose to conduct sweaty sessions, dominated by Surya Namaskaras, in the dark room without fans and are air conditions. You will find very few studios follow the original style of power Yoga.
Everyone is developing peculiar style of Power Yoga by combining various physical activities with the yoga practice.

What is Mysore style Ashtanga Yoga?

 As I mentioned earlier, this Asthanga Yoga (Mysore Style) was developed by K Pattabhi Jois. The earliest references suggest that Ashthang Yoga is recorded by  Sage Vaman Rishi in the text Yoga Korunta and then it was passed on to Guru Ram Mohan Brahmchari, who shared it with his disciple T Krishnamacharya. And K Pattanhi Jois received it from Krisnamacharya. Learn more about its history and lineage at http://kpjayi.org/the-practice/.

Now K Pattabhi Jois's daughter R Sarswati and her son Sharath Jois are taking Ashtanga Yoga tradition forward. You will find very few Ashtnaga Yoga (Mysore) teachers in your city and these teachers are listed on their website www.kpjayi.org.
You need lot of diligence to practice Ashthanga Yoga (Mysore Style) as it tests your patience, willpower and body's limitations.

What is Asthanga Yoga Marg?

The Ashthanga Yoga Marg is a comprehensive concept. It includes eight steps of yoga; Yama (restraints), Niyama (observances), Asana (postures), pranayamas (breathing exercises),  Pratyahar (control over five senses), Dharana (concentration), Dhayn (meditation) and Samadhi (meeting your consciousness). Asanas are one of the limbs of Ashthanga Yoga. This type of yoga is not limited to the session of studio but you have to follow it at many levels in your life.http://www.ashtanga.com/html/background.html.

What is traditional yoga?

The traditional yoga is yoga by Patanjali, which is also known as Raj Yoga or classical yoga or Patanjlai Yoga or Ashthanga Yoga. But when you actually enquire of traditional yoga at studio, you are referring to only physical practice. The physical dimension of yoga is known as hatha yoga. And hatha yoga is not only limited to asanas but it also includes kriyas, pranayamas, bandhas and mudras too.  The clarity of concepts is very important as we pass the information to someone else and we are passing it wrong. People with wrong information are more dangerous to the tradition of yoga than who don’t know anything about it. https://superyogis.blogspot.in/2016/04/understanding-hatha-yoga.html

Can traditional yoga (hatha yoga) help you to lose weight?

Yes, you can lose the weight with hatha yoga too. You can sweat while practicing hatha yoga too. Yoga doesn’t work directly on your fat but it works on your inner mechanism. The whole energy changes and you become more vigilant of diet and your whole lifestyle. Even physical form of yoga can build poise in you and make you more balanced and focused person. All the postures performed in yoga are with breathing sequence.

Surya Namaskras can work as the cardio exercise if done faster. Sun Saluations will strengthen and toned your body if you take time to stop in every posture. Along with weight and inches loss, you may lose your ample amount of stress.

With hatha yoga practice, your stiff shoulders will become active and mobile. The backache will settle down. You will feel more energetic throughout the day. It will increase your quality of body and mind which will result in quality life too. So you will receive much more than you expected. But some patience and faith is required. The fact is that you have not piled up extra pounds overnight and not built stress level in a day so you need to give few months to see some profound changes in yourself.

What is Iyengar Yoga?

The Iyanger Yoga, developed by B K S Iyengar, is very meticulous form of hatha yoga. The late Shri B K S Iyengar put lot of time and efforts to build distinct style of hatha yoga. This form of yoga is favored by intermediate level students. This type of yoga gives lot of focus on alignment. The props like ropes, belts, blocks and bolsters are used to make all alignments more precise.
http://www.yogajournal.com/category/yoga-101/types-of-yoga/iyngar/

What is Hot Yoga/Bikram yoga?

The term Hot Yoga and Bikram Yoga are interchangeable. This is very popular form of hatha yoga in US, was developed by Bikram Choudhary. The sessions are arranged in the pre heated room at 40 degree Celsius. Approximately 26 postures and two breathing exercises performed in every session which are structured by Bikram Choudhary in his distinct way. The only teachers who learn and complete nine weeks course with Bikram, are, allowed to teach hot yoga.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bikram_Yoga

What is Yoga Therapy?

Yoga therapy is advised for the patients or specifically for individuals suffering from some chronic pain. For example, a person with Thyroid Disorder has to practice asanas and pranayamas that will stimulate his thyroid glands. An individual with high blood pressure or cardiac ailments may need to avoid few yogic practices completely depending on the seriousness of his condition. Yoga therapy requires much more knowledge and understanding of ailments and yoga. It is always advised to take yoga therapy from a trained certified teacher.

Note: You can practice yoga on the mat without any basic knowledge too, but the adequate information will make you feel more confident of your practice and the whole Yoga Tradition.

Seven Chakras: Science Meets Spirituality

Abhilasha Kale, photography by Sameer Kulkarni

I assume you feel fresh and energetic post your yoga session. That’s the way one should feel after yoga session. I also consider that you are a well informed yogi and you know the reasons behind good happy feelings which you experience following your yoga practice—happy hormones like oxytocin, endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine are released during your yoga practice. What stimulates the flow of hormones during the practice? Hormones can stream comfortably and joyfully with a better flow of energy in the body. The asana and pranayama practice works as the fuel to your body, allowing your energy to travel more freely and quickly throughout the body.

The positioning of seven chakras in a human body, in the spine, was confirmed by ancient yogis when the concept of modern science was not even conceived. We will surprise to know that all seven chakras are located close to seven major endocrine glands, which regulate levels of essential hormones in our body. It shows the great understanding of body mechanism on yogis' parts.

Our energy body (Pranamaya Kosha) is one of the five bodies of us. Prana means breath which equals to pranic energy. According to Ayurveda, the sister science of Yoga, our presence is not limited to our physical body (Annamayakosha) but we have four more bodies— Pranamayakosha (Energy Body), Manomayakosha (Mental Body), Vijnanamayakosha (Intellectual Body/Wisdom) and Anandamayakosha (Bliss Body/ Consciousness)—five sheaths overlapping each others like onion layers. Prana (energy) flows throughout our subtle bodies—all sheaths.

This prana (energy flow) is governed by seven major energy centers which are called chakras. Our body, however, is the home to 114 chakras—out of these two are outside physical body. Like whirlpools, the chakras rotate at the speed of light in a clockwise direction. Activating and balancing the chakras considered as the one of the paths which helps you to realize your higher self or to connect your spiritual sel. You can call it enlightenment, kundalini awakening or simply a connection to the divine universal energy. 

The blockages in the chakras don’t allow you to live your life in fuller terms. What can obstruct a free flow of energy in our body? A positive energy flow is disturbed by a negative one. From where does this negative energy come from? It enters through our feelings/emotions in the physical body.  Though we all seek a simple and joyful life, we come across mess in the life from time to time. Intense emotional experiences and uncontrollable devastative life events bring with them sadness, guilt, fear, anxiety, depression, attachment, grief and hatred. These unhealthy emotions don’t allow energy to flow smoothly in a person’s body. Hatha Yoga (asanas, pranayamas, kriyas and mudras, please refer to Hatha Yoga post http://superyogis.blogspot.in/2016/04/understanding-hatha-yoga.html) counteracts negative energies and stabilizes the chakras, stimulating them to spin rhythmically.

Let’s understand the significance of each chakra, an endocrine gland associated with it and the feelings that may paralyze that respective chakra. The awareness of emotions motivates us to work on them and clear the disturbances in our energy flow. Depending on your capability and comfort, you can choose to practice any yoga techniques—hatha yoga, meditation or simply beej mantras to remove these blockages. Apart from above mentioned means, there are many techniques that can be used to open our chakras.
  
MULADHAR CHAKRA (ROOT CENTER)

Endocrine Gland & its Functions: This chakra associated reproductive glands—ovaries in women and testes in men, which secrete sex hormones. Ovaries produce estrogen and progesterone, helps developing breasts and regulates menstruation. Testosterone is produced by testes, promotes production of sperms and maintains sex drive.
Element: Earth
Sense: Smell
Beej Mantra: Lam

Significance: Muladhara chakra is the foundation that supports our survival instincts, so we need to keep this center strong and stable. Our lower body; includes legs, the base of spine and feet are governed by this center.  It gives you energy to meet your core needs easily.This is the base of our kundalini, the source of our energy—in the form of sexual energy. The journey towards higher spiritual self begins here. Your kundalini rises to the top (Sahasrara Chakra) as you start unblocking your chakras one by one.

Blockages: Located at the base of spine, this root chakra is blocked by fear, anxiety and doubts. To activate this chakra, you must face and surrender your fears and anxiety. Fears need not be very big, even a simple constant fear of failure in the exam, can put your muladhar off the track. But if you have studied hard enough you don’t need to worry about it. Just allow your results to unfold to you and be ready to accept them.

SWADHISHTHAN CHAKRA (THE SACRAL CENTER)

Endocrine Gland & its Functions: Adrenal glands are linked to the sacral centre which regulates our immune system and manages gastrointestinal functions.
Element: Water
Sense: Taste
Beej Mantra: Vam

Significance:  Swadhishthan can be translated as “one’s own abode”. Here “swa” means self and “stan” stands for dwelling place. The second chakra Swadhishthan located exactly below your navel centre takes care of all fluid movements in your body. This chakra is involved with sensuality, sexuality, creativity, joy, emotions, intimacy, and desires. Your circulation, urination, menstruation, orgasm and tears are taken care by this chakra.  Your sacral region, area of sexual organs, sacrum, lower back, womb, urinary bladder and kidney function nourished with Swadhishthan’s energy.

Blockages: You can access all kinds of pleasures and joys with the energy of Swadhishthan.  But a feeling of guilt doesn’t allow you to enjoy your life. We all feel guilty some or other time. But a continuous self-guilt will not allow you to celebrate any moment of your life. So first understand what do you blame yourself for? Accept the reality and forgive yourself. A very basic guilt of eating sweets when you are following a weight loss regime, can make you very irritable with own self. That sweet or chocolate pastry may not add any pounds to your body, but your guilt will certainly. The research has proved that when you release blockages in your mental/emotional body, you can shed weight  more easily.

MANIPURA CHAKRA (SOLAR PLEXUS)

Endocrine Gland & its Functions: Pancreas produces insulin, which maintains our blood sugar levels.
Element: Fire
Sense: Sight
Beej Mantra: Ram

Significance: The third chakra, Manipura, is located at the solar plexus, little above your navel centre. Manipura means "city of gems” and refers to a special kind sights—vision of your eyes as well as vision of your mind. This is also known as the “power centre” as you can manifest all your desires though this chakra. The Manipura governs our digestion and metabolism.

Blockages: It is blocked by a feeling of shame. You can unblock this chakra with the power of self-esteem and willpower. A feeling of shame doesn’t allow a person to rise in life. He always stays in abyss. Accepting and loving all aspects (dark, grey or white) of you is the key to find balance in this center, which is easier said than done. But you can gradually open this chakra with backward bending asanas, performed against the gravitational force, which helps you cultivating willpower.

ANAHATA CHAKRA (HEART CENTER)

Endocrine Gland & its functions: Thymus gland plays a vital role in regulating immune system.
Element: Air
Sense: Touch
Beej Mantra: Yum

Significance: Anahata chakra, the heart center, is the core of our being. The word Anahata mean “unstruck”.  The unstruck sound is known as Anahadnaad, manifested at heart chakra. It is known as primordial sound, which is beyond words. Located close to thymus gland, it takes care of your heart, upper chest, and upper back. The heart chakra governs the soft powers of life; love, affection, harmony and peace.

Blockages: This center is blocked by grief—the sadness you feel when you miss or lose somebody very dear or when your loved ones hurt you, or somebody breaks your faith. Feel the grief, accept the realities and practice asanas that will stimulate flow in your heart chakra, specifically asanas that promotes chest expansion, shoulder opening and neck tension releasing.

VISHUDDHI CHAKRA (THROAT CENTER)

Endocrine Gland & its Functions: Thyroid glands associated with this center regulate body temperature and metabolism.  It also plays a part in bone development by controlling calcium and phosphorous levels.
Element: Ether/Space
Sense: Sound
Beeja Mantra: Hum

Significance: The word shudhhi means “purification”. It’s a purification center of your body and mind, which helps you to express your true self. Your communication whether through speaking or writing, through music or dance or painting, is originated and refined here. The work on this chakra can make you a powerful person in any chosen area. It maintains health of neck, throat, jaw, mouth, vocal cords, larynx, thyroid and parathyroid glands. 

Blockages: Truth is the nature of this chakra. The lies hamper the balance of this chakra.  Lies are not only what you tell others, but lies which you tell yourself too. When you pretend things, behave and act as someone else, you are just closing your Vishudhha Chakra.   Accept your realities, good and bad, will pave the way for true empowerment. The empowerment which takes place in you when you accept the way you are, easily accept your flaws and effortlessly express your potentials.

AJNA CHAKRA (THIRD EYE CENTER)

Endocrine Gland & its Functions: Pituitary Gland produces hormones and governs the function of all five glands and regulates emotions and intellect. Many hormones like growth hormones, prolactin, thyroid stimulating hormones and oxytocin are produced by this gland.
Element: light
Sense: Sixth sense that includes clairvoyance and intuition.
Beej Mantra: Ma

Significance: The word ajna means command and that’s why it is known as the “command center”. The location of this chakra, third eye, is the place where the two main energy channels, ida and pingala, meet.  Ajna chakra is the seat of the mind, of conscious and unconscious awareness.  It governs your thoughts, dreams, imagination, and vision. You can visualize the past and imagine wonderful picture of the future with Ajna Chakra. It cultivates your Sixth sense includes clairvoyance,  clairaudience, telepathy, intuition, dreaming, imagination, and visualization.

Blockages: It is troubled by illusion—means realities which don’t exist. The illusion of separation puts out of rhythm.  We are all connected to each other. There is no separation.

SAHASRARA CHAKRA (CROWN CENTER)

Endocrine Gland & its Functions: Pineal Gland secretes melatonin, which regulates biological cycles including sleep.
Element: Thought
Sense: It takes you beyond all senses, closer to higher consciousness.
Beeja Mantra: Om

Significance: The word means Sahasrara means thousand. This chakra is depicted by a white shining lotus of thousand petals, which signifies higher consciousness, infinite being, kundalini awakening, pure bliss and enlightenment. Located at the crown of the head, Sahasrara Chakra connects us  with the divine energy or universal consciousness. It connects to you to your higher self. This is full expression of yoga—the unification of being with action of universality with individuality.

Blockages:  Your journey from Ajna to Sahasrara may take longer as we all have many attachments--attachment with loved ones, attachment with place, people and many materialistic things.  There is nothing wrong if you are attached to loved ones but it may come in your higher path. The practice of detachment will take you closer to higher self. Detachment doesn’t mean staying away from your near ones but you give them freedom to choose to do what they want. You give yourself freedom to love without any expectations.  Meditation will help you to get detached from your loved ones and love them eternally. 

References:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StrbppmsZJw
Book: Swami-Satyananda-Saraswati---Asana-Pranayama-Mudra-Bandha