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.