25) Yoga is the supreme religion- BKS Iyengar

The striking photograph of Yogacharya Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar doing the shirshasan in the backdrop of the Swiss Alps brings out the perfection of the asana. Guruji, as Iyengar is popularly known, has worked for 70 years in mastering the art and the science of yoga. In his ninth decade today Iyengar is raring to do more. As president of the 15-school Indian Yoga Association, he has many plans ahead - of bringing about uniformity in these different schools; introducing yoga in schools and colleges and popularising yoga to the Generation Y to keep ills at bay. In a free-wheeling talk the yogacharya extols the virtue of yoga teachers to attain the zenith and look at yoga beyond a form of physical exercise.

From Light of Yoga to Light on Life and the journey in between...
It has been one of enlightenment. The body is connected with five elements. Practice of yoga helps connect with all of them and attain atma darshan through asanas. Light on Yoga is a reflection of the maturity I attained through my practice and research. As my practice grew, I inched towards perfection to introduce intelligence in sadhana, where the entire body including the nail attains stability. Light of Life is the journey of more than half a century of my association with yoga, my travel from darkness to light and from sickness to health, from ignorance to the light of knowledge.

Your contribution to yoga has been far-reaching, in fact yoga is known in the West because you started teaching it...
I started to do yoga first to maintain a good health. When I met Yehudi Menuhin in Mumbai in 1954, and my asanas helped him with his arm, he invited me to London. I gave thousands of demonstrations before people took to yoga. I started slowly, but once its benefits were experienced by all, the followers of yoga multiplied quickly. Now there are plenty of yoga teachers.

There is a guru-shishya tradition involved here, can all the teachers live up to it?
The guru-shishya relationship is essential, but each one has to struggle on his own to attain perfection. Just as I started from scratch and became a king, other must also practice. Teachers of yoga have less dedication. Anyone who practices an art must observe and absorb. When there is observation and absorption, it will lead to dedication. When I teach, there is a lecture and then an asana is presented. It connects well with the student. The guru and his pupil are together concerned with the spiritual knowledge (Brahma Vidya). The fruit of first-hand experience matures and the guru and the shishya explore it together.

Why are there no big yoga camps?
I have never wavered from teaching it to the masses. In fact that is why yoga is popular today. In a poor country like ours, people spend too much on medicines. If knowledge of yoga spreads across the nation people can save money on medicines and use it to buy food instead. Further, yoga is an art for me. I have immense respect for it. It requires years of attention to the subtlest form of the self. Stretching of the body is not yoga. The self has to penetrate outside, just as the body has to look within.

You want schools and colleges to make it compulsory for students...
I began teaching yoga to school and college students in Pune in 1937. If only the benefits had been realised then, we would have had yoga teachers all over the country by now and yoga would have spread all over the nation.

Yoga is willing accepted by people of other faiths. Why?
Yoga is the supreme religion. The body and intelligence are the same everywhere. The mind is individual and yoga helps it become universal. It brings about a vibration in the body and this music is due to the practice of the asanas. Its benefits are immeasurable and that is the only reason for its popularity.

Your favourite asanas...
I respect the viparita salabhasan as much as I do the tadasana. Even the simplest of asanas can have deep impact.

Yoga is now a money spinner...
The world is changing. A teacher of yoga has to make a living. In 1954, when violinist Yehudi Menuhin invited me to London, I was paid 100 dollars and toiled for months. In 1960, when I took my first class, I charged 10 shillings per student. It was barely enough to make ends meet. Today, practical philosophy lies in the teacher giving more than what he takes. Just as there is rajadharma, there must be yogadharma. Each and every student should be treated equally. Preferential treatment to those who pay more is not acceptable.

And you have miles to go...
I began with a scratch and became a king. I practice yoga three hours a day and pranayam for one hour. Yoga is the reason I am still going on at 90. I am a tenant here. I will vacate when God asks me to. Till then, I have much to do

There have been awards — Padma Shree, Padma Vibhushan and Time magazine...
I am honoured. In fact I had no idea about Time magazine's choice. I never thought I was one of the 100 most influential people.

Source :

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1213696&pageid=2

24) Yoga Teachers or Spiritual Healers ?

In post No:22 on the Topic "Multiple disciplined Yoga teachers " I dealt with the issue of how a Yoga Teacher must be having the knowledge of multiple disciplines to be an effective yoga teacher .I will be discussing about that topic again because time and again the question comes as to" what is the role of a yoga teacher" ? , is he a person just teaching you some asanas and pranayama ? is he a person giving you some yoga therapy to cure you from backache , diabetes ? is he another form of fitness instructor ? is he a stress reliever etc ? Is he a spiritual guru ?
Most of the current yoga teachers ususally play one of the above goals but only very few play an integrated goal of all of the above and much more and able to switch gears according to the type of student they face and always end up making the student feel much better and more clear in their association with them .Very few yoga teachers are there who are able to do a complete role as not just a yoga teacher but an integrated spiritual healer .Such sort of teachers have a magical effect on the student .Even if they teach you asanas at the external level they silently tune you in to understanding yourself at the deeper level .At the physical level due to asanas you get lot of physical relief , at the mental level due to pranayama and meditation you get a form of mental rest but still the person feels a void and you get full spiritual clarity only when you understand yourself at the deepest core .That is the highest form of healing and all yogas are directed to that end only . Unfortunately not many yoga teachers are equipped to take a student to such a deeper level as most of them stop purely at the physical level and not many are intersted in learning and assimilating the deeper truths contained in Advaita Vedanta .Yoga practice without Vedantic knowledge is like driving a car without knowing the destination and similarly studying Vedanta without the foundation of a yogic discipline will lead to producing just dry arrogant vedantic teachers / students who will be just talking and talking without having any impact on the students to whom they talk .They will be unable to help a student especially a beginner to spirituality in progessing from where they are i.e at the gross physical level and will be just talking about the end .Many students keep listening to these vedantic lectures for many years and with not much transformation .The problem is not in the subject matter of Vedanta but in the lack of preparation of the student who is listening to the same . So an effective Yoga teacher is one who is not only thorough in the Yoga subject but also on the subject of Vedanta and knows how best to apply the same to each student and help them progess step by step till they develop ultimate spiritual clarity .That is one of the reason Swami Sivananda and Swami Vishnu devananda combined the science of Yoga and Vedanta and urged all their students to assimilate both these sciences for their own welfare and also for the world . This is the qualification every Yoga teacher must have to be effective as a true spiritual healer in all respects and this is also the path I am orienting myself also in to .

23) Soorya Namaskar( Sun Salutation)

Whenever a student starts a yoga practice the first thing that he encounters is a stiff back and tight muscles and many students give up their yoga practice in the first few days itself because of the "initial discomfort" in their yoga practice due to stiff back and tight muscles . The main cause of body stiffness is due to a lifestyle that does not include any form of exercise and fitness especially exercises that involve some basic spinal stretching and second reason for stiffness is a poor diet ( diet will be discussed later ) .Our body is like an instrument and just as an instrument if it is not used properly get rusted and worn out similarly a body that is not being properly used and lubricated get rusted and worn out .So in order to help a person first develop a minimum amount of body flexibility in order to do a regular yoga practice the "Soorya Namaskar" or "Sun Salutation" is first practiced as a warm up exercise . Traditionally in ancient India the students in the Gurukula ( Vedic School ) used to do this Morning Sun Salutation or Soorya Namaskar facing the Sun chanting the Soorya Mantras.Though it was done as a form of Prayer it was equally an excellent exercise to develop body flexibilty , give energy to the students and make them alert ,fresh and energetic .
In modern context this Sooryanamaskar has become the part of initial warm ups in many Yoga System notably in the Sivananda System and Ashtanga System . There are various types of Surya Namaskar and in this message we will be discussing the Soorya Namaskar that is being followed by the Sivananda System .
Sivananda System of Soorya Namaskar :

The Sun Salutation is a graceful sequence of twelve positions performed as one continuous exercise. Each position counteracts the one before, stretching the body in a different way and alternately expanding and contracting the chest to regulate the breathing. Practiced daily it will bring great flexibility to your spine and joints and trim your waist. It limbers up the whole body in preperation for the Asanas (postures) .

One round of Sun Salutation consists of two sequences, the first leading with the right foot in positons 4 and 9, the second leading with the left. Keep your hands in one place from positons 3 to 10 and try to co-ordinate your movements with your breathing. Start by practicing four rounds and gradually build up to twelve rounds.

1. Stand erect with feet together and hands in the prayer position in front of your chest. Make sure your weight is evenly distributed. Exhale.

2. Inhaling, stretch your arms up and arch back from the waist, pushing the hips out, legs straight. Relax your neck.

3. Exhaling, fold forward, and press your palms down, fingertips in line with toes - bend your knees if necessary.

4. Inhaling, bring the left (or right) leg back and place the knee on the floor. Arch back and look up, lifting your chin.

5. Retaining the breath, bring the other leg back and support your weight on hands and toes.

6. Exhaling, lower your knees, then your chest and then your forehead, keeping your hips up and your toes curled under.

7. Inhaling, lower your hips, point your toes and bend back. Keep legs together and shoulders down. Look up and back.

8. Exhaling, curl your toes under, raise your hips and pivot into an inverted "V"shape. Try to push your heels and head down and keep your shoulders back.

9. Inhaling, step forward and place the left (or right) foot between your hands. Rest the other knee on the floor and look up, as in position 4.

10. Exhaling, bring the other leg forward and bend down from the waist, keeping your palms as in position 3.

11. Inhaling, streach your arms forward, then up and back over your head and bend back slowly from the waist, as in position 1.

12. Exhaling, gently come back to an upright position and bring your arms down by your sides.

For a video demonstration of the same kindly refer the following video :
Dashama Gordon of www.perfect10lifestyle.com demonstrates a yoga sun salutation. Follow along with her explanation. Remember to breathe through your nose as you go through each step.The system demonstrated here is similar to the Sivananda System of Soorya Namaskar .

Warning : Soorya Namaskar is not suited for people who have a back injury , high blood pressure and heart problem .So kindly consult a doctor before attemptiong the same .The video demonstration is given purely to educate you and ecncourage you for practicing Soorya Namasker and it is better that you learn it personally from a yoga teacher .

22) Multiple disciplined Yoga Teachers
I am updating this blog after a very long time . The past few months I was absorbed in reading and reflecting and spending time in silence and I continue to do so . I have taken an informal break from many external activities and just confine myself to my own sadhana and my private yoga teaching .I am using the current spiritual break to recharge myself physically ,emotionally and spiritually and re-clarify my goals and priorities with regard to my yoga teaching , my future program of travel etc .In this regard I wish to point out that I was highly impressed by reading the book "Journal to the Self" by Kathleen Adams that points out the benefits of maintaining a personal journal and how it can help heal us and help develop more clarity .I am using this book as a guide book in maintaining my own personal journal and hope that it will help me unlock my own potential as a better yoga teacher .Also I was equally impressed by reading the speeches of Charlie Munger friend of the greatest Investor Warren Buffett . Charlie Munger's wisdom is complied in a book called "Poor Charlie Almanac" and they are termed as Mungerisms .Though I do not have that book I have access to many of Munger's wisdom through the net and one thing that attracted me to Munger was the fact that he laid enormous amount of stress on self education through voracious reading across multiple disciplines .Munger believes that the world is not linear but a complex entity with various interrelationships and one cannot find solution to anything being just a unidirectional person .He illustrates this by his famous saying "To the guy with a hammer every problem appears to be a nail fit to be just hammered upon " ,what he means is that if a carpenter carries just a hammer he will be ineffective in doing a proper work but if he carries multiple tools like screw driver , spanner , wrench , hammer etc then he will use the appropriate tool for the appropriate job and stop finding solution to everything using just a hammer .Now what does that have to do with yoga ?
I find Mungerism is very valid for a Yoga Teacher as most of Yoga Teachers are just uni-directional and use one tool just asanas or their own favorite posture sequence to address the problem of a student .While this may prove useful in a group setting for a set of healthy and fit yoga practitioners it many not help solve problems for many students who need a personalised solution .A yoga teacher is effective when he has maxamium number of tools at his disposals like posture sequence , pranayama , warm up exercise , meditation , self enquiry ,nutrition ,psycology ,chanting etc . I am sorry I am expecting lot from a yoga teacher but I feel a real effective yoga teacher is one who has a mastery over multiple disciplines and uses a wonderful combination of these disciplines to help strengthen a student who comes to him .
It is not that this is a new concept ,Swami Sivananda already started this concept way back in the early 1930s when he started the Yoga of Synthesis : a combination of Hatha , Bhakthi , Jnana , Raja Yoga and Karma Yoga and first give a student a training in all these multiple disciplines nd identify in which area he is more intersted and develop him accordingly in that area .Swami Vihsnu devananda redefined these things in his 5 points of Yoga saying Yoga is not just postures but a combinationof asanas , pranayama, relaxation , diet and meditation .Unfortunately what we find is many Yoga teachers are very uni-directional and while it is good to develop an expertise in one discipline it is equally necessary to develop necesaary competance in auxilarly disciplines as not all students are alike and not all should be treated the same .So the need of the day is to have Yoga teachers who are having competance in multiple disciplines .It takes a long time for a person to be such a multi disciplined Yoga teacher but in this complex world we need such teachers to help solve students problems otherwise like a man with the hammer many of the yoga teachers will be touturing students rather than helping them . It is this quest to be a multiple disciplined yoga teacher I am on right now and I hope in due course I will develop my expertise in many areas appropriately .

21)Inner Peace on the Job: 7 Ways to Minimize Stress
Although it is not possible to eliminate stress completely, there are some things we can do to reduce it. Here are effective ways to reduce stress in your day.

1. Slow down and be in the present. It is natural to believe that the harder you work, the more you will get done. However, though it may seem paradoxical, if you work at a slow and steady pace with full awareness, you will most likely turn out better work with fewer mistakes - and feel better while doing it!

2. Set boundaries. Are you the go-to person for every favor and question that is needed in your workplace? Learn to respectfully set your boundaries and say no. Also, take a look at your calendar and make sure you are not over-scheduling yourself after work. Write in one night a week for yourself, and treat yourself to a tai chi or meditation class, a bath, or just an evening curled up with a good book.

3. Remember to breathe deeply all day. Most people who are under a lot of stress or tension breathe shallowly, up in the throat area. When you breathe deeply into your lungs, you are naturally bringing in more oxygen and activating energy in your body.
Try this to remember to breathe: set your intention to take 10 deep breaths once every hour. (If necessary, set a timer to help you remember.) It will only take a minute, but the rewards will be tenfold.

4. Bring nature inside. As much as possible, let natural light and fresh air permeate your workspace. Surround yourself with the inspiring colors of beautiful flowers, which have a powerful influence on a person's mind-set. A beautiful bouquet can lift a less-than-lovely mood and even eliminate stress. In fact, one study showed that people who sat next to an arrangement of colorful flowers were able to relax more during a five-minute typing assignment than those who sat near foliage-only plants.

5. Give yourself a time-out. Take the breaks that are given to you. In this high-paced world, people often work through their breaks, claiming they have too much work to do - this will lead to serious repercussions in the future.

Remember that you are a human, not a machine. Even a machine needs downtime for maintenance! Try taking a 15-minute powernap on your lunch break. If you only have five minutes to spare, just close your eyes. Even this brief rest can reduce stress and help you relax.

6. Meditation brings relaxation. Meditation gives your body a rest and produces slower brain waves that are similar to sleep, effectively combating tension. Regular practice of meditation, tai chi, or yoga can help you slow down and bring peace, not only in your job, but also in your life.

7. Perk up naturally!
Skip the second latte, which stimulates your central nervous system, makes your mind race, and adds to your stress. Instead, try these simple and natural pick-me-ups:

• Take a tea break. Instead of coffee, go for teas that gently boost your energy, such as ginseng, eucalyptus, or ginger.

• Find ways to keep moving all day. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Drink a glass of water from the water cooler every hour. Park your car a few blocks away from where you're going. Not only will this perk up your energy, it will also improve your mood.

• If it's a nice day outside, eat lunch outdoors or just take a walk around the block. The fresh air and the break from routine will be an invigorating addition to your workday.

• Get sustainable energy with snacks. Eat a snack at mid-morning and another one at mid-afternoon consisting of nuts, seeds, fruits, or protein-rich foods like humus made from beans will help you sustain your energy and prevent low blood sugar from setting in.

I hope you find the ways to minimize stress in your work environment! I invite you to visit often and share your own personal health and longevity tips with me.

May you live long, live strong, and live happy!

-Dr. Mao

20) Learning Yoga from Books /DVDs

The Yoga Market is now flooded with many Yoga Books / Yoga DVDs /CDs etc and people are confused as to which Book /DVD to buy but more than that some ask whether it is advisable to learn yoga from books / DVDs .I am not against any Yoga Book /DVD but I feel that if someone is new to Yoga ( i.e a total beginner ) then he/she must first visit a Yoga Centre and learn the basics from a real life yoga teacher at lest for a few weeks .The reason is each person's body structure is different and these books /DVDs have top class professionals with amazing and perfect bodies performing wonderfully those poses and many beginners feel that they are unable to do those poses as given in the book or as demonstrated in the DVD .Some may even develop pain/ injury attempting them and that leads to frustration and they give it up .
So best for a beginner is to select a yoga school /style first and attend their beginners Yoga Course with the guidance of a real life teacher . A real life teacher will help modify the poses according to your flexibility levels and will also prevent you from doing some poses based on your health and medical history .This is very vital as many people in an eagerness to learn yoga start doing the poses given in the book /DVD as it is without going through the warnings there or without making any assessment as to whether those poses are right form them .This will lead only to injury .So it is highly essential that a beginner takes the help of a real life Yoga teacher .Once a person has had a very solid foundation of a particular yoga practice then he /she can always supplement their knowledge and practice by reading books /journals related to Yoga or watching Yoga DVDs .

19) Which Yoga Styles /Schools to follow ?

When someone is interested in learning yoga the first thing they seem to ask is which Yoga style to follow or which style is good . In the market there are various popular yoga styles like Sivananda /Ashtanga / Iyengar /Power Yoga /Bikram Yoga / Viniyoga /Anusara etc .Some follow a stict classical lineage and some have adapted themselves to the modern fitness culture of hot & intensive yoga .Some styles are highly intensive ,some are mild and some are moderate .There is difference in the way of approach i.e some never teach pranayama till you reach a certain mastery in asanas and some teach nothing but pranayama right from the beginning and some teach only meditation .Some teach in groups and some strictly follow a one is to one mode of instruction .Now the question arises as to how should one go about choosing which is best for him/her ? In my case I never had a big trouble finding the right style as being in Chennai I had just 2 major schools to choose from in the late 90s and they were the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre ( SYVC ) and the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram( KYM) . Even though my first interest in yoga got kindled by reading the life of the great Yogi Sri Krishnamacharya somehow I never got to visit KYM and ended up visiting the SYVC in Chennai on 14 July 1997- the day of the Mahasamdhi of Swami Sivananda .Whether it was a divine co-incidence I do not know but it was the most positive development in my life .From that time onwards I struck to only the Sivananda System of Yoga and did my Yoga Teachers Training ( TTC ) in 1998 and Advanced Yoga Teachers Training ( ATTC ) in 2004 in the Sivananda Yoga Organization only and I follow nearly their same method for my Yoga Teaching .I am not saying that the Sivanada Yoga System is the best for everyone but I find it best suited for me and I intend to remain focussed on it .Though I follow the Sivananda System of Yoga I do read and get valuable inputs from other Yoga Teachers / Yoga styles and they help me enrich my own knowledge and skills in being a better yoga teacher .

So my advice for people will be to choose one yoga style that best suits you and in case you find difficulty in selecting one consult your friends or colleagues who have attended or currently undergoing any yoga training .They might help you develop some clarity on the type of the yoga system , its difficulty levels and the quality of the teacher etc .It is better to stick to one Yoga Style instead of jumping from one style to the other .All Yoga Styles are basically involved in developing a healthy body and peaceful and stable mind and it does not matter which style you follow as long as you are faithful in maintaining a regular practice and are willing to put in your time and energy in understanding the system and making it a part of your day to day life .

18) Positively Healing

The following is an excellent article reproduced from Yoga Journal .
Everything that happens in your mind is reflected in your body, says T.K.V. Desikachar. So, meditate on the good!

By Carol Krucoff
http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/2570?utm_source=MyYogaJournal&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=MYJ_298

Wearing a khaki shirt and trousers, his eyes twinkling behind oversize glasses and a shy smile on his lips, T.K.V. Desikachar doesn’t fit the Western stereotype of a great yoga master. But that may be, he says, because “a lot of people are confused about yoga.”

Americans typically use the word “yoga” to mean “posture,” he notes, and mistakenly measure progress by the ability to perform complex poses. But “yoga is definitely not just posture,” Desikachar asserts, hiking up his pants to assume a dramatic Warrior Pose, then bursting into an infectious laugh. “A lot of people are doing postures, but are they happy? They can do a beautiful posture, but their life is a big headache.” Mastery of yoga is really measured, Desikachar says, by “how it influences our day-to-day living, how it enhances our relationships, how it promotes clarity and peace of mind.”

The son and senior student of one of the greatest yogis of the modern era, Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, Desikachar made these comments last year at “Meditation as Medicine,” a four-day workshop in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which he taught with his son and student, Kausthub. A pioneer of modern therapeutic yoga, Desikachar is founder of the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram, a nonprofit healing center in Chennai, India, which offers yoga therapy to thousands of people from around the world each year. The therapy is based on his father’s fundamental belief that practices must be adapted to suit each person’s needs and abilities. “It is not that I must conform to the yoga practice,” Desikachar says, “but rather that yoga practice must be tailor-made for me.”

Yoga places special emphasis on the role of the mind in the healing process, explains Desikachar, who says, “A peaceful, stable mind is essential to well-being.” Ancient yogis developed numerous techniques, including meditation, to calm the mind and channel its power into physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. Meditation acts the way medicine does, Desikachar says, by transforming the mind’s agitation to peace.
Post traumatic Bliss

Desikachar’s teachings hold special significance for me, since my own yoga practice changed dramatically three years ago. During a marathon in Jamaica, I drank so much water that my blood sodium levels dropped dangerously low. I suffered seizures and an irregular heartbeat and was airlifted home to North Carolina, where I lay in a coma for four days. When I awoke in the neuro-intensive care unit, I wasn’t scared, angry, or upset. Instead, I experienced a sort of post traumatic bliss syndrome. Grateful to be alive, I was surprisingly unconcerned about my physical condition—although I couldn’t walk unassisted and my doctors worried that I might have permanent kidney damage.

Too sick to read, watch TV, or do much else, I lay in my hospital bed and did yoga. But my practice looked nothing like my usual Ashtanga primary series. In fact, the only posture I attempted was Savasana (Corpse Pose). I also did breathing practices—particularly counting my breath and extending the exhalation. I silently chanted prayers, visualized healing light, and focused on progressively relaxing different parts of my body. In short, meditation formed the heart of my practice.

Over time I completely recovered, but my yoga practice changed forever. I’d previously focused primarily on postures. But if yoga is about asana, what happens when the body weakens? My near-death experience taught me something I’d known intellectually yet never truly understood: Yoga’s true power lies in its ability to harness the mind for healing and spiritual development. While I still enjoy asana, my practice now is less vigorous, and I spend more time in meditation.

Meditation holds four major benefits, says Desikachar. The first is arta, or a lessening of suffering. “We meditate so pain is reduced,” he says, noting that “pain is not necessarily physical but can be emotional.” Next is jnanam, transcendent knowledge. “You may get a flash, a moment of clarity or wisdom,” he says. “It’s like lightning. For one second everything is bright; then it goes away.” Although this momentary illumination fades, memory of the insight—and its impact—lingers. Meditation can also result in extraordinary powers, called artharta. For example, Krishnamacharya, who died in 1989 at age 100, was apparently able to stop his heartbeat and breath for several minutes with no adverse effects. Meditation’s final benefit is bhakta—realization of the highest truth. Through meditation, Desikachar says, you can discover your true nature.

But not everyone is ready for meditation. It’s especially difficult if your mind is very distracted. Yogic tradition describes five states of mind, beginning with ksipta, an agitated state in which you’re unable to think, listen, or keep quiet. “This mind is not fit for meditation at all,” Desikachar says. When your mind is very agitated, try asana and breathing practices designed to bring the body and mind into stillness. Not until it enters the fourth state, ekagra, is the mind ready to pay attention. Here, the mind is relaxed but not sleepy—a prerequisite for meditation.
Fill Your Mind!

Regular practice of asana and pranayama (breathing techniques) can help you quiet your mind and, if illness or sedentary habits have left you weakened, can also help you become healthy and strong enough to sit still and concentrate. Even if you’re a calm, healthy, fit person, postures and breathing practices can prepare your body and mind for a more willing, joyful embrace of meditation.

In Desikachar’s view, the idea that meditation requires emptying the mind is a common misperception; meditation, he says, actually involves filling the mind with an object of inquiry. “It is never possible for the mind to be empty,” Desikachar notes, “except in a deep state of sleep.” The intent is to “become one with the object of focus.” You can meditate on virtually anything: a natural object, such as the sun or moon, a flower, tree, or mountain—or on a person, sound, deity, even a color. Or focus on the body or the breath. Desikachar suggests choosing an object that is both appealing and healing: “The key is transforming the mind in a positive way, so healing happens. Because whatever happens in the mind, happens in the whole system.” But don’t confuse this word “mind” with “intellectual mind,” he cautions. It is the center of awareness he’s talking about—the heart.

The Good Life

You don’t have to spend an hour on your cushion for meditation to have a profound effect, says Desikachar, who asks busy people, “How much time do you have?” If someone has just five minutes, he suggests a brief meditation that includes one minute for preparation, two and a half for the meditation itself, and one more for tapering off. “Once you feel the value and see the benefits of meditation, you will make time to do more,” he says. Meditation needn’t be esoteric and difficult: “You must always adapt according to what people like and will do.”

During the workshop, he asked for volunteers and created a 10-minute “Mom” meditation for a man named John, who suffered from addiction problems that he linked to a difficult relationship with his father. After listening to John describe intense anger at his father and great love for his mother, Desikachar drew a circle representing John’s life, then designated a small “slice” as the frowning dad. The rest of the circle was filled with positive aspects, including a smiling mom. “Life is like this,” Desikachar said. “We tend to focus on the bad and ignore the good.” Whenever John began to feel negative thoughts about his father, Desikachar suggested that he substitute positive thoughts of his mother. Then he led John through a meditation that involved reciting the word “Mom,” visualizing his mother, offering her a flower, asking her to nurture him, and he had the group chant, “Let Mom take care of John.” Modern psychology calls this process of replacing negative thoughts with positive ones “cognitive reframing.” But, says Desikachar, this type of mental reprogramming is an ancient yogic technique, one that is described by the sage Patanjali in Yoga Sutra II.33 as prakti paksha bhavana. Rather than let disturbing thoughts whip your body and mind into tension and despair, you can choose to substitute positive thoughts that will bring peace and calm. John had expected Desikachar to probe his relationship with his father—as John had done repeatedly in traditional therapy. But he found the unexpected focus on all that was good in his life extremely therapeutic.

For me, the practice of prakti paksha bhavana has been profoundly healing. Whenever disturbing thoughts arise, I make a conscious shift to that most positive place in my recent past—my “rebirth day,” when I awoke from a coma with complete faith that I would be fine. Virtually any stress fades in the light of this most precious gift, having my life and health completely restored. Each morning I start fresh, with a meditation on gratitude. Throughout the day, I try to recapture this sense of peace and share it with others. And every night I say a prayer of thanks for the simple miracle of breath.
Carol Krucoff is a yoga teacher and journalist in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and the coauthor of Healing Moves: How to Cure, Relieve and Prevent Common Ailments with Exercise.
See www.healingmoves.com.

17. Happy New Year 2008

Dear Friends

Wishing you all a Very Healthy ,Wealthy , Prosperous and spiritually fulfilling New Year 2008 .I was not active in updating my blog in the past couple of weeks and will do so from now onwards .In order to maintain quality of postings I will post only few per week and not daily .That will ensure that I post the high quality ones .

For those who are new to my blog I suggest that go through my other blog(s)

1) http://dailyspiritualmessage.blogspot.com/
2) http://yogaproductreview.blogspot.com/
3) http://trainingforexcellence.blogspot.com/

I will see to it that apart from this blog the other blogs are also regularly updated . These blogs are a means for me to share with the world those information , articles , quotes that educated , inspired and enriched me and I am sure it will also be useful for others .


Once again wishing you all a Happy New Year 2008 .

Krishnanand
Sivananda Yoga Teacher ,Chennai ,India