Clarity or Stubborness | What do we stand for?

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Clarity or Stubborness | What do we stand for?

“I am not stubborn, I am just standing up for my rights” said a young woman who came to me for Yoga Therapy classes. I wondered if this was indeed true. The woman had separated from her husband three years ago, and she would not let her son, who is twelve years old, to visit the father freely, nor visit the grandparents, nor let the son have a vacation with the father for even one or two days in a year. She also poisons the son to not visit the home where he was born, as there is now a “new-wife” living with his father

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STILLNESS OR STAGNATION?

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STILLNESS OR STAGNATION?

Recently I was asked to comment on my feelings towards the school bombings in Oregon that occurred on the 01st of October 2015. I said I was very sad about this incident and felt great grief for those who suffered from it, directly or indirectly. To this one of the students retorted back “As Yogis, should we be moved by such things and not be still?” 

This grieved me even further. 

As Yogi-s we search stillness. But very often the result is stagnation. 

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Intuition in Yoga Therapy

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Intuition in Yoga Therapy

On its journey to gain acceptance into mainstream society, Yoga Therapy is at a very interesting place now. From being an obscure discipline that was reserved to saints living in caves and mountains, Yoga has found such a formidable acceptance by people around the world, that even 177 countries celebrated the International Day of Yoga on the 21st June 2015. Yet for all its current popularity, there remain many skeptics, who question its validity, especially as a form of healing.

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Who is a Yogi?

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Who is a Yogi?

In my years of teaching and travel, I have been fortunate enough to visit almost every continent and interact with people of very different cultures. Back in the day, when I first decided to be a yoga teacher I never fathomed that this would result in so much travel and interaction with all kinds of people. What struck me most was the genuine and serious interest people around the world had towards yoga.  As a result, we see millions of yoga practitioners around the world and thousands of teachers to teach them.

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The Hathayoga Interview

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The Hathayoga Interview

In the year 2011, an interview was conducted on the topic of Hathayogapradipika, with three of the senior students of TKV Desikachar - Frans Moors, S Sridharan and Dr. Kausthub Desikachar. This interview was published in the newsletter called "Synergies in Yoga", published then by the Krishnamacharya Healing & Yoga Foundation. 

The interview is presented here for public interest and with an attitude of sharing this conversation on the most interesting topic of Hathayoga. 

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RELEVANCE OF THE YOGASUTRA-S OF PATANJALI

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RELEVANCE OF THE YOGASUTRA-S OF PATANJALI

The Sat Vaidika Darsana-s or the six philosophical schools as they were more commonly known, evolved in ancient India during a period which many consider as the Golden Era of Spirituality. The context and challenges that society faced at that time would have deemed such a revolution essential. Almost all of the great schools of wisdom originated at this time, and has not only been a great source of wisdom for generations through time, but also has been a great source of inspiration for other teachings that evolved later in other parts of the world.

The Yogasutra-s of Patanjali belongs to this collection of extra-ordinary teachings, and is presented through a series of 195 aphorisms. 

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Understanding Viniyoga

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Understanding Viniyoga

Viniyoga is an ancient word that has its origin probably in the Veda-s, and maybe even prior to that. The word appears in many of the most ancient meditation practices that are believed to be far more ancient than yoga itself. Considered the most ancient meditative practice, the Sandhyavandanam, was used as the way of honoring and being grateful to the Sun. In this practice, there is more than one occasion where the word viniyoga is used. The context of the meaning is one of application, use or employment. The third meaning from the dictionary meanings.

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Beginning with the Breath

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Beginning with the Breath

Everyone knows that the breath is the most fundamental component of a yoga practice. It is this commonality of mankind that allows everyone to practice yoga, no matter how old or young, flexible or inflexible, sick or healthy they are. Yet very few of us actually know how to work with our own breath, let alone know our breath at all.

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Nine Reasons to Love Mantra-s

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Nine Reasons to Love Mantra-s

Among all of the tools that Yoga has to offer, one of the most intriguing among them is Mantra-s. Through the history of the Vedic culture and the Yogic tradition, Mantra-s have always played a very significant role in the path of personal transformation and spiritual liberation. Hence an aura of reverence and dignity always surrounds it, even to the present day. 

Yet, in its journey from antiquity to modernity, for various reasons known and unknown, it has become limited in its scope and hence in practice. However, in recent times there seems to a renaissance in the openness people have towards its practice, prompting many to seek ways to begin their own personal journey with Mantra-s. 

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Jñana, Karma & Bhakti | The river of Yoga

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Jñana, Karma & Bhakti | The river of Yoga

The spiritual journey of Yoga can be compared to that of a river. A river gets born in a little spring and slowly separates itself from its source. Then it winds its way meandering through mountains, valleys, cities, towns and caves, finally merging into one big gigantic ocean.

The evolution of Yoga, not just as a philosophical system, but a more in a metaphysical notion mirrors the journey of such a river. The concept of Yoga took a wonderful journey through the history of time. All the great seers of the past saw this clearly and categorised it into three different kinds - Jñana-yoga, Karma-yoga and Bhakti-yoga.

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Does Bad Karma cause Disease?

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Does Bad Karma cause Disease?

'Why me? My family and I have done so much good for so many people. Is it my bad karma?' a lot of people ask me.

When oneself or a loved one of the family is confronted with severe illness, this question often comes up. Disease has its own persuasive way of creeping into the psyche of even the most positive citizens and cause doubt, fear and much negativity.

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Is Yoga non-dual?

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Is Yoga non-dual?

Non-dualism is a branch of Vedanta philosophy that was propagated primarily by the great Adi-Sankara, who synthesised the essence of many preceding scholars and systematised it as the Advaita-vedanta system. 

​The influence of Advaita-vedanta on the field of Yoga gained significant prominence and has lasted till the current day. Today there are numerous practitioners who identify themselves as belonging to the Advaita school of Yoga. 

But is Yoga indeed non-dual? 

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