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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Reflections on the Seven Cakras

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Reflections on the Seven Cakras

The Yogis understood the human body in a very different way, compared to how modern science looks at it. One among this approach is the concept of Cakras. The viewed the Cakras as vital energy centers located at different places in the body, which controlled important functions of the body. Each of the Cakras are located along the spine and each has a specific role in our health and wellbeing, as well as in the expansion of our full potential. 

Although there are some variations found in the classical texts about how many Cakras there are, it is widely acknowledged that there are seven major ones. The appropriate functioning of these seven energy centers was seen as an important focus for most Yogis. So they designed very specific practices including Asana, Pranayama, Mantra and Mudra to engage with these vital centers so as to improve overall quality of life.

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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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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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Holistic Manifestation | Yoga for Pre-conception

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Holistic Manifestation | Yoga for Pre-conception

Pregnancy is for many future parents a very special period in their lives and often couples invest much time and energy to prepare themselves accordingly.

The ancient yogis also treated pregnancy with utmost importance, but their perspective on what it actually meant had a much wider scope than what many people think of it today.


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Darkness to Light | Yoga & Depression

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Darkness to Light | Yoga & Depression

Depression, like all other sicknesses, works on various layers of our existence.  We might experience symptoms on a physiological level, such as digestive problems, constant exhaustion, fatigue or headaches. We might also cope with psychological effects and suffer from feelings like worthlessness, diverse anxieties or total numbness. On a spiritual level we experience a disconnection from others, the divine and our Self.

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Gratitude is an Attitude | Yoga on Stress

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Gratitude is an Attitude | Yoga on Stress

Stress is a buzz word today. Everyone from executives and factory workers to housekeepers and even children deal with stress in their daily lives. Even yoga teachers are not free from the effects of stress. We wouldn’t have to worry about stress too much if it didn’t have such insidious effects. While a certain amount of stress is normal and healthy, too much stress can lead to burnout and inefficiency at work, troubled relationships, and nagging feelings of anger and anxiety. Since stress, when unmanaged, can drain the joy from our lives, we need not only to pay attention to it, but also take steps to deal with it.

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The Bold Beggar

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The Bold Beggar

A short story from Chandogya Upanisad

Long ago, there were two men of wisdom (Rsi-s) who lived in a peaceful and quite hermitage in the middle of the forest. They were ardent devotees of the wind God Vayu, and spent most of their time offering chants and rituals to honor him. 

One afternoon, just as they were about to begin their meal, a beggar arrived holding his begging bowl and made a sincere request to them. "Pardon me respectful sages, could I beg for a part of your excess meal so I can sustain myself?"

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I shall happily go to hell

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I shall happily go to hell

The greatness of traditional masters was not merely established based on the extent of their knowledge, but rather on how well they used it to serve the people. One such giant from Indian history is the great Ramanujacarya, a grand Vaisnava master who lived in the twelfth century and is considered the most important proponent of the Visistadvaita Vedanta philosophy. 

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Who are the Kapalikas?

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Who are the Kapalikas?

The Kapalika-s (Sanskrit कापालिक) are one of the two main sects of Siva follows, who follow a a non-Puranic or tantric form of Saivism. Some of their members were considered to have written the Bhairava Tantra-s, including the subdivision called the Kaula Tantra-s.

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Yoga Makaranda | The Nectar of Yoga

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Yoga Makaranda | The Nectar of Yoga

Yoga Makaranda was T Krishnamacharya's first book on the topic of Yoga. Published originally in Kannada language in 1934, this book was one of the few available at the time. It is also one of the first publications ever to present the practice of Āsana-s in a sequential manner or Vinyāsa-krama, a method unknown at the time to the general public. 

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