A tribute of praise to the motherland. Today, being the ninth day of the Magh Navaratri(nine days of the feminine divine Refer: http://theyogaschool.in/component/easyblog/navratra-the-nine-nights-of-the-feminine-divine?Itemid=101 ) and the 26th of January(Republic Day in India), Vande Mataram is the perfect ode to Mother India, who has integrated n...

"Suryah pratyaksha devata" (The Sun is the visible God)  Uttarayana is the time Period of the Sun movement in the northern hemisphere from the zodiac of Capricorn to Cancer. The Indian calendar puts this date as fixed on the 14th January(Makar Sankranti) and the end on 16th July (Karka Sankrati), the movement into Cancer is called the Dakshina...

The five elements-Panch Mahabhoota 'यथा ब्रह्माण्डे तथा पिण्डें' All that exists in the universe exists within the body. Yogic practice helps in bhoota(Element) shuddhi(purification) and siddhi(power of transgression) to help overcoming the material elements and merge with the universal elements to arrive at the knowledge of oneness of the body wit...

Ayurveda defines lifespan(Ayush) as the number of breaths rather than a number of years lived. The average person takes 21,600 breaths per day which is around 15 breaths per minute. Breathing is the act of imbibing of the essence of life-force(prana).  Air(Vayu) is one of the five gross elements(panch Mahabhoota) that make up the physical body...

Swadhyaya: Swa(self)+ Adhyāya(study) Swadhyaya in its literal translation is a study of the self. स्वाध्यायादिष्टदेवतासंप्रयोगः Swadhyayad-ishta-devata-samprayogaha. Patañjali Yog Sutra 2.44 Translation: The practice of swadhyaya leads to the actual meeting of ones favourite deity *Identification with that favourite(Ishta) deity is encouraged to he...

SURYA NAMASKAR Surya=Sun + Namaskar=Salutation Hatha yoga has greatly emphasised the practice of Suryanamaskar The twelve stances undertaken comprise six asanas that take a mirror movement from the half point to complete the twelve positions. At the basic physical level, Suryanamaskar works as a warm up practice towards Asana and the overall physic...

  Ekadasi: is the 11 th day of the moon phase of the full or new moon The science: The moon revolves around Earth through 12 degrees in every 24 hour cycle of the day. When the moon is 180 degrees away from the Sun, we have a full moon and when it is conjoint with the Sun, we have a dark/new moon. During the 15 day cycle of the moon, it forms ...

​ Shat: six + Karma: Action/Process (in this case, purificatory in nature) The shatkarmas of yogic science are physio-psychological cleansing processes. The aim of hatha yoga is to create harmony of the ida(moon channel)/left nostril/ sympathetic system with the Pingala(sun channel)/right nostril/parasympathetic system so as to channelize the flow ...

JAI AMBE  Navratra falls during the change of seasons, the two major navratras being the one in summer-chaitra navratra and the second one being in autumn, sharad navratra.  Navratras occur at the equinox time. Nature or Prakriti undergoes change thus affecting the body-mind complex. Hence, we worship the divine power of mother nature as ...

Amongst the traditional texts of yoga, the Patanjali Yoga sutra is the most widely referred. It describes yoga as an eight fold path to arrive at the truth of the self. The yoga sutras are comprehensively collated as a systemized approach within four chapters of 196 aphorisms in all. The eight fold path, are as rungs of the ladder and in the logica...

Awaken early morning My Grandma stayed with me during my college years and her stubborn resolution to wake me up from deep slumber at the crack of dawn caused many a resentment between us. She had a loud sing song way of calling out my nickname – ''Laali…O…Laali'' she'd go at regular intervals…eventually succeeding to grate my dreams to shreds and ...

Sarvajan Sukhaya Sarvajan Hitaya cha- May everyone be happy and May everyone Benefit The month of Bhadarva/ Bhado: End of the monsoon. 22nd August 2017- 20th Sept 2017  Some tips as per season- Rtucharya: Falling in Dakshinaya (movement of the sun to the southern hemisphere), the month of Bhadarva, teamed with Shravan is part of the Varsha(Rai...