The Power of Asana

In the Trisikhibrahmana upanishad it is said that :
Asanam vijitam yena Jitam tena jagatrayam (verse 52)
One who has mastered asana has conquered the three worlds earth, space and heaven.
AUM

Be a scientist unto oneself!

When the Buddha was passing away, his closest disciple is said to have asked the Master for his last message. To which the Buddha replied "Be a light unto yourself". On reading the beautiful sutras of Rishi Patanjali, the message (not the last one but an eternal one) that reverberates loud and clear is to "be a scientist unto ONESELF". AUM

Get the hint!

The beauty of the Patanjali Yogasutras is that though he speaks of asanas, he does NOT explain even one. Though he speaks of Pranayama, he does NOT explain even one. Yet this book is the foundation for all of the manifested bounty of Yoga we see globally. The root for ALL "practices" lies in the twin teachings of
1. Tada Drishtuh Swaroope Avasthanam - Reside in the form of an observer/witness
2. Tatra Stithau Yatnobhyasah - Doing that which takes you to the above "STATE" (of residing in the form of the observer/witness) is the "PRACTICE"!
The great Yogis of lore like Yagyavalkya (wrote the Yoga Yagyavalkya) and the ones from the middle ages like Rishi Gheranda (who wrote the Gheranda Samhita) and Rishi Swatmarama (who wrote Hatha Yoga Pradipika) and a whole galaxy of lesser known but equally if not more amazing Yogis like Matsyendranatha, Gorakhnatha, contributed to Yogic PRACTICES that contain details on the Asanas, Pranayamas, Bandhas and Kriyas that form the manifest Yoga we witness today. The modern saints of Yoga like Sri Kuvalayananda, Swami Sivananada and Sri Krishnamacharya and his wonderful disciples like BKS Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois have brought in their own light and understanding to this Agnostic body of knowledge. ALL these works and writings are elucidations of the understandings of these great Yogis on what brought them to "THE STATE" . AUM 🙏

Yogic Sadhana the great detoxifier

Yogic Sadhana the great detoxifier and internal cleanser. Aantarika Shuddhi and Shaucha

When Patanjali speaks of Shaucha or cleanliness in the Niyamas, we usually think of brushing our teeth and having a bath on a daily basis. The Asanas and Pranayamas ensure that there is cleansing at the cellular level as well. The lymphatic system is the sewerage system of the body and unlike the circulatory system has no pump and needs specific body movements to make it more efficient than it would normally be. It carries the waste from the cells and also the bodies of cells that die everyday in their millions!
A good Asana practice with Vinyasa like Surya Namaskars or Sun Salutations brings along with it not only aerobic benefits that ensure that nutrition and oxygen reach each and every cell, but also the circulation of the lymphatic fluids.
The "squeezing" action in the movements of many of the Asanas, coupled with the massaging effect of the diaphragm (when one breathes deep and uses the diaphragm to push deep down), results in the cellular waste getting pushed into the lymphatic system as well as dead cells getting eliminated in the process.
The end result is a fantastic detox of the entire body across ALL the various physiological systems we learn of, like the digestive,circulatory, nervous, endocrine, organs et all.
All this results not only in a super clean and healthy body but also a system in which the free and unimpeded flow of prana is established.
The way the human mind behaves at various levels of pranic flow and intensity is a very interesting subject of study! AUM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymphatic_system

Yoga is for the mind!

Yogena Chittasya - Through Yoga you helped the mind
Padena Vacham - Through Grammar you helped the words
Malam Sharirasya Cha Vaidyakena - Through your work in Ayurveda you helped the body get rid of illness
Yopa Karottam Pravaram Muninam - To that most excellent of sages who gave us all this
Patanjalim Pranjaliranatosmi - Patanjali, I salute thee

For all those who look at Yoga as something that effects the body - No. Yoga works on mental well-being and mental health. If our mind is in great shape, so will be our physical health. Kabir said a long time ago, Man Changa to Tan Changa!
For those who look at Patanjali as just a Yoga Guru - He worked on Yoga, Sanskrit Grammar and Ayurveda. Amazing isn't it?

So much to know about the great ones of Yore. Just like a Mira still lives on in her Bhajans or a great artist who has passed away still lives on in her/his works, may the great sage Patanjali continue to live on through "our study, understanding and PRACTICE" of his works

Observe the Comfort Zone

Stretching in Yoga....
In the stretch lies the expansion of the "Comfort Zone". The secret in going deeper in the practice is to keenly observe the point where your "Comfort Zone" ends. The "Discomfort" is not just with the physical limitations but more so with the impatience and frustrations of the mind. Once you reach the boundaries of your "Comfort Zone", take a baby step outside this "Comfort Zone" with "Awareness". This patience with the process, ensures that we expand what we define as the boundaries of our "Comfort Zone", till a point where we are simply "Comfortable" in any situation. This observation of the limits of our "Comfort Zone" should be part and parcel of the Yogic Sadhana. This ensures that we prevent injuries as well as develop immense patience with the process of Yoga...the race with no finish line 🙃
Panthi Hoon MainUss Path Ka...Anth Nahin Jis Ka 🌟
AUM AUM AUM 🙏🙏🙏😊

What is it being a Yogi? - A National Geographic/Discovery Channel Cameraman!

One of the quintessential requirements in Yoga, irrespective of which of its 8 limbs you are working upon, is that of "Observation". Tada Drishtuh Swaroope Avasthanam. Reside in the state of an observer says Patanjali. A great student always observes, and observes without overlapping the subject of observation with previous judgments or prejudices. Only then something new could be learnt.

Have you seen a National Geographic or Discovery Channel cameraman/woman? She/he spends years and many seasons following their subjects (wildlife like the big cats or dogs, the elephants and what have you in the wild!) and studying them with all the patience at their command. After years of this Tapasya (Penance), we the audience, get to see a 30-60 minute documentary of the same. :)

A Yogi is also like the National Geographic/Discovery Channel Cameraman, just that the camera has been turned onto one’s own self. Whether that understanding of the self is the body, the mind, the prana (bio electricity that runs the various body functions), the breath, the judging intellect or the ultimate silence/space that encompasses all these. Just like the cameraman who comes out with his documentary of 30-60 minutes after having spent years of patient observation of her/his subject, the Yogi come out with a few lines, a small book (the Yogasutras of Patanjali is 196 threads or aphorisms) or a blog! These learnings and teachings help the other students of Yoga, to go deeper into the subject!

The Buddha told his close disciple Ananda on his deathbed, to be a light unto oneself. The defining moments for the Yogi is when the realization dawns that we need to be scientists unto ourselves. Observing in dispassion and eternal patience. Yoga is a great and awesome framework for the Agnostic to know and learn. For the one who can unabashedly say "I Don't Know, but I am deeply interested and am willing to spend an eternity in the process of knowing"

AUM AUM AUM 

Yogah Yogyati Yoginah

We have heard much too often about the famous shloka Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah...which means that Dharma protects those who live by it, who protect it.

In my many years of Yoga practice I have realized that Yoga gives Yogyata or "the ability to unite with" thus Yogah Yogyati Yoginah

The loose English translation of the word Yogyata has been "Ability". However the way we can understand it at a deeper level is the ability to immerse oneself in whatever one aspires to do or engage with, in life. Nothing can be enjoyed (was very tempted to use the word "achieved", but then that means so many different things to different people) in life till one does immerse oneself into it. Even our day to day mundane work becomes so full of life, so very enjoyable, only when we are completely immersed in it. The "SIDDHI" or the ability to bring actions to results, does not happen till those actions were not performed, with all your heart, with complete immersion of oneself in the act.

How does Yoga bring about Yogyata then? Yoga itself means "to join", "to become one with"

Once the means and methods to engage ones 'SELF' with the subject, even if it is one's own body (example through Asana), is understood, Yogyata has happened in the individual.

AUM