Musings ...

Such a wonderful place! … in between the end of an 'aum' to the beginning  … in between the completion of an inhalation and the start of the exhalation … in between the end of a movement, to the start of the next … in between bites of food … in between, shifting gears  As, life shifts through beautifully…  i often find myself pondering upon these "in-between spaces" …. the end of a relationship, to the start of the next It's in these spaces, that we can catch; that moment in time... to reflect, assimilate and understand. And; then begin on the next inhalation… our next action. It's in these spaces, one finds great understanding, insight, stillness and ... silence! … in between a stimulus and a response Lengthening these voids in space... …. in between going down into water and coming up for breath Becoming more aware and mindful of that moment in time!

On mention of leaving Bangalore, to practice yoga in Mysore.... I get asked thought-provoking questions... - are you going for a re-fresher? - is it an advanced yoga program? - are you getting re-certfied.... re-trained? - are you developing new skills & knowledge?  - 2 whole months ! What will you do with all that time? - why do you need to be there for 2 months, can you not refresh your skills in a 2 weeks, intensive program? etc. I contemplate upon... Why do i choose to move away briefly each year? .... the essence distills through the processing...crystal clear to me... explained in three powerful & beautiful sanskrit words  - "Tapasya" , "Sadhana" & "Swadhaya". The yoga practice teaches me to go deeper into subcutaneous levels ...so I delve deeper into the meanings of these powerful words.  Simply put;  "Tapasya" is  any process to reach special observations and insights "Sadhana...

One finds great solace... in walking long distances... alone.... and in silence! A few years back, i lost a dearest friend to a tragic untimely accident. I was physically away from him when it happened. How does one deal with the experience of sharing each little moment of our lives to; the very next day the person disappearing from your life? Even disappearing altogether, to appear later would be welcome. But, that was not to be! My world had come undone, the ground underneath shook me unsteady. I walked.... Long and hard. It is in this; i regained steadiness, balance, orientation. Emotions moving with each footstep. Like the dance of shiva, shifting through highs and lows, smiles and tears... sun and rain and.... hail.... and wind... in my hair... on my face. And in these slow, silent, long steps... clarity emerges. It is as if, Mother Earth gave balance back. These moments open up to me when needed the most in this life.... Nepal! A transformative walk done enti...

My first experience of a "sutra" was at The Yoga Institute in Santa Cruz, Bombay. Coming from Bangalore, I craved to see green.... to look at trees... to hear some natural sounds. And here; not only did I find trees, birds, yoga but also my first 'sutra' experience. It was a haven. During Sunday 'Satsangs' , Dr. Jayadeva would lead a lecture followed by a Q&A. His answers to questions would be crisp, concise and sometime even painfully simplistic.  He spoke in 'sutras' .  A 'sutra' is literally a thread or line that holds things together; like in a garland of flowers....or beads. Wikipedia, defines it  -  " In ancient Indian literature,  sutra  denotes a distinct type of literary composition, based on short  aphoristic  statements, generally using various technical terms. This literary form was designed for concision, as the texts were intended to be memorized by students in some of the formal methods of scriptural and s...

In the Ashtanga Yoga System,   pranayama  is placed after  asana .  Through an asana practice, the body develops a strong base/ foundation, strength, & steadiness to support the extension of  prana  i.e.  pranayama . It is only after 10 years of slow, steady asana practice, that I have finally embarked upon understanding the concept of  prana  through the practice of  pranyama . B.K.S. Iyengar's book,  Light on Life , has been supporting my asana practice; I had not got beyond the chapter on a sana.  It is now, as my pranayama practice begins in Mysore, that I move forward to read the next chapter on  pranayama .  In this chapter, he writes, "the word inspiration, means both to breath in and to grasp a feeling in the form of an idea". It is this sentence that inspired me to write this blog on "Inspiration" My friend, Shriram Ramdas, would say to me, "Radhika, in life, you hav...

The food I choose to eat makes me  "me". For a large part of my life, I have been non-vegetarian. I switched to being a " hybrid vegetarian"  over the last 5 years. By hybrid, I mean, I eat chicken-eggs and occasionally fish. I am not extreme in my views - I believe each person must make food choices that is reflective of his/ her energy requirement (input vs. expenditure). My reasons for selecting a primarily plant based diet is simply, "it makes me feel much lighter" than a non-plant based one. And I am all for "lightness" ...... of body, mind & spirit. Mysore is a traditional city and being a vegetarian here is easy - loads of places serving fresh, delicious and nourishing veg food. And as there are many vegetarian yoga practitioners, there is ample variety too. However, I try and eat home most often, as there is greater control of what goes into my food.   Here, I follow a 3-meal plan. This is quite different from my diet in Ba...

Practicing yoga off the mat is challenging. While in Asana (physical posture) or Pranayama (Breathwork) or Dhayana (Meditation), to a certain extent, you are in the driver's seat;  practicing yoga of life, of relationships, of duty is a whole different experience. My yoga training & practice of 10 years is put to test and ... I feel like I am a baby taking her first steps. I'd like to share more on this, but, its a story for  a different day....in a different blog. In the meantime, I am back in Mysore (after 14 days) and back on the mat! I return to a much warmer Mysore and today's practice was felt on my body. I first came to Mysore to practice the Ashtanga Vinyasa two years back. I feel in love with the practice and Mysore. Since then, there has been the intention to return and "return" I did. For me, there is something "special" about living and practicing in Mysore. Yoga here is "serious" stuff and majority of the practitioners hav...