journeyofayogaconnoisseur

Have you noticed you are not in the same state of mind every single day? How we wish we could always be focused and attentive; but the mind has many different states. Patanjali describes yoga as:                                               “ Yoga Chitta Vritti Nirodha ” According to Patanjali’s Yogasutra which is the Bible of Yoga the mind has following states: 1)     Kshipta - Disturbed I remember this day when we had just flown back from California on a grueling 16 hour flight and had to head back to work the next day. My head was in a state of absolute chaos. I could neither focus nor work on the tasks that needed to be done. I was  severely jet-lagged, confused and irritated in all my meetings. And when someone asked for help I would get triggered  and frustrated. I even felt teary when people asked me for simple reports! Finally, I had to take the day off as my tumultuous state of mind was driving me to the edge insanity. My mind was in t

Christmas is upon us and it is that time of the year where everyone is wrapping up, taking a break, spending time with family and friends. In this season of early winter where the winds are heavy and nights are longer, there are certain specific ways recommended by Ayurveda to take care of yourself and your family. Hemantha Ritucharya (Early Winter - Seasonal regimen ) I have been studying Ayurveda as part of my yoga teacher training program and have learnt a few health tips to maintain myself in each season. Believe me, when you make few changes to your diet and the environment around you, the difference you feel is huge!! So here are things I do to take care of  myself and my family! 1) Eating foods that are predominantly sweet, sour and salt tastes. 2) Since digestive system is at its peak this season we must eat heavier foods such as meat products, soups with fats and food containing wheat such as chapathis, parathas and black gram (My mom makes the best black

The first thing that comes to mind when we hear the word yoga is a person standing upside down or doing a complicated posture. But is that what Yoga really is? When I was growing up I thought yoga was done just to improve flexibility. If  you want to bend forward and be able to touch your palms all the way on the floor and make people be in awe of you, then go to yoga classes. Fortunately for me, through my yoga teacher training program I learnt that there is much more to  yoga than I ever imagined. It is far more spiritually enriching and physically gratifying to put in simple words.  Yoga is more than that. The word yoga was found in the ancient Indian scriptures called the Vedas . Now, you must understand that Vedas were quoted by people called Rishis , who have mastered themselves. Which means they had complete control over their mind or chitta, body or deha and breath or prana. So the Vedic texts reveal that yoga was followed centuries ago. Vedic texts are very deep a

Atha in Sanskrit means Now Begins. The now here refers to right now. not tomorrow, not a week later but this exact moment in time; after which, it is lost forever. Every morning before my yoga practice I set a goal posture for the day and prepare a vinyasa sequence of how to reach that goal posture. And then I sit on my yoga mat cross legged, eyes closed, palms on my knees and just observe myself. But I have no idea how my journey till my goal would be on this particular day, all I know is that I'm right here with myself in the present moment. And when I start doing the planned sequences to reach my goal posture at every step I check with myself if I'm doing OK and if I can go to the next posture. In case I feel I'm not able to move forward with the planned sequence, I pause and gently end my practice. I did not give up on my goal, instead  I just accepted that today in this moment I'm not ready for this goal and so I move on. When I start the sequence tomorro