Therapy – Backache

As I am teaching more & more, I realise that backache can happen to anyone, anytime & anywhere. It is the most common corporate life syndrome or a lifestyle syndrome.

The Vajrasan Series given earlier has a tremendous effect on backache. It is my personal favourite series. I will try to post pictures soon on each posture. And thanks for your comments & response!

We face backache due to overstraining the back muscles, slipped disc or increased gap between successive vertebras. Most common amongst the backaches is the lower back pain.

The work we do involves a lot of sitting, standing or bending forward. This is also a major cause of backache. Here, though the spine is capable of moving in all directions, we only restrict it in a particular direction. Hence spine loses its range of motion giving rise to backache.

Regular Yog practise offers great relief.

Backache patients are strongly advised to take a thin pillow or folded bed sheet under shoulders (in case of neck pain) or waist (in case of lower back pain) whilst practising Shavasan.

Beneficial Asanas:

All backward bending asanas are very beneficial to the patients. Always remember not to overdo or overstretch.

1. Vajrasan Series

2. Bhujangasan Series ( more on this series next time)

3. Tadagasan

4. Ardha Chakrasan

5. Sulabh Pawanmuktasan – single legs, both legs

6. Anantasan (Lord Vishnu’s Pose)

7. Setu bandhasan

8. Deep breathing in Tadagasan

9. Anulom Vilom

10. Bhramari (11 or 21 times)

Precautions : Avoid forward bending asanas. Discontinue practise of you experience any pain.

 It is always recommended to practise with a qualified Yoga Shikshak (Teacher) or a Yoga Therapist.

II Om Shanti II

Third Eye Blockage?

The Third Eye is related to the pineal gland. The third eye has long been recognised by humans, and in particular by spiritual traditions, like yoga. It is believed to be the Inner vision, the seat of the soul, the natural intuition and the connection between the physical and the spiritual world.

What is the Pineal gland and what does it do? The Pineal gland is an endocrine gland, about the size of a pea which is located in the middle of the brain. It secrets melatonin into the body, which is what regulates the biorhythms of the body, like the sleep/wake cycles and the onset of puberty. The pineal gland is sensitive to light. More melatonin is secreted into the blood in the evening when it gets dark and it is at it's top in the morning (which is why the early morning before sunrise is a very good time for meditation). The reduction melatonin is believed to speed up the aging process.

The pineal gland is apparently the primary target for fluorine in the body (Dr. Jennifer Luke, University of Surrey, England) and the levels of melatonin is reduced as the pineal gland is 'stiffened' by fluorine (therefore young girls gets puberty earlier). Apparently fluoride was used in the World War 2 by the Germans to make the prisoners stupid, and today it is widely used in our drinking water and toothpastes... The same can be said about chlorine and bromine. It is believed that too much of these substances in our body are changing the pineal gland and therefore our third eye. We should start thinking about how much of these we take in. If we are able to filter our water, change our toothpaste and check food packaging that will be a start. These three halogens can be reduced in our body by iodine and also by an oil from the RatFish (check out RatFish). Most importantly though, keep on meditating and practicing asanas. 

Om Shanti. 

Therapy - Vajrasan Series

Therapy - Vajrasan Series

The Vajrasan Series that we learnt at our Gurukul (Yoga Vidya Gurukul, Nasik) is a superb series of asanas for back problems.

They are very very simple asanas which we hold for 10-30 sec each pose & Wow ! the effects are simply amazing !!

The Series :

Vajrasana

1.       From sitting position get your left & right feet under your buttocks & sit between the heels.

2.      Toes are pointed out. Heels touch the sides of the hips.

3.      Place hands on knees, palms down, fingers together.

Effects

·         Increases efficiency of the digestive system

·         Calms the body & mind

·         Good pose for Meditation, concentration, trataks & Pranayam

Januhastasan (Hand to Knee Pose)

1.       From Vajrasan, place the palms on the floor directly in front of the knees.

2.      Gently press the waist down, push chest forward & raise neck upwards.

3.      Gaze is upwards or eyes closed.

Effect:

·         This gives a supers stretch to the back, stretches & loosens the spine.

Hastashirasan (Palms to Chin Pose)

1.       From Januhastasan, bend forward in waist  place elbows firmly on the floor, in front of the knees.

2.      Keep the elbows about 20 cms apart.

3.      Cup your chin with your palms, wrists touching.

Effect:

·         A Beautiful stretch to the spine.

Ekapad Sahajhasta Bhujangasan (One Leg Easy Hand Cobra Pose)

1.       From hastashirasan, extend the left leg backwards, stretching the toes back.

2.      The right foot sole is touching the left thigh & knee is in right angle to left leg.

3.      Palms under the chin.

Effect:

·         Stretch to spine

·         Pressure to abdomen

·         Stretch to legs

Sahajhasta Bhujangasan (Easy Hand Cobra Pose)

1.       From Ekapad sahajhasta bhujangasan, extend your right leg to join the left leg.

2.      Press waist to floor so the thighs & knees touch the floor.

3.      Palms under the chin.

Effect:

·         Hold this pose for longer duration, it has a positive effect on the vertebral column, encouraging it to resume its normal shape for those who suffer from back issues and it releases the compression of the spinal nerves.

·         Very effective for people with slipped disc, sciatica, lower back pain or any other spinal disorder.

·         Asthmatic & people with lung ailments should practise this asana regularly with breath awareness as it allows more air to enter the lungs.

Makarasan (Crocodile Pose)

1.       From Sahajhasta bhujangasan, fold the hands in front of your head & rest your forehead or either temple on the fold of the hands or the on the floor.

2.      Keep legs apart about 1.5 feet way, toes stretched out & heels facing inwards.

3.      Body weight sinks to the floor, relaxing the body.

Effect:

·         Relaxes the back & entire body.

Adhvasana (Downward Face Pose)

1.       From Makarasan, stretch both arms above the head with the palms pressed together in ‘Namaskar’ position with forehead resting on the floor.

2.      Stretch the hands forward & toes backwards.

3.      Legs are together.

Effect:

·         Extremely beneficial for slipped disc, stiff neck & stooping figure.

Now Repeat in reverse order with the other leg – right leg straight & left leg bent – going back to the starting asana, Vajrasan.

Precaution: If you experience pain, discontinue practise.

Breathe normally throughout.

I have personally seen benefits to many of my students of this magical Vajrasan Series. Therefore want more people to be relieved from back problems with this simple series of asanas.

I want to thank Guruji for introducing this series to us thro his book ‘Easy Way to Health – Yoga Sopan’; and Mrs Meera Sharma for being a wonderful teacher, teaching us the nuances of each asana in this series.

  Do write back if any of you have been benefitted with this series or need help with the poses. We will be most happy to help.

Yoga is the Only way…

II Om Shanti II

Lord Shankara chant

I'm currently reading the Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda and I really recommend this to any yoga enthutiast! It gives such a good insight into what yoga really is, including historical and philosopical material. Today I was reading about the part when Yogananda becomes a part of the Swami order. There are ten subdivisions of the Swami Order, they are Giri (mountain), Sagara (sea), Bharati (land), Purt (tract), Saraswati (wisdom of Nature), Tirtha (place of pilgrimage) and Aranya (forest). Sri Yogananda belonged to to the Giri Order.

Yogananda sang a chant of Shankara after his Guru, Sri Yukteswar, for the first time pronounced his new name (Yogananda) that was given to him when he became a Swami. One of the verses were given in the book and I really like this verse:

Mind, nor intellect, nor ego, feeling;
Sky nor earth nor metals I am.
I am He, I am He, Blessed Spirit, I am He!
No birth, no death, no caste I have;
Father, mother, have I none.
I am He, I am He, Blessed Spirit, I am He!
Beyond the flights of fancy, formless am I,
Permeating the limbs of all life;
Bondage I do not fear; I am free, ever free,
I am He, I am He, Blessed Spirit, I am He!

Travel Yoga!

OM


Travelling ? Dont have 1 hour for Yoga ?


Dont fret / sweat. Just 15 minutes is all you need to complete an entire sequence of Yoga Practise.


During our 60 min or 90 min Yoga Practise, we hold each Asanas for a certain duration & do certain rounds of Pranayams.

When travelling, we can complete our entire sequence in 15- 21 minutes including Pranayams. Thanks to one of my amazing teachers, I got to know the secret.

This is how we do it. We complete our entire sequence of Yoga Practise but this time holding each Asana for only 3 long breaths - Purak & Rechak. Pranayam to be done for 5 rounds only. And there you go, you finish your entire practise in just 15 minutes !

So next time you travel, you now have the 3 breath sequence with you !

II OM SHANTI II

Hot Yoga

On Monday I went to my first Bikram Yoga class in Brisbane, Australia. I have for a long time wanted to try this popular, but highly controversial style of yoga out for myself. Bikram is often discussed quite heavily between yoga practitioners. Finally I was going to be able to make a judgment based on my own experience.

First of all, what is Bikram Yoga? It is a yoga system put together by Bikram Choudhury and has over the last 40 years gained a lot of practitioners. The class goes for exactly 90 minutes. The teacher does not show any of the postures or correct any of the students physically, but a written script is being recited, with a few comments on the side to correct students individually. The class consists of a series of 26 postures and two breathing exercises. The room is ideally heated to 40.6°C (≈105°F) with a humidity of 40%.

The night before going I met a guy who just had done his first class. He complained for hours about his eyes being really sore and he couldn’t stop scratching them. He also told me that at several occasions he was about to pass out and just had to stop the practice. Even with these fresh second hand experiences I decided to try my best to go with an open mind, trying to stack away my preconceived ideas and thoughts about the practice, to be able to get a more balanced opinion.

The studio was beautiful, and the space is only used for Bikram yoga. Drop in price for the class was $20, with the possibility of going as much as you want for one week (the first time). My friend (a huge Bikram Fan and dedicated daily practitioner) changed to her sports bra/top before class and suggested me to do the same. So I took my singlet off, grabbed my towel and down we went (feeling a little naked). During the class, the teacher often told us to look at our stomachs while in different poses. Three of the walls were covered by floor to ceiling mirrors. The eyes has to be kept open (the teacher keeps saying ‘it’s an open eye meditation’) and often we are told to use the reflection of our self as a point of balance. I have not looked that much at myself in a sports bra for years. I felt quite self conscious by the end of it as I realized I have a bit more around the waist line then what I need. (As an aspiring yogini, this is an attachment I have to let go off though.)

It was hot, and I did sweat a lot… and I must admit that it was probably nice NOT to have a cotton singlet on. It was certainly a tiring practice, and the 20 second shavasanas felt like 2 seconds. There was never a time though that I felt I was about to pass out though. We were once told we could take a sip of water. I didn’t feel the need to drink at any time though during the practice, but others were ‘told off’ for drinking at the wrong time. I generally have it as a rule not to drink water for about half an hour before and half an hour after my yoga practice… (I will write about this in another post one day… ) but I usually don’t evaporate so much water either. It certainly felt more like an exercise than a yoga class.

The teacher was very good with encouraging and correcting the students throughout the class, but I felt for the students who were new to yoga and maybe in not the best physical shape, as it is a hard practice. Even after the class it was like we had done a performance. The teacher commented on everyone’s effort and the response to me was said something like: ‘Wow, really well done. You practice like a pro!’. Of course that gives encouragement to continue… but this competition attitude is also something that has been ‘criticised’ by practitioners of other styles of yoga. Yoga is an individual practice where the ultimate goal is unity between the body and mind, as well as between the Self and the Universal consciousness. It is not about how good your balance is or how far you can stretch. Bikram is a physical practice, with no or little focus on the spiritual aspect of yoga (at least this is not the focus in the class I went to). I would say that this does depend on the intention of the practitioner though. It may well be a spiritual practice, like everything. It certainly is a good workout, it gets up the blood circulation to all muscles, organs and joints of the body. It burns a lot of calories and due to the sweating major detoxification happens. If stretching in that temperature is good or bad for the muscles, I’ll leave to experts to decide, but I did feel that my ability to stretch further increased. I think we often need to go within and feel, only this way can we decide if it is a good thing for us to do or not. People are made up differently, we all have different needs, and for some people, like my friend, it is a great way to release tension and build up emotions in the body.  

I felt like I had done cardio exercise in a sauna… My face was redder then it’s been for years. I felt good though after the practice, but I had a bit of a headache later on in the afternoon. I might not have drunk enough water.

I could be inclined to do Bikram once in a while, but I would certainly not exchange if for my more relaxed, non sweating, closed eyed practice. It did feel nice to sweat out properly, but I would definitely advice to keep a conscious mind not to overstretch.

Om Shanti.

Surya Namaskars & Chakra Concentration

Bihar School of Yoga books are fantastic for any Yoga Practitioner to have. I am a big big fan of all there books. I am currently re-reading the book - Surya Namaskara, A Technique of Solar Vitalization by Swami Satyananda Saraswati.

I love doing Surya Namaskars. The book says that In the practice of Surya Namaskars we mentally touch all the Chakras of the body except mooladhara chakra. Chakra concentration may be combined with mental repetition of the mantras, by feeling that the mantra is being repeated in or on the chakra. When the practitioners concentration develops to a higher degree the vibrations of the mantras may be felt to be issuing forth from the psychic centres, a most wonderful intense experience.

So here are the Postures of Surya Namaskars & the Chakra concentration of each posture.

1. Pranamasana -                             Heart centre -                         Anahata
2. Hasta Utthanasana -                  Neck centre -                         Vishuddhi
3. Padahastasan-                             Spinal column root-            Swadhisthan
4. Ashwa Sanchalanasana-            Eyebrow centre-                  Ajna
5. Parvatasana                                  Neck centre                          Vishuddhi
6. Ashtanga Namaskar-                  Behind navel-                      Manipur
7. Bhujangasan                                 Spinal column root            Swadhisthan
8. Parvatasana                                  Neck centre                         Vishuddhi
9. Ashwa Sanchalanasana-            Eyebrow centre-                 Ajna
10. Padahastasan                             Spinal column root            Swadhisthan
11. Hasta Uttanasan                         Neck centre                        Vishuddhi
12. Pranamasan                                Heart centre                       Anahata

Slow practice of Surya Namaskars is recommended for the pshychic development.

II Om Shanti II

John Friend on World Tour!

I was lucky to be able to spend the weekend on a workshop with John Friend in Brisbane. He is on a world tour which he has called ‘Dancing with the Divine’. The weekend started off with a group of Aboriginal dancers. John pointed out that aborigines are the oldest group of people known to mankind in this area of humans. We often look upon aborigines and other tribal people as being unsophisticated, primitive and underdeveloped, but John explained by giving examples of his experience with aboriginals that they are in fact more spiritually advanced, more sensitive and in tune with nature than us westerners are. Especially than the ones of us who are living in big cities with little or no contact with nature. John’s view is that through yoga we are able to get in tune with nature, the Divine. If we become more sensitive and more aware we will be able to notice the natural rhythms and align ourselves with nature. Listening to the birds, seeing beyond peoples outer appearances and noticing the difference in light during the day was some of the ways that John were making us more aware of how we can use our senses to expand and align ourselves. Often we perceive ourselves as being separate to nature, but to actually experience and feel that we are part of nature makes a shift in our consciousness and we will be able to handle life in a much more balanced and enjoyable way. The wider and further we open our awareness the vaster and deeper we become. The Divine is within everything, the river, the rock, the sky and within us... We are all One, so instead of resisting, we should join the Divine dance of Shiva (consciousness) and Shakti (energy).

John talks a lot about opening the heart, which is beautiful. In the asanas this is done by softening the back between the shoulder blades and leading with the heart. When for example one goes from a pigeon pose where you sit upright to the lying flat on the floor version of the pose one don’t stretch forward with the arms, but one melts to the ground with the heart, softening the middle of the upper back and then after one have opened and softened the heart to the floor then the arms and elbows follows. This focus on the heart area throughout the practice certainly is beautiful and creates a feeling of openness and love, and I had a feeling that I kept bowing and surrendering. Beautiful!

John’s focus was on Joy and on being happy and open. He stressed the importance of intention and feeling rather than flexibility. His focus was less on alignment and technicality, but more on the heart!

On Sunday it was Mothers day in Australia. The feminine aspect became the theme for the day. There was lots of lovely words and wisdom around the female aspects of nature and about the motherly nature in particular. To be able to open up, to feel more love and compassion we have to connect to this feminine aspect of our being. We have to dare to cultivate it and to awaken it within. John believes that this is the reason for why there are so few men in yoga. They believe that opening to this feminine aspect will reduce their power as men, while in fact it will actually make them stronger. Mothers are so strong and durable as they are working for others than themselves. This gives them power, and we can tap into that energy by having an intention of acting on behalf of some higher power, not purely for our own self.

Some people say that John enables to get them into postures that previously have been impossible for them to do. I couldn’t believe I was able to get into King Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana), with the help from Helen that is, but it felt great!

I had a great weekend with John. I must mention though that I did find it a bit too American with all the clapping and whistling after having performed a pose, but no complaints. All in all, a very nice experience!!

Anusara uses this mantra before every class. We were given it along with the translation:

OM

Namah Shivaya Gurave

I offer myself to the Light, the Auspicious Lord,

who is the True Teacher within and without

Saccidananda Murtaye

Who assumes the forms of Reality, Consciousness and Bliss

Nisprapancaya Shantaya

Who is never absent and is full of peace

Niralambaya Tejase

Independent in Existence, and Is the vital essence of Illumination

OM

Just 1 Hour Yoga Everyday

OM


Just 1 hour of Yoga Everyday is all that you need for your Mental & Physical health. That 1 hr will take you a long way in your well being. Just 1 hr, thats it. Its quite possible isint it ? 


No, not always. As our corporate & life pressures increase even this 1 hr seems a challenge. Then we go on replacing the task with the other important tasks like most often sleeping, doing some office work or household chores. And then we also feel guilty for missing out on this 1 hr. I am sure everybody knows the importance of this 1hr.


Is there a way we can make this hour a non- negotiable one ? Can we include this as a part of our daily tasks like sleeping, bathing, eating, working, watching TV, surfing the net etc ?


I have a simple solution. Can we dedicate 15 minutes from each of these activities to this 1 hour ? Yes this sounds very very doable. Once we take out this 1 hour & effectively use it for Yoga or any physical activity, we feel nice about ourselves. Yes, you can also think this as your daily dose of medication !


The way to go about it is once you wake up, make a Sankalp / resolve - 1 hour today, 1 hour today - chant it like a mantra; till you use your hour. Once the hour is used then stop the mantra & start again when you wake up next day. If you dont get to use this hour, nevermind, dont feel guilty & loose hope, just wake up the following day & make a Sankalp again - 1 hour today, 1 hour today !


Simple, isint it ?


I would like to know for how many people this works, so do write back with your comments.  


Its just 1 hour committment afterall :))


II OM Shanti II

The Happiness Equation

Yesterday I attended a great talk from Deepak Chopra, a global authority on spirituality and personal empowerment. The subject of Deepak's event was Self Power: Living a Miraculous Life - what it is and how to have it.

According to Deepak, self power means having the knowledge, skills and attitude needed to cope with our changing world and the circumstances in which we live. It’s about having greater confidence in our own capacities. It is only by having full confidence in our self that we can experience the tremendous power of true self-sufficiency.

One important area he talked about was social well being: our happiness. He told us a story. The Dalai Lama believes that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness. Some time ago he asked a group of scientists if they would like to do a research on what leads to happiness.

The scientists where excited about this new project and decided to do their research. After a lot of work they finally came up with a formula!

H = S + C + V

Happiness equals a set point + the conditions of living + voluntary choices.

The set point is a brain mechanism that is responsible for some 50% of our happiness.  It is determined on the first 3 years of our life by the influence of our parents and care takers. It seems that the same way we learn the speaking language, we learn an emotional language. This set point in other words defines who we are.

The conditions of living refer to our material world and are responsible for some 10% of our happiness. This refers to being extremely poor or extremely rich. On both sides you would be worried all the time about money (either because you don’t have it or because you don’t know what to do with it). This creates a lot of stress and won’t allow you to think about other things.

Regarding the voluntary choices, they are responsible for some 40% of our happiness. There are two types.

The first type is about personal pleasure. Actions that you take that will give some gratification right now but after a short period of time it will disappear. Research done in the USA gives the highest scores of gratification to the following choices:

1. Shopping
2. Entertainment
3. Sex

The second type of voluntary choices refers to personal fulfillment. We do something meaningful and express ourselves to make a difference. And according to the research, the action that provides most fulfillment is to make someone else happy. And to make someone happy we can do any of following:

1. Give our attention or listen to the person
2. Give our appreciation of the person’s strengths and good qualities
3. Care for the person and give our love

Well…the scientists were delighted about their findings and they went back to the Dalai Lama to tell him about the results.

The Dalai Lama replied that people understanding and following this equation would get happier but not happy. It would keep them in an Existential Unhappiness, where we continue to worry about the past and about the future, and with this we get the same feelings of guilt and shame and with them unhappiness. This unhappiness creates disruption in the body and with it more worry and more unhappiness.

In order to get rid of this existential unhappiness we need to understand and experience who we really are. We need to understand and experience that we are consciousness. And the way to get there is through meditation.

♥ May there be Peace on your heart ♥

Some quotes from Deepak Chopra:

To acquire true self power you have to feel beneath no one, be immune to criticism and be fearless.

Real power, which is self power, comes when we value uncertainty and surrender to the mystery of our existence.

When we experience the power of the Self, there is an absence of fear; there is no compulsion to control.

Changes in the world... going towards 2012.

I came over some interesting small films about the changes in the world today, and the fear that have been created in people. We can change the development by going within and change fear for Love. We have to remember that we humans are part of Nature. Our individual conciousness is a part of the Universal conciousness, and the world we live in is a manifestation of that conciousness!

So the natural disasters, the increase in earthquakes, the melting of the ice in the artic sea, the floods, extinctions of animals and financial crises...this all creates so much fear in people (with the help of media), and I have to agree that the fear sometimes gets to me. I feel a bit of a frustration as I feel like people are not taking care of the planet. Humanity mostly seems to be without consideration to nature. Most are led by a selfish mind of personal desires, wealth and materialism, with no thought for the humanity as a whole and for further generations to come. People crave for more and more... Inside this fear of mine, there is a sense of hope. A hope that these changes that are appearing in the world are necessary for humanity to start looking within, to change their consciousness from fear to Love. The power of our mind and heart is amazing, and with us going inwards, we can make a difference and change the direction of this planet.

Instead of fear we need to create a balanced mind, accept the world as it is and cultivate unconditional love and compassion. We need to take time to practice yoga, to meditate, to work on changing our consciousness, to do whatever WE can to bring peace and harmony within and to this world…  I believe that there are big changes happening towards the year of 2012, let us contribute to it positively! Accept what is, surrender and be Love!

May 6, Auspicious Akshay Trutiya

Today May 6th is Akshay Trutiya. It is one of the most auspicious days in the Hindu calender. It falls on the Trutiya (third) tithi (day) of Shukla Paksha in the Hindu month of Vaishakha.

In Sanskrit, the word "Akshaya" means "the never diminishing" and the day is believed to bring good luck and success. One doesnt need to look for a mahurat (good time) on this day. The entire day is very very auspicious. 

It is believed that if you do charity on this day you will be blessed.  The day is considered auspicious for starting new ventures. The legend is that any venture initiated on the auspicious day of Akshaya Tritiya continues to grow and bring prosperity. Hence, new ventures, like starting a business, project or a new house, car, jewellery  etc. are initiated on Akshaya Tritiya.

As per Hindus, this day is ruled by god Vishnu, the preserver-god in the Hinfalls on the third Tithi (Lunar day) of Bright Half (Shukla Paksha) of Hindi month of Vaishakha.du Trinity. It is also traditionally celebrated as the birthday of the Hindu sage Parashurama, the sixth Avatar (incarnation) of the god Vishnu. According to Hindu mythology, on this day the Treta Yuga began and the river Ganges, the most sacred river of India, descended to the earth from the heaven.

There are numerous legends associated with Akshaya Tritiya; most popular is that of Sudama visiting Lord Krishna in Dwarka with a handful of beaten rice (poha). 

Another legend suggests that the Pandavas received the Akshaya Pathram (bowl) from Lord Krishna (in the Mahabharata) on this day. It is also believed that Sage Vyasa began the composition of Mahabharata on the day.

Lord Vishnu and his incarnations are worshipped on the day. People also conduct Lakshmi puja on Akshaya Tritiya.

On this auspicious day today, we go live with our blog. We hope & promise to bring our love of Yoga & yogic life to many many more people thro this venture to encourage & help them achieve better health & peace in their lives.

II Om Shanti II

The Journey to 108 Surya Namaskars !

II Hari Om II

Why is doing 108 Surya Namaskar's so important in a Yogi / Yogini's life ? I always kept wondering to myself till we decided to achieve this on our Yoga Therapy course.

It so happenned, the 3 of us, Crazyoginis, one fine night just decided to wake up earlier than the bell & start working our way towards 108 SNs. The ashram bell rings at 5 am, we decided to wake up at 4 & practise at 0430 am.

Yes, we did wake up & practised 54 SNs, as we had decided to take it slow & easy. We had one more partner Yogi, Ivan, who was the seniormost by age ( I wont reveal his age !) but the youngest at stamina :)

We took 45 minutes to complete 54 SNs with a 5 minute Shavasana in between. At the end it did feel extremely nice.The next night we decided to try & go closer to 108. With this Sankalpa  the following morning, we started our practise of SNs and at 54 decided to go for another 54 SNs after taking a 5 minute Shavasana. We did this in approx 55 minutes feeling xtremely breathless and a leaky nose but still superb.

The next few mornings we had more Yogini's - T from Singapore, Neha from Dubai, Raakhee from UK, Leslie from Scotland ( I think am missing 1 more person, somebody pls help me). And Wow how the energy changed & charged ! We also named ourselves the 108 Gang.

We achieved 108 Surya Namaskar's in 45 minutes with a 5 minute shavasana, the next morning in 40 minutes & the following mornings in 35 & 30 minutes, of course the 5 minutes Shavasana was non-negotiable ! The practise had become so effortless, we actually thought of increasing the number to 150, but didnt.

On completion, it was a feeling of exhileration, openness & lightness of body & mind !! Our bodies felt sooo flexible after this. Not to forget the joy of pracitsing it together.. I personally think it was only achieved because of the energies of all of us together, there was no pressure to perform, nobody was judged, we were fully relaxed (though a very tiny bit of breathless & my leaky nose ) & we could quit anytime, of course non of us did. I was humbled with this experience.

So thanks to all my Yogini's & the only Yogi from the 108 Gang at the ashram for helping me achieve this personal milestone. It has a big significance in my yogic life. I seriously think all those who walk on the path of Yog should atleast once try & attempt this glory of 108 SNs !

Om

On returning to the city life, have been able to do this only once but want to make it a regular pracitse. Hope my crazyoginis parters help me to get back to this...

II Om Shanti II