Asana % - Pragya Bhatt | yogawithpragya Yoga - Asana Asana Pragya Bhatt

Durga’s Strength: A Navratri Reflection on Yoga Practice

September 30, 2025

A picture a student sent to me depicting Durga in all her glory.

The Various Seasons of Yoga

I’d love to say that now, when my daughter is one and a half, I have a fixed routine for yoga practice. Pre-pregnancy I would wake up at 4.30 to practice. Now those days seem like ancient history. Today my days are a disorganised mix of teaching, practice, working out, trying to get a full night’s sleep, writing, school runs…I’m grateful I can practice with some regularity, but often pine for those days when I turned in at 9 and woke up at 4.30, ready to give my practice my all.

I have started attending RIMYI online classes again, a practice that feels especially grounding during Navratri. More often then I’d like, I end up following along with the pre-recorded Iyengar yoga sessions. I’d love to say it’s an hour and a half I have to myself, a time when I can immerse myself in the yoga. But the truth is Kalindi often joins me on the mat, and wants to type on the keyboard or play with the TV remote. She clings to my legs when I’m in downward dog, or lies down on the mat, making me want to cuddle with her. Often I find myself speeding through a class to avoid interruptions.

This morning’s class was a restorative session, and at the end of the class when we were lying in supta baddhakonasana with our arms stretched out and chests wide open, Raya spoke about Navratri, drawing our attention to Durga’s strength. What he said was perhaps the most relevant thing I’ve heard in a long time.

0 Comments

Asana Postpartum Pregnancy/Parenting Notes Prenatal Wellness

Yoga Teacher Rosa Santana on Supporting Mothers and Other Insights

September 23, 2025

Beautiful Rosa with her beautiful daughters.

Motherhood and Yoga: Lessons from Rosa Santana

In my continuing quest to understand motherhood and become a better-informed parent, I’ve been reaching out to yoga teachers who can shed light on this path for me. Recently, I had an illuminating conversation with Rosa Santana, a mother of three daughters and a lifelong yoga practitioner.

“You never stop being a mother,” she says. Her own journey is inspiring—she was a gym rat long before she stepped into yoga, and she took her first yoga class while six months pregnant. She admits it was a terrible experience at the time. Up until then, she had taught step aerobics, which gave her fitness discipline but didn’t prepare her body for the nuances of pregnancy.

My Key Takeaways From My Conversation with Rosa

0 Comments

Asana Postpartum

Yoga After Motherhood: Moving Through Resistance

July 30, 2025

The Choice – Convenience vs Commitment

I attended another weekend yoga workshop in Bellur this weekend. This time I didn’t stay overnight (here’s a short video of what its like to attend an overnight yoga retreat there). I drove down on Saturday and reached in time for the evening session. By the time I got home it was 10 pm. The next morning I returned, starting the journey at 6 am.

Last time I took Kalindi and Animesh with me, but it’s now 15 months postpartum and I feel it’s time to start attending retreats without the necessity of taking my entire household with me. Honestly, I never thought what yoga retreats after childbirth would be. But I instinctively knew I shouldn’t wait for when I’m ready. I will have to coerce myself to remember how wonderfully valuable and transformative these immersions are, and that might me resist the temptation of convenience and remember my commitment.

0 Comments

Asana Yoga & Vedanta Philosophy

51 Minutes of Contemplation : A Guru Purnima Yoga Class

July 24, 2025

My prenatal yoga practice was a tribute to my gurus.

“Do we have to give a gift to our gurus on Guru Purnima?” Ambika asked me, curious about the guru parampara.

“Some people do,” I said. “But it’s not mandatory.”

Is it possible to thank a guru for all they’ve done? As students what can we do for our gurus? What can we give our guru as a guru purnima offering?

After spending more than a decade within the guru parampara I realise now that the question isn’t what to give our gurus, the question is how do we honor our gurus?

Perhaps by living our lives in service to the words, the ideas, the movement and the philosophies they have taught us so that they live on in our bodies, minds and consciousness, and the guru parampara remains an unbroken chain. Continue Reading

0 Comments

Asana Pregnancy/Parenting Notes Yoga

Conception to Postpartum in a Series of Weekend Yoga Workshops

July 16, 2024

I’ve taken this picture so many times at Bellur, and never thought one day I’d be posing with my daughter.

I spent the past weekend in yoga workshop with Murlidhar sir, a yoga teacher who played an instrumental role in my pregnancy journey, from conception to postpartum. This blog was supposed to be about taking a 3.5 month old to a yoga retreat. But as I wrote it, it became a game of connect the dots. It turned into a blog about how I attended a weekend yoga retreat in 2019 and met an impressive but little known yoga teacher who would one day have a profound impact on my life.

My journey has been nothing but magical or, as my gynaecologist would say, ‘a miracle’.

5 Comments

Asana Yoga

The Sarvangasana Cycle

March 24, 2020

It is one of the greatest boons conferred on humanity by our ancient sages. (Light on Yoga p 212)

What is the Sarvangasana Cycle?

Sarvangasana is the Shoulder Stand yoga pose. I’ve written about the etymological structure and why it’s called the ‘Mother of All Asanas’ in this blog. It’s an important posture in the Iyengar style of yoga, practiced every day except during the menstrual cycle. Iyengar yoga practitioners practice the sirsasana – sarvangasana – halasana sequence every day. The Sarvangasana Cycle can be practiced once you’re reasonably comfortable with the alignment of the Sarvangasana.

0 Comments

Asana Yoga

Sarvangasana – The Mother of Asanas

March 19, 2020

Sarvanga (Sarva=all, whole, entire, complete; anga=limb or body) means the entire body or all the limbs. In this pose the whole body benefits from the exercise, hence the name. (Light on Yoga, p 206)

What is Sarvangasana?

Sarvangasana is a yoga pose that is categorised as an inversion because in this pose the body is upside down and supported by the shoulders. It is an integral pose in all styles and lineages of yoga. In the Iyengar style of yoga we emphasise the importance of correct alignment and balance in the pose, often using props such as bolsters, blankets and belts to achieve the correct alignment.

In many old yoga books you will find this posture also called the Candlestick posture because the body is supposed to resemble a straight candle on a candle holder.

Why is it Called the Mother of Asanas?

1 Comment

Asana

Bedtime Yoga

September 16, 2014

Sleep is perhaps the most overlooked component of health. Gym rats meet friends for a drink or movie after dinner. Busy professionals fall asleep in front of the TV. When asked how you slept last night do you stop and think about the quality as well as quantity of your sleep or do you have an automatic reply?

Pay attention to the quantity of your sleep. Sleep is when your body regenerates and rejuvenates itself. Stubborn belly fat can melt away if you get adequate sleep. To improve your quality of sleep starting tonight create a bedtime yoga routine. Incorporate the below yoga poses. Do them right on top of your mattress while breathing deeply or listening to some soothing music. Get in touch with your body and notice where you feel tightness or which part of you is relaxed.

Go-To Bedtime Yoga Routine

1. The Vajrasana. Fold your legs under you and sit on your heels. If your ankles hurt just place a blanket under them to give a bit of support for the asana. Keep your back straight and relax your shoulders. The Vajrasana is great for the digestive system. Close your eyes and breathe deeply.

2. The Pigeon Pose. Once you’re done with the Vajrasana try the Pigeon Pose (Kapotasana) to ease stretch out your hips and thighs. A lot of tension that your body has to deal with during the day is stored in the hips. This explains stiff thighs and even lower back issues. Just staying in this pose for a few breaths will enable your tense muscles to relax and ease the stress away. Over time you’ll start to appreciate how powerful this pose is for stress relief.

3. Viparita Karani. Once you’re done stretching out the hips lie on your bed with your legs supported by the wall and just relax. You’ve been on your feet the whole day and it’s only fair that you get a chance to put your feet up! The Vipirita Karani also allows the blood to circulate back towards the heart. So this is your answer to aching soles and painful varicose veins. Take a few deep breaths in this pose with your eyes closed.

4. Anulom-Vilom Pranayama (Alternate-Nostril Breathing). Now for a little TLC for your mind. This breathing technique helps in balancing the brain and slowing down the thoughts which keep you tossing and turning in the nights. To know how to do this watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eBQFeGB7FE

5. And finally, right before you go to sleep write stuff down. Stuff about how grateful you are about the wonderful life you have. About the great people you know. And about how awesome things will happen to you. A little positivity and a go-to bedtime yoga routine before your shut-eye will go a long way in ensuring great sleep.

1 Comment