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Shift Your Perspective

July 17, 2014

Some thoughts for Thoughtful Thursdays: Why is weight so important to people who join fitness classes? After all, in a fitness class (yoga or otherwise) you have lift, balance, move like crazy, push, pull, stand up, squat down…stuff whic…h underweight or overweight people will not be able to do. Underweight and overweight people keep on falling sick, they don’t move well, they frequently have problems concentrating, and their internal systems (digestive, metabolic, respiratory) usually don’t work right. But time and time again women come up to me saying they want to lose weight. After some weeks they say yes they’ve lost inches, but no they WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT. In this quest for their version of the perfect weight they fail to notice that they are breathing better, they are more flexible, they’re happier, they can hold the plank longer and are closer to touching their toes. And what’s more, a lot of these women aren’t even over-weight! I don’t get it. If you were to fall sick tomorrow, you would lose weight without doing anything. But to be able to touch your toes, or do the chakrasana or natrajasana, you’ve put in hard and consistent work. The flexibility and balance didn’t come easy…so then why are we so fixated on a particular weight??? Shift your perspective. Stop thinking about your weight and glorify in all your body can do.

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Getting More for Less – The Secret

July 11, 2014

I’ve found it. The secret to getting more out of your 24 hours. And it takes as little as 5 minutes to as much as 15 minutes. Promise.

For a while now I’ve been crazy busy. I’ve started teaching more, more students are coming in, they want different things, new things and, most of all, they want results. I’ve been spending a lot of time planning the classes, travelling between classes, my own practice takes a while and then there’s the blog and FB page which are an invaluable source of inspiration and knowledge for me. So I’m constantly on the move, physically, mentally and emotionally. I had started to feel like I was all over the place. The more I tried to get organized, the more disorganized and panicked I’d get. But things got better.

1. A couple of weeks ago I decided I would take 5 minutes in the morning and in the night to think about where I want my life to go. And in those 5 minutes I would also think about the actions I will take today that help me in heading towards that general direction. I started to visualize what I wanted out of my life and started thinking about how my day would contribute to where I want to go. At the end of the day started thinking about everything I did which contributed to making the vision more real to me.

I didn’t realize it then, but visualization is a powerful tool to keep you on track in life. Also, a total of only 10 minutes from my 24 hours was all I needed to remind me of what I believe my purpose is and also, what I want my purpose to be. It only takes 10 minutes of thinking to gain more clarity about how you’re spending your time. I believe it’s helped me weed out all those little things that sap a lot of my precious energy (deciding what to make for lunch or what to wear, for instance). Maybe I started investing this energy into leading better classes and connecting with people more.

2. Once I realized that there has been a positive shift, I decided to add affirmations to my 5 minute routine. I read about affirmations in a book one of my students lent to me. She said the stuff I say about beliefs and actions reminded her of the book and she thought I’d enjoy reading it. I gave myself some time to think about what I really wanted out of life on priority (this was easy since I was spending 10 minutes every day thinking about this), and made a list. I then decided that I would spend an additional 5 minutes meditating upon the list. Over time I realized that thinking about the list made me more optimistic and energetic. Perhaps it’s seeing the things you want in a list in front of you. Sometimes the list makes me smile and laugh, sometimes it give me courage and optimism. But, at the end of my 5 minutes of contemplation, I feel ready to take on my day.

3. Visualizing and affirmations were working for me. And I had made my list in a pretty notebook that was, once upon a time, my diary. I used to be an avid diarist. I have a carton full of my diaries in Delhi. They start from the 4^th grade. I decided that after my 10 minutes of meditation every night, I would write down 3 things that made me happy/grateful. These can be the smallest things (one of my entries is “I’m grateful there was no traffic jam on Infantry Road today and I was able to get to my class on time.” Once I started doing this, I noticed I slept better! I guess thinking about the good things in life ends your day on a good note.

So, if you really want to shift something in your life for the better, give these three things a shot. You’ll get a lot more out of your day for a lot less!

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Channelizing My Inner Fish

July 4, 2014

We’re in the 7th month of the year. Most of the year is gone. Now is a good time to look at those New Year’s resolutions and ask yourself if you’re on track. It’s also a good time to reflect upon how you’ve spent the last few months. Have you learned anything new this year? Have you added something to your routines/way of life/way of thinking? Is the quality of your life better now than it was a couple of months ago? Are you eating and sleeping better? Are you more fit and flexible? For the past couple of months I’ve been learning how to swim. Swimming was the bugaboo of my life. I was just so scared of … something. Now I can’t really figure out what I was scared of. Maybe every time I thought about swimming I thought about a massive angry ocean with a tornado going (I actually did.) And I also looked into the deep end of the pool and didn’t like the fact that I couldn’t see the bottom (so if I were to lose control the downward journey would be into a bottom-less pit).

But one day I told myself that I was going to give it another go. Give it my bestest shot. Which meant swimming as often as I could (even if it meant driving for 20-30 minutes to get to the pool where the really good teacher was). Which meant showing up and getting into the pool, even if it meant hanging out with the kids who couldn’t swim…and watching incredulously all those kids who could channelize their inner fish with so much finesse. I’m not sure where the fear went once I started to get comfortable in the pool. Even as I looked at the deep end, I realized that more than fear, I was looking at people with curiosity. How were they swimming? What was their secret to being comfortable in the water? And more than that, what was the difference between the way the swimmers approached the water and the way I did?

Lots of lessons for me (and maybe for you). 1. If you give it your best, you will eventually get there. 2. It’s good to observe others and learn from them. Just make sure you don’t compare. 3. Fear is only a perception. If you change your perception, you get rid of the fear. So far, learning how to swim has been the high point of 2014 for me. I hope that you a high point as well. If not, there are still a couple more months to go.

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Yoga

Day 1 – #7daysofniyama challenge.

June 27, 2014

The niyama we’ll focus on today is Saucha – or cleanliness. At the grossest level this is about keeping our living and office spaces clean. At a little more subtle level this is about wearing clean clothes and keeping our bodies internally and externally clean. At a still more deep level this niyama is about living as truthfully and purely as you can. Your behavior, words and actions should reflect the truth and purity you believe in. Is your house really clean and organized? Or are there cupboards you’d be mortified if your guests saw? Do you have beautiful laundry hampers that contain months of of dirty laundry? When you go to your yoga class, do you make it a point not to step on other people’s mats and props? At a deeper level, do you constantly share your feelings of helplessness, anger, hurt, depression etc with others? We all go through a hard time once in a while, but do you constantly crib whenever you find a listener? Analyze why you do that, and then stop doing it. You are disturbing someone else’s peace and creating an imbalance in their energy. Look around you and analyze if you live clean, think clean and eat clean. If you don’t, make the change today.

Saucha can be divided into internal and external saucha. Today we’ve covered how we can implement saucha externally. From tomorrow we’ll look at internal saucha. To maintain internal cleanliness and purity we must get rid of: kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada and matsarya. One each day, so tune in every day! 🙂

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Yoga Challenge – #7daysofniyama

June 26, 2014

So we’ve looked at what, according to yoga, we can do without in our lives. But what about the rules that yoga tells us to live by? Starting tomorrow, join me for #7daysofniyamas. Niyamas literally translated means rules. I believe that the fundamentals of all cultures, religions and philosophies are basically the same. To be good, to be kind etc. So many of you may already be incorporating the niyamas in your lives. Lets take a look at the niyamas and see how yogic philosophy transcends race, cultures, countries, class, caste, religion etc.

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Day 5 #5daysof yama – Aparigraha

June 22, 2014

Today is the last day of our #5daysofyama challenge. Today’s yama is Aparigraha or non covetousness. This sounds a lot like Asteya, however while asteya talks the act of not hoarding/wanting, aparigraha is about non-attachment and possess…iveness towards that which you own. This includes intellectual and emotional possessiveness. The most common manifestation of Aparigraha is ego. The ego defines everything we associate with the ‘I’. It’s great to introspect and know who you are and intentionally try to evolve into a better version of yourself. However, sometimes our idea of the ‘I’ becomes a limiting factor in our lives. For instance, up to a month ago I couldn’t swim because ‘I’ was afraid of the water. For 32 years I’ve told myself that I have a phobia of water bodies. In my recent Goa vacation something in me snapped and ‘I’ told ‘myself’ to face this perceived fear. I can swim now . Don’t let ‘you’ hold a limiting factor about ‘yourself’. Let go of perceived attitudes, fears, ideas that you may be holding possessively because ‘you’ don’t allow ‘yourself’ re-define you. #yogachallenge #yogaphillosophy #day5

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Day 3 #5daysofyama – Asteya

June 20, 2014

Today’s yama is Asteya. Loosely translated this means refraining from taking/stealing. At a deeper level, this yama implies controlling desires and reducing wants, because as well all know, desires and wants are infinite. This yama is also about freedom from avarice. So come all ye hoarders and give away everything gathering dust in your corners. According to Feng Shui, accumulated clutter attracts negativity. Indian homes get a face lift once a year during Diwali when we start white washing and dusting our homes. Instead of making it a yearly routine, focus on de-cluttering periodically. You’ll be surprised to know that de-cluttering your surroundings has a calming effect on your mind. Today take a good look at your closets (we all have skeletons of sizes and fittings past) and pull out something to donate or give away. I did this in February, and a friend of mine did this a week ago. Trust us, you will feel lighter. If lightening your load by one item of clothing feels good, re-assess the rest of your wardrobe. By now you may feel exhilarated (hopefully), so take a look at your kitchen cabinets and your bathroom cabinets as well! Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

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Day 2 #5daysofyama – Satya

June 19, 2014

The yama we’re focusing on today is Satya or Truth. What we usually think about this yama: I don’t usually lie about things. What this yama is all about: the imperceptible truth. Be truthful about situations. Are you really over-weight, or are you comparing yourself to an impossible image in the popular media. Are you making the most of your time orf just looking for an excuse not to attend my yoga class :)? Are you actually trying hard enough to eschew negative thoughts in favour of positive ones? Practice looking at yourself and your environment truthfully and objectively. Today look at how your days pan out. And think about something that you’d like to fit into your day such as a workout, or reading the paper…or meditating. Ask yourself if your ‘I don’t have the time’ excuse is really true. If it is, then accept this truth and live with it. You don’t have the time for a short workout, or to read a bit of the paper, or to sit quietly for 5 minutes. Period. Stop whining about these things NOW. But if you find that you can pencil in some time by waking up just 10 minutes earlier, or turning the TV off and sitting in silence before sleep – then change your life today by making time for these activities.

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Day 1 #5daysofyama – Ahimsa

June 18, 2014

The first yama we’ll look at is ‘Ahimsa’ or non-violence. The person who comes to my mind when I hear ‘Ahimsa’ is Gandhi. But eons before 1947, the great sages of the Indus Valley civilization realized that a truly fulfilled individual (healthy in body as well as mind) had to consciously follow the practice of Ahimsa in their day to day life. Most of us think, well I don’t go around beating people up and have never killed (or come close to killing) anyone…so I’m good to go with this yama. But in the kind of world we live in, there is a LOT more scope for Ahimsa (believe me). Today, think about how you can go beyond the usual things such as physical violence and vegetarianism as illustrating Ahimsa. Think about your mind. Do you sometimes feel irked with yourself because you believe you are lazy/overweight/weak/under confident/unsuccessful etc? If you direct any of your energies towards putting yourself down (even if its only in your mind), then you are violating the principle of Ahimsa. Non-violence extends to the people around you, but I feel that now there is a great need to ensure that we are non-violent towards ourselves as well.
In a society which is largely consummerist in nature, do we think about Ahimsa when we buy our vegetables and clothing? If you buy your vegetables from the closest Big Bazaar, have you given a thought to whether the farmers employed to grow the vegetables are suitably compensated? Is your money going to the farmer who sweats it out to grow the produce, or is it going to the spectacled guy sitting in his AC cabin, reading data about his supply chain off of his laptop? Important disclaimer: I have no idea how Big Bazaar obtains their produce, but I do read about farmer suicides in the paper every day (and no I’m not saying Big Bazaar is responsible for it!!!). When you sit down to eat, do you think about the people who grow your food? Today, send a thought out to the faceless person who watered and watched your potatoes grow, who planted the palak and the methi, and who is fundamentally responsible for the food in your plate. Instead of thinking about the taste of the food, hope that your food is sourced with Ahimsa.
The clothes that we wear – do we think about the garment worker who sat down to stitch the buttons? At a superficial level we all know that garment factories employ a lot of little kids who should be going to school, that they don’t give adequate compensation, that there are no employee rights etc. But when you try on a shirt, do you spare a thought about the living breathing person who took a pair of scissors and ensured perfect measurements? Who perhaps accidentally jammed a needle into their thumb stitching a button on? Today, instead of looking at your clothes as disposable commodities, hope that your clothes are made with Ahimsa.
So practice these three things today: 1. Stop directing negative and critical thoughts towards yourself. 2. Before you sit down to eat, take a second to hope that it was responsibly sourced. 3. Be grateful for the clothes you’re wearing and hope that the person responsible for them is ok, wherever they are!

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Yoga Challenge With a Difference – #5daysofyama

June 17, 2014

Yoga is a holistic practice. I keep on saying this, but I feel my voice gets muffled by lots of people peddling ‘perfect’ yoga pictures made even more perfect with the help of iphone filters. Asanas are an important part of yoga, but the …other eight steps of yoga are also mandatory for a complete practice. Starting tomorrow, I’m going to take a little time each day to practice a Yama. Traditionally, yamas (yogic principles that must be followed) were practiced and inculcated before starting the practice of asanas. Times have changed, and yoga classes now follow a different pattern. However, the yamas are easy to integrate into your regular life, you only need 5 minutes each day. Join me tomorrow for the #5daysofyama challenge. Trust me, a little bit of reflection for the next 5 days has the potential to change your life

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