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Travels Yoga

The Bags Are Packed

November 29, 2015

Dinner with my favorite people before I head to Mysore.

I’m pretty much done with packing for my 15 days of yoga, reading, writing, thinking and resting. For those of you who don’t know, I’m headed to KPJAYI (Shri K Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute). I’ll be there for 15 days, longer than I’ve ever been on any retreat. Vipassana is only 10 days.

I’ve read up everything I can about what to expect there, but most blogs are quite vague. The only thing everyone seems to agree upon is that

A separate bag for these.

everyone’s experience is different. However, I reason that the Ashtanga yoga practice is quite intense and since I’m a complete beginner, the sessions may be very challenging for me. So I’m taking a suitcase full of workout clothes and towels. And books. Because the TBR list has a mind of its own.

Another thing I’m looking forward to is driving all the way to Mysore in my humble Alto. I’ve never done something like this before. A road trip by myself sounds like a good way to unwind and spend some time reflecting about 2015. And this weather helps!

Fuel for Mysore. Fresh, healthy and homemade by my friend’s kind mom.

All I need now is a good night’s rest. Tomorrow I’ll throw my toothbrush into my bag and head out to what promise to be a phenomenal two weeks in Mysore. Stay tuned for the Mysore Diaries!

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Yoga

The Teacher Today

November 25, 2015

The relationship between a teacher and student in yoga has changed over time. Centuries ago students were expected to devote their entire lives in the service of their teacher. The teacher’s word was law and blind, unquestioning faith was expected of the student.

The relationship has evolved over the years. In the plethora of yoga teachers and classes available in the market, students sometimes get confused about what they are searching for. After all, a certain amount of discernment is only fair. A yoga class can change your life, or leave you feeling flustered. A yoga teacher can point you in the right direction, or get on your nerves. You could end up learning something about yourself, or end up looking for reasons to avoid class for the rest of your life.

Where once a teacher held absolute authority over a student and her practice, nowadays the relationship has become a bit tricky. Teachers are younger, and prone to all the foibles that come with youth (relationship troubles, anxiety about getting a ‘real’ job, peer pressure etc.). And frequently they have another job on the side to pay the bills. This is in sharp contrast to traditional yoga teachers who lived to practice and to teach. Needless to say, all these aspects effect the vibe of a class.

I have mulled over the question for a while now. What is the role of a modern day teacher? After all, it’s the age of consumerism and yoga teachers and classes are being consumed with a vengeance. What then is a yoga teacher’s role? When a student walks in, you know they may walk out the next day. Or next year. How can you make a meaningful contribution to a student’s life with this uncertainty?

As it frequently happens, my teacher unwittingly gave me the answer. The other day in class, he demonstrated the Viparita Dandasana and asked us to correct his posture. He modified his pose according to our inputs. By the time we were done with our cues he looked extremely uncomfortable in the posture. He came out of the pose and told us that as a student we must learn not to depend on the teacher too much. He told us that tomorrow he may not be around and we would then be lost in our practice. He said we must observe our own bodies in all asanas, independent of the cues given by the teacher. We must focus on how the ‘right’ asana feels and use that feeling to get into the pose next time.

What this means is that a student needs to cultivate a practice which fits them. We are bombarded by information about yoga all the time, and sometimes this information is just opinion disguised as fact. The real life asana is in being able to distinguish what works for you from what doesn’t. It lies in being truthful to yourself about whether you are blindly following a teacher or school and losing yourself. Or are you learning and being guided by all this information and eventually finding yourself?

In the modern day scenario, the role of a yoga teacher is to empower a student. Encourage your students to explore. Encourage them to try out other classes and teachers and encourage them to think about how they feel. Encourage self reflection (pratyahara). It is rewarding to see a student find wings under your tutelage. If you teach a student how to be self reliant, the decisions they make on and off the mat will come from a place of confidence and trust, rather than insecurity. You will foster a culture of exploration and abundance. A culture of respect and tolerance. A culture of healthy minds and healthy bodies.

“Illuminated emancipation, freedom, unalloyed and untainted bliss await you, but you have to choose to embark on the Inward Journey to discover it.” – BKS Iyengar

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Yoga

Have a Healthy Diwali.

November 11, 2015

Finally Diwali is upon us and all of us are being inundated by calorie laden sweets, fried snacks and namkeens, tea/coffee and coke (shudder) multiple times a day. And the season has begun. From now until the end of the year you will be invited to numerous parties and get togethers and the main theme of these (specially in North India) is food. I don’t believe in deprivation. That’s does more harm than good. Here are a few tips that are tried and tested (and don’t include deprivation).

Don’t have sugar in tea/coffee. Not even a little bit. Since you’ll be gorging on mithai and chocolate, try and cut out the added sugar in any way that you can. Switch to herbal teas. Not only are these lower in calories, but they also prevent the onset of colds and allergies, an important thing to consider during the onset of the winter.
Increase your water intake. So every time you help yourself to a piece of mithai, grab a tall glass of water as well. Increased water intake will also help keep your hunger pangs an check.
EXERCISE. This is non-negotiable. The first thing you must do before the day gets in the way is 20 Surya Namaskars.
Share your treats. Yes, even the most delectable, custom made, piece-of-heaven delights. Share them. Lower your calorie intake and earn goodwill from those around you.
Lastly, I just want to reiterate something that I’ve already spoken about: Choose your indulgences wisely. I’ll have chocolate (preferably dark), but I won’t touch laddoos.

Also, spare a thought for the environment. Burn calories, not crackers!

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Yoga

Untying the Knots

October 9, 2015

A couple of weeks ago I had a student in Supta Baddhakonasana. That’s Lying Down Bound Fixed Angle Pose, a supine variation of a pose popularly called the ‘Butterfly Pose’.

As the relaxation came to a close, I gave the instruction to keep the eyes closed and to come out of the pose in the easiest and most comfortable way possible.

The student started to undo the belt binding his legs in the pose. He realized that he couldn’t reach far enough to actually undo the belt easily. He started to reach around and fumble with the belt a bit more. All the effort made him want to open his eyes, but he wasn’t going to not follow the instructions. Finally he managed to twist and turn enough to grab a hold of the buckle and wrest the belt off. Once done he sat upright and relaxed his tightly closed lids. Hmmmm….

Sometimes a student’s behaviour on the mat is highly indicative of his/her approach to real life. Does a student twitch and move a lot when relaxing? Post Savasana do they quickly jump up and run out to meet the rest of their day? Do they fall asleep during relaxation? In this case, the student had to complete his relaxation and face the real world. One which, at that point, literally had him up in knots.

When faced with sticky, frustrating, tight, claustrophobic, rigid etc situations, our first reaction is to fight for dear life. So we close our eyes tightly and twist and turn and try to grab that which we feel is smothering us and wrench it away from us. However, if you breathe deeply and instead of struggling, you work on accepting that you are in a bind (in this case quite literally), then you may have an easier time getting out of the unpleasant situation.

Someone once told me that you can consider roadblocks to be either problems or constraints. You can choose to dwell on your problems and try to (unsuccessfully) wish them away. Or you could think about how you can carry on with your life’s work with the existing constraints. I believe that changing your perception is all it takes to change your life, and this forms a huge part of that philosophy. So next time you’re in a conundrum, think, do you want this to be a problem, or do you want it to be a constraint.

The Supta Baddhakonasana is when you lie down on your back and keep your legs in this position.

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Yoga

Vegan For a Day

September 3, 2015

I got invited to a full day workshop about veganism this past weekend. We were invited for a detailed talk about what it is and why it’s good for us. We were going to be treated with a vegan breakfast, lunch and snack. And we were surprised with a goodie bag at the end of the session to enable us to continue on our Vegan journey without a stop. The session was quite intense, but there were a few things that stood out and they made sense to me as well. What I’m trying to say is that it wasn’t all mumbo jumbo. Some of the ideas were logical. And I’m going to try a few of the things they spoke about. And in no particular order these principles were:

Eat a whole plant based diet. Vegetarian food is high in fibre. Not only is animal based food high in fat, it is high in cholesterol as well. Because only animals produce cholesterol. So effectively cholesterol is a hormone made by animals. And ghee happens to be 100% fat.
Good sources of fat are nuts and seeds.
Meat and milk are equal. Both contain hormones, antibiotics and pesticides. On top of this milk contains IGF – Insulin-like Growth Factor.
It is a common misconception that we are a milk drinking nation. We are consuming more milk now than ever before. Historically in India, people used to have one cow and not feed it hormones to give more milk. The milk that humans would consume would be the one left over after the calf had finished nursing. So that would be very less, not gallons upon gallons that we consume today. Krishna was stealing other people’s milk products because he wasn’t drowning in milk and ghee himself. Even though he was quite wealthy and had no reason to steal anything.
The body gets enough protein on a whole plant based diet. Think about it, very few people report protein deficiency.
Plants are better sources for Calcium than milk. Only 30% of the calcium in milk is assimilated. And anyways, you need Vitamin D to absorb Calcium into your bones. So having only milk doesn’t mean that you will assimilate all the calcium in the milk. What you should do is ensure that you have adequate Vitamin D so that all the calcium you provide to your body is assimilated.
Eat whole foods because refined foods lose a lot of nutrients.
Replace animal milk with soy, rice, almond peanut etc milk. (Basically plant based alternatives.) Sesame seeds have more calcium than milk.
Say no to sugar. Have dates and raisins instead. Fruits have plenty of natural sugars. And jaggery and honey not allowed because they aren’t whole.
Replace plain butter with peanut butter, cashew butter, sesame butter or almond butter.
Replace paneer with tofu.
Don’t have curd made of animal milk. Make your curd out of soya, peanut milk etc.
No meat.
Replace white rice with unpolished rice.
Replace maida with atta, jowar, bajra, nachni etc.
White salt with Himalayan salt, rock salt or sea salt.
Don’t fry your food because vegans don’t use oil.
Have smoothies for breakfast. So blend bananas, coriander and mint and have that for breakfast.
Avoid tea/coffee because the increase blood sugar and stress.
People tend to say that sugar causes diabetes, but it’s actually fat that causes diabetes. so avoid fat in your diet. The technique to eliminate fat is to eliminate all refined fats. Refined fats are those without fibre. Animal products don’t have fibre. But coconuts do, so coconut fats are good. After a fatty meal your blood thickens and fat cells get deposited in the arteries. If you remove the fat, your blood will start flowing again. Meat has free radicals which can damage the inner lining of muscles. Plants on the other hand contain anti oxidants.
People think that Diabetes and Hypertension are hereditary, but that’s false. Both these conditions are lifestyle related and directly related to your diet.
Honey and Jaggery are not ok. Both are not whole. However, you can eat sugar cane is good because it’s whole and unrefined and natural.
Cheese is 70% fat. Cheese is like Vaseline. Your system can’t ingest cheese, it can’t ingest Vaseline.
Have only 10 nuts a day. However, peanuts are not nuts. They are legumes. So you can have more than 10 a day.
Whole foods have complex carbs. They take longer to digest and keep you full longer. Hence you end up eating less. Refined foods have simple carbs. They digest immediately and you want to eat more.
Don’t have two grains in one meal. So don’t have rice and roti together.
Broccoli has more protein than steak. Excess protein causes osteoporosis and kidney disease.

So the two things you should ask yourself if you want to aim to eat vegan is whether what you are eating is plant based, and whether it is whole.

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Yoga

When Your Back Hurts

August 20, 2015

All of a sudden I have lots of people asking me how yoga can help with slipped and herniated discs. These are people who don’t want to go in for the surgery that the doctor has told them is inevitable. These are people who are not interested in taking drugs to numb the pain. Basically, these are people who have heard that yoga can help and want to manage their condition rather than let doctors cut them open.

So here are a set of moves that you should do in the sequence given below. You need to hold each posture on each side for about 10 minutes. So you do need to set aside about an hour to do this every day. Yes, do these every day. If you do this set of postures while you are experiencing the pain, you will get instant relief. Tried and tested.

I only had a makeshift yoga belt with me when my friend and I found time to take these pictures. You can use a stole or a dupatta, basically anything long enough to use for these asanas.

Start with lying on the floor. You must fold your legs like in the picture. The lower back should lie flat on the floor.

2. Next loop the belt around one foot and straighten the leg. You lower back should still lie flat on the floor. Push the heel out. Keep the toes inclined towards your face. Also, people tend to think that the closer they can bring the leg to the torso, the ‘better’ it is. That is not true. You must keep the leg either straight up, perpendicular to the floor. If that’s too intense of a stretch for you, then you can bring the leg closer to the floor, until the stretch becomes tolerable. The heel must always stay extended outwards. Knee must be locked. Note: the other leg is bent with the foot on the floor. This is intentional and you must practice just like this.

3. Straighten the leg which is on the floor. Do this by slowly walking it out, and not by lifting it up and pushing it forward. You have to do all these movements slowly and carefully, after all, you want to be careful with you back. In this posture, both legs mimic each other. Knees are straight and locked. Heels are pushed out.

4. Next ease our leg on to the floor. Again, no jerky movements. Also, if you are unable to get the leg all the way down to the floor, you can use a pillow or a small table to rest you leg on. Heel pushed out. Knee locked. And the torso should be flat on the floor. Usually there is a tendency to lean to one side because of the weight of the extended leg.

5. Bring the leg back up and this time, ease it to the opposite side. Only 30 degrees to the other side. So lower back is still in touch with the floor. The opposite leg should stay active.

6. And finally, the posture which gives the most relief. For this one you will have to tie the ends of the belt together. Then insert a leg through the loop and put the opposite shoulder through the other end of the loop. Almost like you’re carrying a shoulder bag. Allow the leg to fall sideways. It doesn’t matter how close your knee/thigh/leg is to your torso. What matters is how relaxed your leg is.

Remember to practice each posture on both sides. Hold for 10 minutes on both sides. When done daily these moves ensure that your back pain is eliminated.

Thanks Sujith for the photos. 🙂

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Yoga

The LINgGAN Yoga & Lifestyle Studio, Den Haag

April 8, 2015

While in the Netherlands I had the opportunity to visit this quaint studio called LINgGAN Yoga & Lifestyle. The studio was awesome. I mean, how can you not like a studio which has such cute magnets? (I want!)

The best thing about my visit was talking to the owner of the place, Savitri Thissen Sattoe. What started out as a little hello-how-are-you chat soon grew to become this extremely insightful conversation about yoga as a passion and what we can do with our passion so that it becomes more meaningful to us. We chatted for a long long time, but there are some things that really stuck out in my mind which I think are valuable for a lot of people. Even if you’re not an entrepreneur.

1. Make sure you want to do this. Because if you’re sure then you’re going to work hard. If you work hard then you’ll taste a reasonable bit of success. And then with consistent hard work you will be able to build a body of work you are proud of.

2. Have a plan. And go back to it every once in a while. Because with time your plans can change. When you find you are unable to meet your timelines then change the plan! Be flexible! There is no right or wrong plan.

3. Network with people. That’s the best way to learn. Cooperate with others. Collaborate with them. Brainstorm with them.

4. Be positive because you never know what lies right around the corner.

Oh and I forgot to mention, Savitri Thissen Sattoe is really cool. She runs Yoga Teacher Trainings in Suriname and speaks Hindi also!!!

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Yoga

When You Pack…

March 27, 2015

Growing up I’ve done a fair bit of moving houses, moving schools, moving countries. Sorting through all your belongings, taking things apart and boxing them up and away is a huge task that requires lots and lots of planning. My parents have become quite adept at living in a house which is half dismantled, sleeping in beds that have packing material all around it…the last week of packing is chaos!

And this time I was with them to watch them packing one last time after a long career in the foreign service.

But oh! the chaos! However, I’m a practicing yogi, so I wasn’t going to let the chaos affect my oasis of calm in the midst of a raging storm. So here’s how you can maintain your zen even when everyone around you is losing theirs.

1. Use the heavy boxes to build arm strength. Lift ’em up, stack them on top of each other etc. etc. WODs shouldn’t stop.

2. Take a look at all the stuff you have accumulated. Revel in the abundance you have in your life. Be thankful.

3. Once you’re thankful think about how you can minimize the clutter. Happiness is in the mind, after all. Give away or recycle. Be happy that you did a good deed.

4. Who has time to think about food when there’s so much to pack? Subsist on soups 2015-03-20_18.32.00[1] and salads. 2015-03-20_18.35.17[1]

5. Find a little place to refuel. A small space on the couch is all you need. Have a cup of coffee and spend time with your Kindle.

6. Find your place of meditation. Observe the trees. Watch your plants. Only 5 minutes.

7. When its all done heave a sigh of relief and refuel for the adventures ahead.

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Food Travels

My Changing Food Habits

March 13, 2015

My favorite fruit – today and always, and won’t change with my changing food habits.

I’ve been lazing around a lot lately, and thinking about my changing food habits. Most days the only workout I get is a brisk hour long walk in the mornings. And the speed also depends on whether we have burning issues to discuss or whether the topic of conversation is lukewarm. The most memorable walk so far was the walk where we where our pace and the conversation was so invigorating that we realized we’d walked all the way to the supermarket (a considerable distance), and ended up picking up some things we needed. Then we had coffee and walked back home.

Happy with my cupcakes!

I’ve been baking a lot as well. My mousse au chocolat was a disaster. But my cupcakes were quite good! I’ve been exploring the food options here and being vigilant about my food choices as well. This doesn’t mean that I’m denying myself or following some kind of diet (those who know me know that I don’t diet). What it means is that I’m listening to my cravings because cravings are a great way for you to understand what your body lacks. And when you are travelling then you need to be extra vigilant because the weather changes, the food changes, your mind set changes and your days change!

So here are a few observations about my changing food habits which i find interesting:

While my parents have their morning tea before our marathon walks, I prefer to
My love for this will never change.

down a couple of glasses of room temperature water.
I rarely feel like having a large dinner. So usually I’ll have a bowl of home made soup. And this is usually related to my level of activity. So on Thursdays I’ll come home at 10 pm and eat after an intense AcroYoga session. And I choose to eat after rather than before the session.
In the evenings I tend to reach for a fruit or juice or green tea rather than the chai my parents drink.

In India I remember I used to guzzle down loads and loads of water throughout the day. I used to feel hungry more frequently and ate much much more. However, even with this change, I still feel like I have loads of energy.

Do you also experience similar changes in diet/cravings when on vacation?

Nice things you see on your walks here.

Posing during the morning walks.

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Yoga

I Discovered a New Mantra

March 11, 2015

My days in Den Haag are super relaxed. My parents live in a quiet neighbourhood. There are forests all around our house so we frequently go for little hikes and walk through the forests when we go grocery shopping. When I arrived the winters were in full swing. Days were shorter and there was frost on the trees in the morning. The surface of the little lakes in the forest would be frozen. The weather has started to get warmer. But as I write this it looks like this outside:

When we woke up this morning everything was covered with a layer of frost. In a couple of hours the frost disappeared and there was mist rising through the trees. I’ve never seen this sort of thing before (at least not in real life), so I got really really really excited.

I’ve realized in the past few weeks that this is the first time since I went away to college that I’ve had so much time to spend with my parents. That’s close to 15 years. I’ve started to notice that there are many quirks we share despite living apart. I’ve started to notice good as well as not so good character traits we share. I’ve started to think a lot about the whole Nature vs Nurture debate.

Taking this time off has also helped me to appreciate things. When we go for our daily walks through the forest I see lots of fallen trees. And I see new shrubs growing all around them. People carve animals out of the stumps and make picnic tables that can be used in the summer. Similarly, life also has the ability to mould itself according to circumstances.

And I suppose that’s what life is all about. It’s not about wishing for things to change or waiting for better times. It’s about accepting what’s going on in life right now and working with what you’ve got. So instead of lamenting the fact that it’s getting more and more difficult to chase the sunrise, my parents and I spend time taking photos and planning the big move back to India.

Another mantra for life.

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