Winter is here....

Winter has always been a time of ailment for me & for people around me. Living in Bangalore hasn't helped us either - Allergy, Breathing issues, Body pain & the list goes on. This has inspired me to jot down things I have observed & learned over time. 

Disclaimer : 

If you have any health issues, please consult your doctor before you realign yourself. 

Read up on MahaBhutas & their Gunas & Tri Doshas for deeper understanding on the whys

Anything in moderation is advised. Remember.... Amitham aayal Amruthum visham! 

Diet 

This is the time when our digestive power is enhanced because of the external cold. We have learned in our school that during winter, we burn more energy to generate more heat to combat the external temperature. This internal heat increases the digestive power. Why is it so exciting to me? Increased digestive power enables our body to digest any food irrespective of their heaviness & quantity ingested. Yipz!! I now have a convincing excuse 😉 

Kapha (Earth & water elements) are high during winter. This is the best time to build good health & strength. As the digestive power is high, it is advisable to consume heavy food. This is one time of the year when larger quantity is also advised. If we do not consume heavy food, the body is unable to produce raw materials required for cell repair. More good news to Foodie like me. 

If we do not feed this digestive fire, it will affect our body. This will cause Vatta (Air & Ether elements) to be aggravated. Increase in Vatta will affect digestion. Imbalance in Vatta will also bring in pains & ailments around your joints & muscles.  

Dos 

Oils, Ghee, Sour & salty food. 

Meat, Fish, Crab, etc

Soups

Milk & milk products 

Sugarcane & it's products

Jaggery 

Food rich in Vitamin D - Cod liver oil, egg, mushroom, etc 

Eating warm 

Drinking room temperature, warm or hot beverages 

If tea, boil with ginger, cinnamon & cloves 

A cup of hot milk spiced with a pinch of turmeric, dried ginger or nutmeg before bed 

Nuts & seeds 

DO NOTs 

Raw diet 

Fasting - If you look into our traditions, this will be the time with least fasting. 

Cold food 

Foods with pungent & astringent tastes. Basically, anything that aggravates Vatta would fall under this category. 

Cool drinks, Aerated drinks 

Light & easy to digest foods 

Massage & Bath 

Oil massages keeps the skin lubricated & healthy. 

Why is there so much emphasis on the health of the skin? 

First line of defense to common allergens 

Helps with occasional inflammation 

How does massage help? 

Promotes immunity & ojas 

Improves blood circulation 

Relaxes muscles 

Lowers stress 

Increases longevity 

Strengthens the body's tolerance 

Imparts firmness to limbs 

Abhyanga

Abhyanga used to be an integral part of daily routine. Now, for busy people like us, all we have to do is walk into the nearest ayurvedic center & they will do the rest. It is generally an hour long procedure. They massage our body from head to toe with warm oil. Oil massage is followed by steam therapy. Doing this once a month keeps your body supple & healthy. 

If not as elaborate as Abhyanga, simpler form of oil massages can be done daily at home. Following it up with a nice hot water bath will help you maintain your health quotient. 

Regular head massage with during this season will avoid dry scalp, dandruff, hair fall, headaches, etc 

Lifestyle 

Maintaining a predictable routine will help keep Vatta in balance during winter. To maintain the Kapha balance, there should be a bit of unpredictability too. This may sound counterintuitive. Routines like sleep & wake up cycle, food, work, exercise, all this time can be kept predictable. But one may experiment with specifics like, what workout routine to follow, What food to consume, etc. This would help one achieve balance. 

Asanas or other physical exercises

This is the time to try out high intensity practices. If you having been walking all this while, now would be a good time to start jogging. Join that zumba classes you have been putting off all this while. Exercises will also bring down your Kapha. 

When it comes asanas, go for kidney toning asanas - Ardha Matsyendra, Chakrasana, Navasana, Setu Bandha, Marichyasana, Shashankasana, Supta Vajrasana, etc 

Surya Namaskara - Well... Towards the end of winter, we come across Radhasaptami, a time when people do 108 Surya namaskars. Consider winter as your training towards this 108. 

Pranayama 

Here again go for heating pranayamas - Kapalbatti, Bhastrika, Surya anulom vilom

If you are advanced practices - AgnisaraKriya, Udiyana Bandha, Nauli 

Cleansing Practices 

Jala Neti 

Nasya 

Mudras 

Maha mudra 

Linga mudra 

Art of Gifting

He : Oooh! All you need to do is ask your foreign contacts & they will be more than happy to gift it for you. 

Me : Aaah! That is one problem I have. I am not comfortable with expensive gifts. I am perfect with hand-me-downs, even stuffs they have been using for ages. I am okay with those. But... anything costing more than Rs.1000.....Something doesn't just go well with me. 

He {The look}: 

Me {rolling my eyes now}: Okay! Fine! Including conversion rates... 2000 Indian monies. 

He {now exasperated}: Whats your problem Girl??? If someone is willing to spend, you just smile & accept it! 

This conversation transpired last night. In the morning, when I opened the book to read, this is what I bumped into!!! 

dātavyam iti yad dānaṁ dīyate ‘nupakāriṇe

deśhe kāle cha pātre cha tad dānaṁ sāttvikaṁ smṛitam (Bhagavad Gita 17:20) 

Charity which is given without consideration of anything in return, at a sanctified and holy place and at an astrologically auspicious time, given as a matter of duty to one qualified, given to a worthy person simply because it is right to give, that charity is regarded as of the nature of goodness. 

So... If the person gifting can convince me on these points. Yes! I have my hands stretched out, palms open to receive & head bowed down with gratitude. But.... If it falls under any one of the other two categories....... Thihahahahahahahahahaha 

yat tu pratyupakārārthaṁ phalam uddiśhya vā punaḥ

dīyate cha parikliṣhṭaṁ tad dānaṁ rājasaṁ smṛitam (Bhagavad Gita  17:21) 

Charity which is given with expectation of some return or desiring some result, with the hope of a return or in expectation of a reward, moreover with reluctance is understood as of the nature of passion. 

adeśha-kāle yad dānam apātrebhyaśh cha dīyate

asat-kṛitam avajñātaṁ tat tāmasam udāhṛitam (Bhagavad Gita  17:22) 

That charity which is given disrespectfully and scornfully at an inappropriate place and time, to one who is unworthy is described as the nature or nescience. 

Picture Courtesy : www.huffingtonpost.com

Déjà vu

Once upon a time... Exactly 20yrs back... They did it all for me while I was drifting through the process.

Filling up the application

Posting them

Everything everything everything... 

If he hadn't dropped me at the examination center, I really am not sure whether I would have appeared for the exam. But then... I cleared the exam & I got into engineering. 

20yrs later... I went through a similar situation. This time the enlightened one took care of everything. He went out of the way to make things happen. And me... I was just doing stuffs because everything was delivered right into my lap!

Well... Thanks to his efforts........... Yeah! I cleared.... :-) 

When they say do your Karma, it is interesting to know how very little they need from us... :-) 

Thank you... :-) 

Picture Courtesy : safeacttestprep.wordpress.com

Time for Detox

This is something I did for a girl community in FB. Copying here for my future reference... And maybe yours too.... O:-) 

With the holidays at its peak, it would be a good time start with a week of detox program. This is primarily a fruit & vegetable diet. If not anything, this routine will help us flush out all that excess oil from the beef roast & pork curry. This can be considered as an experiment to reset your system. 

This is a toned down version of detox programs any leading holistic healing center would have.

Luke warm water/Black tea/Green tea + lemon/honey/cinnamon 30-40 mins choice of workout Breakfast - smoothiesPre Lunch snacks - Fruits/Cucumber+Carrot Lunch - Veggies/saladsEvening snacks - Fruits (Mango/Water melon/Musambi)Dinner - Soups Optional 30-40mins workout Triphala - 1 tsp with luke warm water

The simplest way to get toxins out of our system is - sweating it out. Including some basic exercise routine will take care of this. Sinus can be cleared with the help of steam. Those who are comfortable with Neti kriya(also called Nasyam), can try that too. Cleansing of the stomach & intestines are done with the help of Thriphala churnam. There are other ayurvedic medicines too. You may choose based on your comfort. 

Early to bed, early to rise 

Generally all holistic healing system encourage us to start the day early. Planning ahead helps in finishing your day early & go to bed early. 

Things to Avoid 

Fermented items - Try to avoid all varieties of fermented items during this period - idly, dosa, appam, bread, curd, aerated drinks, etc. 

Artificial sweeteners - Big NO to white sugar. You may substitute with natural sugar sources like honey or jaggery. 

Some Breakfast option 

Smoothies are the best to swallow down. You can bring in variety in taste by trying different permutations & combinations of fresh fruits. Some of the things (not all in one go) that goes into my breakfast smoothies will be - 

Smoothies 

     flax seeds

     dried nuts 

     sunflower seeds or any such you can place your hand on

     oats

     dried dates or any such fruits you like 

     chilled/frozen banana 

     other fruits optional 

     avocado 

     honey/jaggery 

     milk/lemon/tender coconut water (any one) 

          for flavor change try almond milk, coconut milk (may add coconut as is while grinding) 

Oats with fresh fruits 

Overnight soaked oats recipe

Some Lunch options 

     (i) salad option - peanuts, carrot, tomato, capsicum 

     garnish with lime & corriander leaves 

     (ii) Steamed veggies - carrot, cauliflower, mushrooms, capsicum, beans, anything of your choice ( 3-4 types of veggies would suffice) 

     May toss in roast garlic or ginger for flavor 

     (iii) Fruit bowl - try with salt & pepper 

     (iv) salted oats with sprouts thoran (roast the coconut mixture in hot tawa without oil, no need of kaduku vara either) 

     Still hungry? Have butter milk/sugar cane juice

What about Evening snacks? 

You may have something depending on your activity level later in the evening. If you are planning for a heavy workout, even ethapazham would be okay. If you are not planning to workout, keep it light. 

Dinner? 

     Here again, slice & dice whatever suits you & pressure cook for 2 whistles. if you are lazy like me, you may skip the blender process & gobble up as is. Adding ginger & pepper would bring in interesting flavors. 

Kudambuli

     Soak kudambuli in water & drink that water. It helps in weight reduction. Note - you are not preparing fish curry. You are consuming the water as is, so tone it down a bit. (This is something I learned while talking to an ayurvedic doc for this article). 

Detox Water 

     Consume at least a liter of herb/fruit infused water. This link has interesting options - https://www.loseweightbyeating.com/detox-water-recipes-fast-weight-loss/ 

     I stick with lime, ginger, mint combo 

Triphala 

     End the day with triphala churnam. This will take care of cleansing of your stomach & the intestines. 

     This is how I consume triphala. I find this easy to swallow. 

     Mix 1tsp of triphala in one-gulpable-portion of luke warm water. The trick is to get the right amount of water. It should go down your throat in one-single-gulp! If you forget about the portion in the first try, don't worry, you will remember it the next time ;-) If you haven't ever had thriphala, you will understand this when you take it O:-) 

Beginner Yoga videos 

     Here are some links to basic yoga stretches. Will keep your body supple & flexible. You may repeat the same routine. 

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71hRcTchMdc&list=PL2WEG7DCunQ9Pcsz-B7HFBvso2CzGARkY 

     https://www.youtube.com/playlist?annotation_id=annotation_3150382609&feature=iv&list=PLui6Eyny-UzzWwB4h9y7jAzLbeuCUczAl&src_vid=v7AYKMP6rOE 

     If you are already practicing Kapalbatti, this is a wonderful cleaning practice. Let the strokes be at your pace, but make sure that you practice continuously for a min at your pace. 1 min & n strokes/breaths make it 1 round. Perform 5 such rounds. Give sufficient pause between each rounds. 

     Nadi shodhana is also good. Name itself has shodhana in it ;-) Here again, repeat 5 times. 

Is this even possible? 

I will list my personal experience here. I am someone who has grown up eating non-veg. Even now, I cannot think of completely letting go of non-veg. Though the portions have come down, a complete letting go... I couldn't think of it. 

One thing that helped me was, chanting this to myself - 'Okkay... Its only this one meal that I am going veg." Small packets instead of the big package. This has worked even when I had to prepare beef at home. While preparing, I had told myself, I am going to have beef for lunch. But at lunch time, I was like... Okkay... I will eat veggies now & have beef later. 

Another thing is, you have to keep tricking your body. Never ever should you leave the stomach empty for long periods. It should be fed at regular intervals so that it doesn't feel hungry, uncontrollably hungry. My weak moment is when I get back home from office. I am a savage. I rampage the kitchen & gobble up a lot of junk. When I sensed this, I started having  butter milk/sugar cane juice/kappalandi muttai just before leaving the office. When I started doing that, I was in control when I reach home. 

The longest I have stuck with fruits & vegetables was 7 weeks. During that time, my body had toned down a lot. I had lost kgs & inches. And the icing on the cake??? No pimples during that time of the month.... Aaah! 

PS. 

This is a write up. End of story. Do not read between the line, especially with me as the center character. 

Karma Yoga!!

"Everyone in life serves a purpose..."

I finally found the reason why Kiddo is in my life...... To teach me Karma Yoga!!!!

Thanks to the patriarchal attitude of the society, it was drilled into me that Kiddo is never mine. I am merely the caretaker. I admit here that... This concept was bitter to me until I finally connected all the dots. Now I see it as.... The patriarchal attitude help me severe any attachment I had towards Kiddo. {Check}

Thanks to the growing teen in Kiddo, now I have reached a stage where I am doing things because I have to do it. You have no idea how much of self control is required for that. You feel like strangling yourself for bringing this upon you, but... you cannot do that. Nor can you strangle the child. So... Go on with your Karma... Do what is required. {Hey... that is another check mark!}

Now all that remains is... To not get affected by the outcome. Smile at the chaos & carry on with my personal journey.
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Aaaah!

Well.... I am not as far as I used to be... It is just a matter of time dear... matter of time...
Yes! Was trying to make sense out of the third chapter of Bhagavat-Gita
O:-)

Picture Courtesy : http://www.aananda.com/karma-yoga/

Where are you???

Disclaimer : I am toning this down to something I can relate to. Sage Patanjali (in his Yoga Sutras) was talking about how to reach that state of eternal bliss. The mere mortal that I am... I have no clue what this so-called state of eternal bliss is. So.... I am trying to connect it with my teeny-tiny-restrictive universe. I am sticking to the usage 'practice'. It could range from your plan to go walking daily to studies (for students, age no bar). 

Some background to what I am going to say. In verses prior to the one discussed here, Sage Patanjali talks about Samadhi. Everything about Samadhi was a total bouncer for me. But then verse 1.21 & 1.22 caught my attention. 

Tivra Samvegaanaam Asannaha (One can reach the goal if they show the desire & put in appropriate effort into it) 

Mridu Madhya Adhimaathratva Tataha Api Visheshaha (And... The desire & effort can be of three grades - Mild, medium & intense) 

This was the starting point for me - You need to analyze, understand and accept where you are with respect to your conviction & practice. Based on the above two verses, we can draw up a 3x3 matrix. 

From the look of it, the worst place a person can be at is when you have - All the time in the world for your practice, but absolutely 0 conviction in what you are doing (The Mild-Conviction-Intense-Practice space). We all know that person who literally slogs his __ out, but the effort never translates into anything. Imagine a situation where you are working day in & day out, but there are no results. 

And... Don't you think the best place to be at is.... Intense-Conviction-Mild-Practice???? If we can made great things happen with the least amount of effort....... Aaah! 

Now, once we figure out where we are, we can prioritize things and work towards moving to the best place in this matrix. 

So.... Where are you today?? 

Sources : 

     Patanjali Yoga Sutras - made easy by Dr Padiki Nagaraja Rao

     ww.swamij.com

108

Me : Should we give it a try? Lets not worry about the final count, just give it a try. Like this was an experiement?? Should we?
Kid1 : Okay
Kid 2 & 3 too agreed.

It was the day after Rathasapthami. I was leading an asana session for children. This conversation happened while I was explaining the significance of Rathasaptami. We just decided to give a try at 108 Surya Namaskar. Just a trial... A personal enquiry. The kids were never trained to do a 108. The aim was not to complete 108 rounds, but to look inside and find out.... How far we can go, Are we bound by our own limitations etc.

The result??? Ooooo... One completed 108, One came close to 90 and the other around 70. The smile on their faces... Extremely humbling experience :-)

Their happiness did inspire me to participate in the 108 conducted in our community. This wouldn't be the first time I am doing a 108. I know that I can still do it. I was not planning to spend time on something I already knew. But the smile on the children's face did inspire me to pick my mat & walk to the ground.

Kiddo too had promised to join me. When she picked her yoga mat, I had mentally prepared myself to listen to her wailing around 20th round. Well... She did surprise me by completing 108 without any complain. Okkay... According to her... 107.5. In her defense, she was tired towards the end. I had asked her to sit down until she is ready to continue. She did initially sit down, but the crowd's energy made her jump up & continue. So.... she completed her 107.5 & I my 108. This is to our first 108 :-)

Picture Courtesy : www.parents.com

Answers...

Me {puzzled... staring into the phone}: What has happened to him? 

Kiddo {in a matter of fact tone}: Ooh! He is bored. He has nothing to do - No TV, No Phone, No Nothing. So he is really bored. 

Now that explains a lot of things. 

Note to self : 

Surrender... with gratitude.... 

Picture Courtesy : blissyogaspa.wordpress.com

Aparigraha

I was explaining Yamas to the children. Skimming through the Yamas would be a better usage.

Me : Aparigraha! One of the interpretation is non-acceptance of gifts.
She {Even before I completed} : I know!! My mom refuses to celebrate my birthday for this reason - lot of gifts in the house.
Me {Sheepish} : Though our public statement might differ, I stand with your mother. I do not want to get into this party business.

Of course I used that example to explain Aparigraha from various angles :D


Picture Courtesy : chedyer.com

Inspiration can come from anywhere

He {gooey eyed}: What all can you do with your body. I am now inspired to take yoga sessions.

Hold your horses!!! Now listen to the complete story! Humph!

I had taken up a yoga challenge. Last few days, I had been taking videos of whatever asanas I was performing. Of course I shared these videos with my select few. This is the response I received from one of them.

It is interesting to know how little it takes to catch someone's attention. I was not doing any advanced asanas. I am not someone who is into advanced asanas. I work with basics. Yet.... was able to instill the idea into someone.

:-)

Picture Courtesy : goqii.com

Vikalpah

Shabda Jnana Anupati Vastu Shunyo Vikalpah 

When we imagine an object in our mind just by listening to some words, then it is called Vikalpa

                - Patanjali Yoga Sutras - made easy by Dr. Padiki Nagaraja Rao 

Vikalpah is mentioned by Sage Patanjali as one of the activities of the mind. Vikalpa refers to the knowledge we store in our mind based only on the words we hear. Vikalpa refers to unreal & non-existent objects. These impressions are created within our mind, using our imagination.

What is the source of such an unreal impression???? It is nothing but the impressions we have already created. The ones that spawned from other impressions. The ones that we constructed based on the words we heard (or overheard). 

Note : This explanation of mine is limited to my understanding of the writer's interpretation AND limited by my personal experiences and how I relate the theory with my personal experiences. Many times in my life, I have allowed myself to be carried away by activities caused by some insignificant shabdhas (words). The results???? I have burned couple of bridges - both internal & external ones. Thankfully, not all the bridges were of the same built. Some did withstand the fire, while some could be repaired. 

Be attentive to the variations caused my the Shabdhas. Be mindful about what is important to you. 

Uff! Yeh Pineal Gland!!!

Pineal Glad degeneration!! 

This is what Swami Sathyananda Saraswati repeats in his book 'Yoga Education for Children'. Well, it is too late for me now. But... May this article help you in aiding your decisions with your children. 

"The pineal is a tiny gland located in the medulla oblongata of the brain. In yoga, it is closely linked with Ajna Chakra, the seat of wisdom & intuition. When the child is about eight years of age, the pineal begins to degenerate. This decay corresponds to the beginning of sexual maturation, precipitated by the release of hormones from the pituitary gland." 

In another place, he says... 

"In yoga, the pineal gland is said to be the physical correlate of Ajna chakra. Mystics & occultists refer to it as the third eye & the philosophers call it the supermind. The pineal gland is very active in children, but by the time they reach the age of eight or ten it begins to calcify, and in elderly people it has little or no role to play in life. 

This is very unfortunate because in yoga the pineal gland is considered to be the controlling and monitoring station in the brain." 

And then again...... 

"When the pineal gland starts to degenerate, the pituitary gland comes into action and the emotions shoot up. This is the reason why so many children become emotionally unbalanced and disturbed during their pre-adolescent and adolescent years. The pineal gland has a balancing influence on the activities of the brain, which keeps the whole brain in receptive order. Therefore, I found that those children in whom the pineal could still be commanded or monitored were much more receptive than those whose pineal gland was no longer active." 

For those who still have the chance.... Start early for your child..... :-) 

Picture Courtesy : www.trueactivist.com

What is in the Order?

He {wide eyed}: But thats the last section. When did you get time to go through the entire set?
Me {sheepishly}: I started from the end

We both exchange a warm smile & then burst out laughing...
He continued.... You should do more of Shirashasana.

:-):-):-):-)





Picture Courtesy : fuckyeahpotterphotography.tumblr.com

Connections

Scene 2:
He : It is my birthday too... No wonder we get along easily.

Scene 1:
Another He : See... Thats another thing that connects us. We both are into piercing.

I just couldn't help thinking.. Do you really need to find the whys behind these connections?

And then He makes me wonder more on these lines...

"The moment you feel the connection from your side, just know that you are already connected."
                   - The Yogasara Upanishad, A commentary by HHSSRS

Picture Courtesy : www.jingluostores.com

Subtle Matter

"The subtler you go, the more difficult it becomes to express, the more difficult to describe."
                   - The Yogasara Upanishad, A commentary by HHSSRS






Thihahahahahahahahahahahaha ;-)

Picture Courtesy : tausifstoryteller.blogspot.in

Prathyahara

Prathyahara - elimination of the unwanted aspects in life or removal of the distractions

As read from Yoga Sudha, May 2014 edition.






Picture Courtesy : www.yogajournal.com

Manthra for Lost

She {in our WhatsApp group}: What is the manthra for finding lost items?

And I go... Whaaaaaat? There is manthra for finding lost items?? Why don't you go in search of it??? Well... maybe I should start reciting it to find me!!!!

Psst! I did find one such manthra in YouTube!!






Picture Courtesy : This picture was edited by a friend of mine for my personal use. Originally from post - Lost

Silent Conversations

I meet him as I was stepping out of a wonderful talk. We occupy our place in the nearest park bench. After a few mins, I still hadn't come down to the real world. That was when I sensed him make a move to start a conversation... And I go...

"Ssssh! Lets just sit & have a silent conversation"

He gave a wonderful smile, nodded his head in agreement and we just sat there for..... I do not know for how long... We just sat there...

That was when the second he walks towards us. And I go again... This time... in a hushed tone...

"Ssssssh.... We are having a silent conversation...."

I got an amazing mile long smile & he stepped away...

:-*

Picture Courtesy : robertmccusker.blogs.com

Colors??

Some one shared this in our WhatsApp groups - The colors for Dussera!

What struck me was... This color scheme too starts with Red...

Red!

The color of the Root chakra... The muladhara... The foundation......... 

Classic Trick

He {My TTC instructor to Kiddo} : Who are you?
Kiddo {Shrugs & points to me}: Her daughter!
He {With his Krishna smile}: Is that your identity? Her daughter?

Of course!! I was wearing my evil grin.

This is the standard trick question. I am yet to find a person who answers this question with all the clarity.

But then.... Who am I?????????????????

Picture Courtesy : helpingotherstransform.com