“Do not refine yourself for yoga, let yoga refine you.” Master Sree has reiterated this throughout our practice. I wish I can put into words how this statement holds true in my life, especially over the course of consistent yoga practice for the entire month of December. We are all
In my line of work, we often speak about growth pillars, white space expansions and business targets. It really got me thinking – am I also growing, expanding and developing alongside with the business? What are some of the growth and guiding pillars that will allow myself to flourish? The
“Remember to Breathe. It is after all, the secret to life.” I had never thought much about the importance of breathing and the breaths we took. Truly and with all honesty. Even before, when I was taking yoga classes casually, I do remember the teachers reminding us to breathe when
(No) Thanks to social media, everyone and their yoga buddy seems bent on nailing some fanciful asana or its variations. “I’m working towards xx arm balance/ inversion/ funky something etc”. Today’s Power flow, Vinyasa and other themed classes are often planned around a peak pose, feeding the desire to glam
“Study thy self, discover the divine.” – Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, 2.44. In the 8 limbs of yoga, Pantanjali asks that we trust our true nature is what we are seeking for. The Sanskrit term, Svadhyaya, translates to “self-study”; “Sva” means “own” or “self”, and “adhyaya” means “learning” or “studying”. Look within,
via GIPHY Inhale deeeeeep. Exhale. Breathing is so important in yoga (and actually almost all kinds of sports). However, what sets yoga apart from other sports is the correlation between the breath and movement. The breath guides your movement and sets the pace; every inhalation and exhalation is synchronised with
“Study broadly, inquire probingly, contemplate carefully, distinguish clearly, practice sincerely.” Confucius, The Doctrine of the Mean Writings on the wall [1] I don’t want to be dishonest here and overstate any benefits I’ve gained from classroom study of that assortment of badly translated aphorisms, temporally/ linguistically/ culturally mispositioned
Random cool tattooed yogi [1] First world problems, I know. What with all the world’s best doctors and scientists hard at work developing links between yoga and its effectiveness for use in treatments of REAL pathologies, it’s granted that more inspired topics are to be regulated to the
In Yoga philosophy we learnt the eight limbs of yoga, asht-anga, are yamas (abstentions), niyamas (lifestyle observances), asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing), pratyahara (withdrawal of senses), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (absorption into the Divine). The goal of yoga is self-realisation, which in some sense is freedom. All of it
One of my key recent learnings has been Patanjali’s Eight Limbs of Yoga. The Eight Limbs are: Yama (Restraints) Niyama (Observances) Asana (Posture) Pranayama (Breath Control) Pratyahara (Withdrawal of the Senses) Dharana (Concentration) Dhyana (Meditation) Samadhi (Pure Contemplation) Each limb provides useful guidance on its own, but collectively they provide
