How to Cope with Anxiety: Covid 19 & Uncertainty

by

Kirti Tarang Pande

Facebook| Instagram| Twitter| YouTube

What will make you more anxious; uncertainty of a physical pain or a promise of the physical pain?

In a study, participants who knew that they were going to get an electric shock for sure felt calmer.  Whereas, the participants who were told that there are 50% chance that you may get an electric shock but there are 50% chance that you may not, felt more anxious and agitated. Evidently, uncertainty causes more anxiety than inevitable pain.

On any other day, this information would have surprised many of us. Not today. As we all face the uncertain times of Covid 19, teamed up with news of lay offs and salary deductions; we have first hand experience of what uncertainty can do to someone's mental health. Anxiety today is one the most prevalent mental health disorders. That's why,

mental health researchers like Olivia Remes of the University of Cambridge, argue that treatments such as psychotherapy and medication often result in poor outcome and high rates of relapses. 

What psychotherapy and medications are failing to achieve, can Yoga reach there?

What equips Yoga to deal with anxiety - one of the most prevalent mental health disorders today?

Well, it's the fact that Yoga, doesn't use the word 'disorder'. The word that Yoga uses is 'vritti'. Sanskrit word, 'vritti' means a whirlpool. Yoga doesn't look at someone suffering from anxiety as a sick person. In the eyes of Patanjali Yogsutram (treatise on yoga), anxiety is a whirlpool arising in a person's mind. Yes, a whirlpool is powerful and chaotic. It causes destruction, but it doesn't have to. Can't there be a way to harness the energy of the whirlpool? Isn't it possible that instead of destruction, the same energy can be used for creating something meaningful? Yoga says, "Yes there is!"

For this we need to understand what is this undercurrent? Before we devise a cope up strategy, it's important to understand why uncertainty due to Covid 19 leads to anxiety:

What  causes anxiety?

According to neuroscience, it's because of our survival instinct. Our brain is constantly updating the world around us. It's segregating the safe from the unsafe. When it encounters uncertainty it starts making up all sorts of untested stories hundreds of times a day because to our mind, uncertainty equals danger. 

Now, the question is, today when all of us are facing uncertainty due to Covid 19, why some are suffering from anxiety and some are not? Why are some finding it difficult to cope with this anxiety and some are not?

According to yoga (Brihat Yogi Yajnavalkya Smriti), it is because of Vata Dosha. 

Vata is primarily ether in substance and air in motion. When it is disturbed in our body it causes mental and nervous disorders by giving a chaotic energy to the thoughts that are moving in the space of our mind. However, same Vata when is well-aligned becomes life nurturing force.

In yoga lore, this is explained by example of Hanuman. He was a monkey, naughty, jumping here there but when he focused himself on Ram, he became the most powerful creature. One, who could jump across an ocean, lift up a mountain and then fly across a country with it… In essence, think of the strongest superhero that you can and Hanuman is stronger and immortal too!! He did not get stung by a spider. The potential was in him, he unlocked it by being focused on a meaningful and productive object.

That's what we are going to do. We are going to cope with the anxiety of uncertainty during Covid 19 by calming the disturbances of Vata in us and then focusing our Vata energy on something meaningful and productive.

How to channel Anxiety causing mechanism towards something meaningful and productive:

Here are the 7 specific ways of doing it :

1. Calming the anxiety causing disturbances of Vata:

There are certain yogic asanas, which can remove excess of Vata, there by, helping us in coping with anxiety due to uncertainty. 

Caution: This practice should not be exerting or exhausting but quiet and gentle. (स्थिर सुखम, Patanjali Yogsutram 46)

Best time for the practice: Yoga recommends us to do this before 6am. During this time the natural state of our body is most conducive for calming the disturbances of Vata.

How and which asanas to practice:

1. The asanas practice should always start with the right mental attitude.  So first put the mind and emotion in a calm resting place. For this, sit in Siddhasana or Vajrasana whichever you're most comfortable in. Close your eyes and bring your awareness to your breath. Feel the sensations of your breath and when you find that your breath has slowed down and deepened ; you know you're ready for the practice.

   
   

   

   Siddhasana

   
   

   

   Vajrasana 

   
   
2. Vata accumulates in joints so rotate all the joints from toes to your neck 10 times each. This means your toes, ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingers and neck. Remember, no rushing, be gentle. Try to keep your awareness on the joints that you're rotating.
   
   
3. You must have noticed that I have skipped the spine in the list of joints. There's a reason for that. It's the seat of anxiety and if not done in the right fashion it triggers fight/flight response. Thus, instead of helping ourselves, we will be hurting ourselves. So please, don't be aggressive with your spine but be extra gentle here. Start with awakening the spine with Matsyendrasna. It soothes our nervous system. However, this happens only when the breath is full. If the breath is reduced even a little, it will increase the anxiety. Now the back bends. Do Bhujangasana and Shalabhasana; these small backbends are safest to practice. Please in a state of anxiety refrain from complete backbends, irrespective of your flexibility level. A slight mistake in technique, or deviation from right away of breathing or miniscule rushing can worsen your mental state. Now, back bends should always be complemented with forward bend. Shashank asana is the  best for immediate relief and producing calm and stillness in mind. If you want to go deeper in cultivating stability and calmness of mind you can add Vrikshasana.
   
   
   
   

   

   Ardha Matsyendrasna Asana
   Image courtesy: Yogicwayoflife.com
   
   
   
   
   

   

   Bhujangasana 

   
   

   

   Shalabhasana 

   
   
   

2. Pranayam

   Practice left nostril breathing. Do it for 21 times, it will soothe the anxiety.

3. Practice focusing:

I am not asking you to meditate. How can you meditate if you're anxious? Meditation is listening to the song of the soul. When we are anxious all we have is a cacophony. I am asking a you to just sit for 5 minutes and with your eyes softly focusing at an object. This focus will help us in converting the chaotic Vata into life energy of Prana. (Om pranasyedam vashe sarvam

Tridive yath pratishtitam: Prashna Upnishad.)

Now we need an object for concentration. Yoga recommends following objects for this purpose : Sun, yellow light of a ghee lamp, visualizing an image of or using a picture of a mountain, a lake, an ocean, lotus or rose, or something simple like  gold or saffron color. You can pick any one of these objects that you find easiest to focus on and stick to it for at least 21 days. For me, it's thevrising sun and when I don't have access to that I light a ghee lamp.

4. Don't rely on temporary distractions 

The above three practices were what we do on the yoga mat in the morning but that's just the rehearsal for the dance of life. Warm ups are essential for any dancer, but can a dancer say I will do only warm ups and not dance. The practice on the mat is the warm up, the following steps are the actual dance. It doesn't matter how well one does warm ups,the merit of a dancer lies in the dance, so pay attention :

Don't fill your days with distractions, they lead to denial. Denial gives an illusion of coping with anxiety, when in reality, it's just creating a ticking time bomb. Having fun is good, it's important as long as we are not acting as an ostrich and labeling it as having fun.

Our next step will help us do that 

5. Practice mindfulness to Identity and tune out unproductive thoughts 

I am not asking you to sit on a mat and practice mindfulness of breath. This won't help you. You need mindfulness of actions and thoughts (Gita 6.2). Outer is easier than inner, so start with mindfulness of actions. Whenever you're engaging in an activity ask yourself what's my intent here - to create distraction or there's something productive that can come from this? An activity itself isn't good or bad, it's our intent that makes it this way.

Next level is to check your thoughts, ask the same question is this thought productive or unproductive. If it is unproductive, throw it away, your mind isn't a dustbin. You can't prevent thoughts from coming, but you can choose what you do with them. That's in your power of  discretion. Exercise it - ask yourself, can I do something about it? If the answer is yes, do it. If the answer is no then it's a trash thought, throw it away.

6. Develop habits and routines 

As we discussed earlier, by giving a focus to our Vata we can transform the anxiety inducing energy into life affirming force. One way in which yoga recommends doing it is through establishing a routine. No routine is good or bad as long you have a routine. Don't make the routine too rigid, it won't be practical. For instance, I have 4am to 7am fixed for my asana, pranayam, meditation practice. I have my number of meals and times of meals fixed 8am, 1pm, 6:30pm. I have my bedtime fixed at 10. That's it. Any deviation from this is sacrilege for me, and for the  rest of the day, I have freedom of choice. Another easy way of fixing a routine is suggested by Dharma Shastra. It says that assign your mornings for self growth, afternoons in pursuing material comforts and evenings for pleasure. Yoga also suggests some Vata releasing activities that we can incorporate in our routine like giving an oil massage with sesame oil to oneself before shower. Incorporating root vegetables. Using calming herbs like ashwagandha, tulsi and triphala. Avoiding all animal products especially milk and curd for three months.

7. Focus on gratitude 

I often see people saying, “I am thankful for this and that”. Some people write it too. That's one way of practicing Gratitude, just not the Yogic way. Your eyes see the food, hand puts food in the mouth, tongue takes the taste which gets our digestive juices going, teeth chews it, stomach digests it and transforms it into the nourishment that our body needs. Now imagine our hand saying thank you to the stomach, does it make sense? Or eyes saying, dear hands you do so much work, you rest today, I will put the food in the mouth. Does it make sense? Yoga says that the best way to practice gratitude is by performing your role well. So, at night when you go to the bed think of one thing that you were grateful for today and then examine what was your role in that. There is always one. Then think how you can do that better tomorrow. 

Happy practicing :)

Suggested Reading

Naysa Tantra and Yoga Nidra

Full Moon Yoga, why bother?

-by
Kirti Tarang Pande
Facebook| Instagram| Twitter

Science says that moon is our planet's satellite. As bright as it may seem, it's merely a reflection of sun. Poor thing doesn't even have its own light. This makes one wonder why in spirituality so much importance is attached to moon? Why the yogis and sufis spend nights meditating on moon? Why tantrics schedule their powerful practices for full moon and new moon? Why Buddhist monks keep precepts?

For a moment, let's set aside what science tells us and connect with what we experience. Have you ever felt intense delight when looking at a full moon, or suddenly felt love rising in you, a sudden urge of passion? Has it ever been that you were feeling lonely or sad for no apparent reason and when you peeped out of the window, it was full moon?

In a month, there are two full moons. Once dedicate a month to connect with not what you have told but what you feel on Full Moons. Simply observe your thoughts and emotions. After all, yogis are not followers but investigator. 

Upon conducting this investigation, you will find that the moon doesn't give or take anything. It simply elevates what we already have. If you're joyful, it makes you ecstatic. If you're sad, it will make you depressed. If you're meditative, it will deepen your spiritual practice. Siddartha became Buddha on a full moon night, didn't he?

Therefore, it's only common sense to mark this day in calendar. So that, on this day we can consciously connect with the qualities that we desire in us. If something has to heightened, it might as well be the thing that brings forth our well-being.    

On contrary, if we carry on with our day with usual absent mindedness we end up strengthening the shackles of our compulsiveness.

It is for this reason, you will find that in both yogic and Buddhist cultures fasts are kept to purify the body on Full Moon days. Precepts of love, compassion and kindness are kept. Spending time on primping the body is avoided and day is spent culturing the emotions.

It is common for yogis to capitalize on the power of this day. In fact, most yoga teachers don't teach on this day. They keep this day to go deeper in their personal practice. At Home Yogis' Home, we feel differently though. We take extra sessions. It is my personal belief that utilizing the power of this day to benefit others is more meaningful than serving my own cause.

Fuil moon is the night when oceans rise. We are 70% water, we too have potential to rise. If only we are aware and we are willing to go through a process for this.

The Process: Full Moon Yoga Flow

Step 1: Chandra Namaskar

(2, 11, 20 or 29 rounds)

 Namaskar Mudra- Exhale- Eyes Closed

1.Tadasana- Inhale- Antar Drishti

2.Ardha Kati Chakrasana-  Exhale- Hastargra Drishti

3. Tadasana- Inhale- Nasagra Drishti

4. Uthita Trikonasana- Exhale- Hasthagra Drishti

5. Ardh Chandrasana- Exhale- Hastagra Drishti

6. Ashwasanchalan- Inhale- Nasagra Drishti

7. Ajneyasana- Inhale- Antar Drishti

8. Malasana- Exhale- Nasagra Drishti

9. Ajneyasana

10. Ashwasanchaln

11..Ardha Chandrasana

12. Uthita Trikonasana

13. Tadasana

14. Ardha Kati Chakrasana

15. Tadasana

Namaskar

Since in yogic wisdom sound is a source of creation, music becomes a medium to align with the rhythm of the cosmos. Following this tradition, Raga Abhogi is the music assigned to Chandra Namaskar. So, if you want to practice the sequence of Chandra Namaskar with music, pick any rendition of Raga Abhogi.

Step 2: Chandra Pranayams

"All that exists in the three heavens rest in control of Prana"
- Prashna Upnishad II.3

Prana is our primal life force. It moves in our being through a system of energy channels. These energy channels are called Nadis in yogic terminology. These nadis exist in our subtle body, which is our mind-prana field. There are seventy two thousand nadis in our mind-body field.

Lunar nadi is one such nadi that determines the flow of our primal energy. This Lunar nadi is called Ida in yogic vocabulary. It has feminine and cooling energy. This implies that it's the functioning of this nadi which makes us intuitive, creative, visionary and open our hearts to love.

It is this love that provides the fuel that sustains our spiritual fire.

So, chandra pranayams are the techniques that open our love window. No body puts it more beautifully than Rumi:

"Close the language door
and open the love window.
The moon won't use the door,
only the window."

The two Chandra Pranayams are

a. Chandra Anoloum
Close the right nostril. Breathe in and out through left.

b. Chandra Bhedan
Breathe in through left, breathe out through right

Practice 11 rounds of each. During this process allow your awareness to rest on the left side of the body, the lunar side- wherever the awareness goes, prana follows.

Step 3: Shrim Chanting

Sit in cross legged position.
Hands in Kamala mudra.
Close your eyes.
Behind the closed curtains of your eyelids there's a vast space called Chiddakash. Visualize bright moon here.

Recite 11 times with exhalation:

"Om Shrim Namah"
Shrim is a mantra with very pleasing lunar quality.
It is a mantra that floods our senses with love, devotion, beauty, delight and divine grace. It gives us the good things of life, including health to our body, fertility, rejuvenation and steadiness to our mind and emotions. However, the best part is that it is one of the softest and safest mantra to use. Just keep one thing in mind that since it is a lunar mantra it lowers our body temperature. For this reason, I strongly recommend that stick to 11 repetitions, don't overdo.

Step 4: Chakra Meditation

Even you don't have a conducive settings or guidance to undergo this process, don't fret. Simply spend the day consciously cultivating loving kindness first towards yourself and then with everyone you come in contact with.

Happy Poornima :)


Further Reading:

Lunar Eclipse and Yoga

Udhyan Bandh: Yoga's Cheat Trick

Imagine enjoying a beautiful morning next to a river, reading book, simply breathing and cutting belly fat at the same time?

What if I tell you it's true? Not just this, but you can massage internal organs, improve digestion, blood circulation and release stress too!

Allow me to introduce Udhyan Bandh, a powerful Yogic technique for spiritual upliftment through activating Manipura Chakra and raising the Pranic every up. This spiritual tool has all the above-mentioned physical benefits too. As long as you don't do it with a stomach full of food.

So here's how to do Udhyan Bandh-

Step 1: Exhale and empty you belly.
Step 2: Hold the exhale and pull the belly in. Imagine your belly button is touching your spine.
Step 3: Hold as per your comfort level.
Step 4: Release and repeat as many times as you like.

Note: You might feel pain in lower back as a beginner. It's perfectly natural.

Spine should be erect at all times.

It's better to practice in Padamasana

The traditional and textbook  method is to do this after asanas and before Pranayams. In Vinyasa tradition Surya Namaskar is practiced with this bandh and Ujjayi breath.

Nag Panchami, Nagas and Patanjali

Here's Why Every Yogi Must Know The Link Between Them

-by
Kirti Tarang Pande
Facebook| Instagram| Twitter

Have you ever noticed that logo of modern medicine has two snakes intertwined, just like the symbolism of yoga (representing Ida, Pingala wrapped around Sushma)?

Anyway, those who know me are aware of how vocal I am about protecting snakes. They think I am drawn towards them. Little they know it's the other way around.

The home I was born in was next to a lake full of blooming lotuses. Snakes were therefore our regular visitors. My family would simply escort them out to grassland nearby. A place where they wouldn't cross path with humans. We never hurt the snakes and they reciprocated the same gesture.

The story continues till this day. I have had various homes in various cities since. They all have one thing in common- serpent visitors. Even the home that I had in concrete jungle called Bombay! In fact, the garden of my previous home in Pune was inhabited by three of them. One was a copper colored cobra, another was a black colored cobra and third was special. It was a gift to me by my dog. 

One night my dog, a golden retriever, retrieved a green color viper! He was standing near stairs with tail of the viper in his mouth. Shockingly, the viper didn't dig his venomous fangs in my dog. Thankfully, my dog had the wisdom to keep its teeth off too. He was holding it in the soft part that's typical of a retriever mouth.

You see snakes respond to our thought processes. If you are scared and make sudden movements, the snake will be scared too. Either its flight or fight that follows fear. If snake has opportunity to flea, it will. If it's cornered then it will fight with the only weapon that it has.

However, if you are calm, the snake will be calm too. A student of mine was so meditative in Vrikasana, that a snake came and coiled at her leg. The student remained calm and after some minutes it left. Haven't you seen, snake cuddle Shiva? They coiled around his neck, weaved in his man bun.

What's the point I am trying to make here? 

Snakes are sensitive to vibrations. Vibrations help them survive. They don't have ears. You must have noticed this. Also, that their entire body is connected with earth, as they crawl. This makes them perceptive of energies. They are drawn to certain energies. 

What is energy that draws snakes? How does it connects with Patanjali?

Thanks to Einstein, we know that  the universe consists of various wormholes. Through these worm holes or channels, subtle currents flow.These currents are termed as Nagas (snakes)  in yogic texts. To understand why yogis chose this particular metaphor, we need to understand worm holes.

The concept of worm holes came as a result of Einstein, Flamm and Rosen's  works on General Theory of Relativity. Don't let the name dropping scare you. It's easy to understand. Worm hole is a passage through space-time continuum. Its USP is that it creates shortcuts for long journeys across the universe. Ah! I caught your attention now. Therefore, this is the time when I must caution you. These wormholes come with dangers of sudden collapse, high radiation and fatal contact with exotic matter.

Much like snake, isn't it. A meters long snake rolls itself into a small coil. The snake venom can kill you but can also be used as a drug against heart attack. Also, in ancient India snakes were found everywhere. So, the yogis thought, 'Why not use snake as metaphor? To make it approachable to a common man, let's  make this simple. Let's use a metaphor that people come across daily." There couldn't have been a better metaphor than Naga (snakes) for Kundalini (the fundamental force).

This is the reason why Patanjali is symbolized as half-snake. His understanding of seen and unseen life processes was mystifying. It was apparent to people that the Kundalini fundamental force is him. At least, partly. As I have discussed in my previous article that one can't have completely awakened Kundalini and hold on to this physical body at the same time. So, they gave him a half-snake body.

 But why Naga Panchami?

Naag Panchami comes in the month of Sravan- monsoon. It's a month dedicated for worshiping Shiva- Naga Bhushan. This also a month when rain water floods the homes of snakes and they seek shelter in ours.

Therefore, in ancient Indian culture this month was set aside to honor snakes. One can't honor and hurt something at the same time?

Why honor the snakes?

Snakes are called farmers' friends. They eat mice and other rodents that hurt the harvest. India was an agricultural economy. It was a simple treaty. You protect our crops, we protect you.

This the talk in materialistic terms, which may not be relevant to all of us today. However, its spiritual significance can't be ignored.

Spiritual significance of honoring snakes:

On Nag Panchami we honour all forms of Nagas (snake). Bowing to an ordinary snake or its image is just a metaphor for surrendering to Kundalini (transformation force within us) and to Lord Shiva (master of all the manifested and unmanifested energies of the universe)

What not to do in Naga Panchami?

Offer milk to snakes: I have no clue which Pundit started it, but none of Vedas mention offering milk to snake. Anywhere. Moreover, snakes don't like it. Every time I had put a bowl of milk out for a snake, it has gone in opposite direction. My dog is the one who would polish it off. 

Don't give money to snake charmers. Snakes hate captivity. They don't eat in captivity. By paying to snake charmers, you're bank rolling a business model of torture. Moreover, Kamasutra strictly warns against it. The curse of a tortured snake is bad for sex life- that's what Kamasutra says.

Don't pour milk on an image or sculpture of snake/Shiva. There are children in our country dying of starvation. The milk that you're pouring is also food of cow's child. Please don't waste it. If I take your child's food, make your child starve to rub that food over your body, will you pleased? Then, why do you think that it will peace Shiva. The milk of your love, devotion and dedication is all that Shiva craves for and rewards for.

What to do on Nagar Panchami?

• Let go of your fear of snakes. Please don't imprint your fears on your children. We must understand that fear is root of all our misdoings. Don't believe me? Investigate for yourself. Moreover, fear hails from ignorance. So understand that snake are not interested in hurting you. So many people die in road accidents. Everyone I know has fallen off a vehicle at least once. Yet, I don't see them screaming at the sight of a car. Then why snake? How many snake bite events you have personally witnessed? Most of the Indian snakes are not even poisonous.
• Take time out to meditate on Ajnaya Chkara- eyebrow center. Sit in a comfortable posture with spine erect and surrender your awareness to the Ajnaya Chakra. Don't concentrate or focus, you will have a headache. Just as you offer flower at feet of a deity, pour milk at Shiva, with same emotions offer your awareness to Ajnaya Chakra.
• Understand that Nagas (snakes) represent energy current. This current has potential to transform us and hurt us. It depends how we use it.
  Electronic energy ruling our era of Informational Technology is also an energy. If ancient yogis were alive today, they would have put it in category of Nagas.  We must be careful that we are using it for our transformation and not becoming a slave to it.

Suggested Readings:

The other name of Kundalini

Five Tantric Ways of Success

How can we use the gravitational effects of Guru Poornima & Lunar Eclipse for our benefit?

-by
Kirti Tarang Pande
Facebook| Instagram| Twitter

Today, on July 27, 2018, we are experiencing the longest eclipse of 21st century. In India, the eclipse will begin at 44 minutes past 10 tonight and will continue till 58 minutes past 4, tomorrow morning. It will be at its peak from 1 am to 2:45 am of July 28, 2018. Tonight is also a night when Mars will be closest to earth in 15 years. It's going to be an astronomical spectacle. Luckily, Pune, where I am today, is has a skyline covered with clouds. I am saying 'luckily' because for a stargazer like me, it would  have been difficult for me  to tear my eyes off the sky and look inwards. However, this is how we reap the benefits of this day, by turning inwards.

Before, I tell you how, I am going to share the significance of the two phenomena to empower you to carve your own path of how max out on spiritual benefits of the day.

Significance of Guru Poornima:

This is the day we celebrate the birth of Veda Vyasa. We all know him as the writer of Mahabharata. Now, contrary to popular belief, Veda Vyasa isn't a person. It's a title given to someone who has gained the wisdom of all the Vedas and the ability to share with masses in a way they can understand, assimilate and imply it in their life and its situations.

So far, there have been eight Veda Vyasa. They all became worthy of the title on this day. My tantra teacher, an unnamed Aghori, told me that the gravitational pull of the planetary movements on this day creates an energy field which is highly conducive to a spiritual practice. So, whatever you results you reap in any other day throw practice, today they will be multiplied. 

So, this day not only multiplies effect of our actions but also has the right settings for unlocking our highest potential. 

How can we benefit from this?

Lets, recap there are two things that Guru Poornima can do:

1. Multiply the effects of our actions

2. Unlock our highest potential

For point no. 1, its simple do the right thing. Don't react but act. Before reacting to any situation, pause, just for a second, contemplate the best response to the situation and then act on it. 

Now, the question arises, how to find the best response. I will share a trick that I follow. I visualize myself in this world as a hamster on a wheel. The wheel is there to exercise the hamster so that it stays healthy. All the situations that arise in my life is just to exercise my mind so that it can be healthy. So,  whenever I encounter a seemingly unpleasant situation, I always ask myself- How can I get maximum exercise from this. When someone is shouting at us it is so easy to shout back. We can do it as reflex, without involving our mind. On the other hand, if we try to practice compassion for someone yelling at us, that's when we are exercising our mind, strengthening it. If we do this today, the strength derived is multiplied.

As for point no. 2, it's easy. Sit back, close to your eyes. Calm your mind by turning the focus on breathe. Once the ripples of mind are gone embark on a journey of 'Atmashakshatkar'- who am I?

Lunar Eclipse

Simplest way to understand its effect on us is by looking at the moon. The Lunar Cycle, for which a moon takes 28 days, its journey from full moon to no moon and back to full moon, on an eclipse it happens in a matter of couple of hours. 

In chemistry lab, to fasten an experiment we would add a catalyst. Lunar eclipse it that catalyst. It fasten and accelerate things. That's why your grand ma asks you not to eat during the eclipse. The process of decomposition of food fastens. It rots before our body can throw it out. Eating food during eclipse won't kill you, or bring bad luck, it will just have the same effects on your body mind and emotions as eating rotten food will have.

I am not a fan of treating my body like a dustbin, so I usually stop eating four hours before an eclipse. Fortunately, today the eclipse starts at 22:44, so if I close my plate at 6pm, I am good.

How can we benefit from this?

By slowing down. Since, the eclipse accelerates , heightens everything, it includes the loss of our physical and pranic energy. The best way to counter is to sit down, turn the awareness inwards because where ever the awareness goes, the pran follows.

 Caution:

Emotions is one the many things that both Guru Poornima and Lunar Eclipse heighten and cause to overflow. So whatever you have been feeling yesterday, joy or anger will be more intense today. I recommend, take a break. Whatever emotion you feel today, tell yourself- "Very well, this is not real. I will revisit it tomorrow. If I feel the same way about it, I will then take an action on it."

All the best :)

This will happen if you do fruit fast for a day

by

Kirti Tarang Pande

Facebook| Instagram| Twitter

'Charaka Samhita' , the handbook of Ayurveda, is credited to be written by Charaka. So, it is a popular misconception that Charaka was the author of the text. No, Charaka is the title given to him. Charaka, is a Sanskrit word meaning 'the wanderer'. The author was a 'wanderer'. 

This is important here, because this gives us insight into 'why Ayurveda says, what it says'. 

Through his wandering in nature, he discovered the most primitive, easiest and simplest way to have longevity, good health, healing, harmony with nature and most importantly, harmony with oneself- The Fruit Diet.

Since past two years, I am having fruits for dinner daily. Once a year I opt for three months of complete fruit diet. The results have been wonderful, it's not just the body, I love what it has a done to my mind and emotions. 

Therefore, I request everyone to take time out once a week to go on an all fruit diet. Here are the main reasons why:

1. Increases immunity:

By making the body alkaline, it increases our immunity. Just a google search away you will find researches showing how diseases can't survive in an alkalized body. You will also find the following listed as benefits of having a body with right PH balance-

• Deeper more restful sleep
• Reduction of candida overgrowth
• Increased mental acuity or alertness
• Enhanced memory and cognition
• Easier weight loss
• Increased energy
• Better bone health
• Reduced muscle wasting
• Proper cell functioning
• Healthy tissues
• Mitigation of chronic diseases
• Improved cardiovascular health

While there are many ways to alkalize one's body, eating fruits is the most do-able one. It doesn't matter how busy your life is, it doesn't matter how much 'on the go' you are; you can always dig your teeth in an apple or peel a banana.

2. Allows the body to regenerate:

For our body fruits are the easiest to digest, assimilate and eliminate. This means when you are on afruit diet, it's a day off for your internal organs. They are not busy trying to digest your food, your immune system isn't occupied in flushing the gluten out of intestines, so they have time to do more meaningful things, like detoxing, cleansing the digestive track, rejuvenate and regenerate healthy cells.

3. Best anti-aging ever:

This you know already, fruits are rich in antioxidants which slow down aging. This is so much better than expensive, chemical creams, because we become younger from inside.

4. Makes you more joyful:

It is my experience that fruit diet made me more alive, active, happy, peaceful and more in control of my emotions.

5. Will bring you prosperity

Natures works on the principle of give and take. According to Food and Agriculture department of United Nations,  fruit diet reduces our environmental footprint, and it's a significant contribution in conserving the nature. You think about nature, nature will remember you and reward you. Not to forget the Good Karma you get by saving the world!

How to do fruit diet right way?

1. Start in a sustainable fashion

Follow a pattern that's sustainable as a life long ritual, come rain or shine. So, that would be weekly fruit fasts. Just one day, every week, only fruit diet. It's easy, it's do-able right?

2. Pick right day

It's important to make the weekly, food diet ritual sustainable. I like Mondays for an all fruit diet. This is because:

• I like to start the new week on a positive note, I am doing something good for my body and for the environment
• The cleanses the sins of weekends
• Mondays have least chances of having a social commitment of dinners and lunches etc.
• Monday, is a day of Shiva- the father of yoga. Being a yogi, this day has great spiritual significance in my life. Fasting in the name of Shiva, facilitates my growth as a yogi

3. Only three meals a day

The idea fruit fast is to the take load off our body so that it gets a chance to rejuvenate and regenerate. This is not going to happen, if we keep giving it food to digest. So, just have three meals breakfast, lunch and diner. No mid meal snacking. Yes, the cup of tea, green tea, coffee, a bunch of dry fruits that's snacking. Anything other than water is snacking.

4. Stay hydrated

Sip water every 15 minutes. This way our neuro-system gets a steady supply of electrolytes and we don't feel weak. Please, don't think that guzzling litres of water in morning will help your cause because:

a. It will not result in steady supply of electrolytes

b. Tax your kidneys. Giving them a bulk to process is just the opposite of giving them a rest day.

5. Pick a mono fruit, instead of a platter

Just like nature made each one of us unique, it made every fruit unique too. This means to digest different kinds of fruits, our body needs different types of enzymes. This means more work. However, this is the rest day of our body. So don't mix fruits. If you're having oranges for lunch, eat ten oranges if you're that hungry, but please eat only oranges.

6. Have variety

Mono fruit doesn't mean no variety. Variety is essential, since it ensures more nutrition. Our body requires a plethora of vitamins and minerals, but in traces. Having different types of fruits ensures that we give the body the nutrition that it seeks. So, if you start your day with a citrus fruit in breakfast, have something fleshy like papaya or banana for lunch, you can end your day with something green like grapes.

7. Close your plate at 7pm

Please don't eat after 7pm. That's the most important part of rest day. If we stop eating at 7 and then we eat directly at 8am the next morning our body gets 13 hours of rest, including 7 hours of deep rest through sleep. This is the finishing stroke that our body needs to regenerate.

8. Eat only fruits

Remember, if you're adding, salt, sugar, honey, flax seeds etc then it's not a mono fruit diet, you will not reap the benefits.   

Happy fruit fasting :)
I would love to know your experience of it.

Yoga for Vertigo

Facebook| Instagram| Twitter

It's important to understand that Vertigo isn't a disease a but symptom of certain imbalances in our Central Nervous System. This imbalance can happen due to any factor;
Problems with inner ear
Problem in visual focus
Poor blood circulation
Injury
Neurological disease

When we are looking at healing, we simply need to focus on balancing central nervous system.

As always, we will approach this using Panchkosa model:

1. At the level of Annamayakosa

Asanas:

Eye rotation
Neck rotation
Tadasana
Vrikshasana
Padangustan asana
Garudasana
Ardhmatsyendra Asana
Paschimottanasana
Supta Badhkonasana
Sarvangasana
Halsana
Shavasana
Jyoti Tratak (Preferably at rising sun otherwise ghee lamp or candle flame)

Diet:
Restrict salt to lunch time
High protein and Vitamin foods
No tea, coffee or chocolate
No alcohol
No tobbacco
Allow body to soak in morning sun

2. At the level of Pranamayakosa

Nadishodhan Pranayam - 4 times a day; before breakfast, lunch, dinner & bedtime

Shankhmukha Mudra

3. At the level of Manomayakosa

According to Atharva Veda, following adhis (negative emotions) arise the vyadhi of vertigo in our body:

a. Fickle mind, scattered thoughts

b. Inner turmoil, anger, refusal to listen to certain viewpoints

c. Not 'looking' at one self

It is important that we transform the above mentioned negative emotions. The easiest solution is to repeat following affirmations with feeling and meaning at bed-time and the minute one wakes up:

a. I am peacefully and joyfully centered in life.

b. I am safe.

c. Whatever I hear, I listen with love.

d. When I look at mirror, I rejoice in my magnificence.

e. I love and approve myself.

f. I know that universe brings only good in my life. 

Happy Healing :)

For online Yoga Therapy sessions, write to us at homeyogishome@gmail.com

Suggested Reading

1. Panchkosa & Karmic Cycle

2. How Yoga can break the cage of negative karma?

Yogic Antidote to Anger & Other Afflictions

Facebook| Instagram| Twitter

Yesterday, in our Online Meditation Session, a student asked me, "If we suppress our anger, will that count as negative karma too?"

It has become very common these days. Most  of us feel that when it comes to anger, or any other negative emotion, there are only two ways out: Expression or Suppression.

If we express we hurt others and if we suppress we hurt ourselves. This is such an unnecessary 'Avoidance-Avoidance' conflict. Unnecessary, because yoga has a third solution to this conflict. The right solution- Transform our negative emotion into positive one. Aha! Simple.

In yogic darshan (philosophy), negative emotions are considered as adhis (afflictions) of our manomaya kosa  (seat of our mind), if they go untreated, they penetrate our pranic body (seat of our life force) and create vyadhis (diseases) in our physical body.

Therefore, for the well-being of our physical organism it is important that we don't suppress our negative emotions but transform them into a positive one.

For this purpose, Yogis Wisdom gives a list of opposites, a list of positive emotions that act as antidote to our afflictions.  Here's the list :)

Antidote to Anger

Patience.

Yoga recommends that we look at our trigger for anger as our trigger for practicing patience. In spirituality, there's lot of merit/ good karma attached to the practice of patience. So, next time when you notice anger rising in you:

1. Smile, because you have noticed it. It's step one in breaking the cycle.

2. Look at your trigger for anger with gratitude because it is giving you a chance to accumulate good karma by practicing patience.

3. Remind yourself of kshan bhangurata, every moment is here to pass away. So, keeping your energies directed towards patience. Watch the moment pass by.

Antidote to Attachment

Anitya- Impermanence

First of all, let's not mistake attachment for love. Love is good, attachment is the root of our miseries. Attachment is sticky. It's tamasic. An easy example to understand this is:

One of my cousins loves, tamarind chutney. We were little kids, I was perhaps seven & she was two years of age and we were sharing a bowl of tamarind chutney. As a natural course of action, we polished it off. The minute that happened, she started to cry. Oh my god, she was howling so loudly that we had to shut doors and windows of the house, so that are neighbors don't get worked up.

Moral of the story is: Loving tamarind chutney is okay. There's nothing wrong in enjoying it. However, feeling miserable when it is taken away, that's an affliction, an attachment. It needs to because it clearly causes suffering.  

Therefore, yogic texts prescribe the wisdom of Anitya, impermanence as antidote to attachment. One must acknowledge that everything that comes into existence will go out of existence one day. So relish it immensely, but not to fall in the trap that this particular thing is source of all my joys. It's not. My mind is the source of all my joys & miseries.

In Vedic culture we have two very interesting practices to learn the art of detachment.

1. Rangoli: We wake up early morning. Take a cold shower. Wash the floor and then spend hours creating beautiful designs on floor using color powder. Then, next day, we take a broom and sweep that work of art off the floor. Once again, sitting down to create a new design. This engraves in our minds that all creation is will be swept off but it will be replaced by something new.

2. Ganpati: Every year, we take clay from our gardens and make beautiful Ganesha idol with our hands. For eleven days we celebrate it, rejoice it, and treat that idol with all the comforts & luxuries we can offer. On the eleventh day, we take out a procession and with same joy & festivity we submerge that idol ourselves. Smiling, singing & dancing all the while, because we know next year this cycle is going to be repeated.

In our modern lifestyles, we can practice detachment daily at small levels. So that when that big testing moment arrives, we are ready.  For instance, yesterday, a friend of mine was asking, "How do you fall asleep just like that, I need my side of the bed, always." For her, a good place to start will be 'her side of bed'. 

Antidote to being Arrogance

Positive Potential of others.

Many of us think we are not arrogant and yet we are motivated by the desire to be praised by other. Whenever we notice this happening, a craving to be praised by others. That's when we should stop for a moment and reflect:

1. Of course my talented is unique and that's the most common thing about it. Nature has given everyone a unique talent.

2. I am grateful though that I could identify my talent and had the will & situations to nurture it.

3. My talent has lot of positive potential to bring well-being to others & I must look at creative ways in which I can use my talent to benefit others.

Antidote to need for Approval

Love and compassion for our-self.

Antidote to jealousy

Empathetic joy.

I was a jealous person. It once costed me a friendship with a dear friend of mine. That's when I realized what an idiot I was. I lost a friend and in the process didn't gain the quality I was jealous of it still rests with that person. Who's the loser here. So, I started practicing empathetic joy. Whenever I would find myself getting jealous. I would:

1. Tell myself- this is stupid. Me getting jealous will not change the reality.

2. Then I would try to rejoice in the other person having my object of desire.

Earlier, this rejoicing meant me faking a smile to myself & then telling myself, "I am so happy this person has xyz, may this object brings lot of joy and happiness to this person." Slowly, my fake smile became genuine and instead of saying above words, I actually started feeling them. The situations that made me jealous earlier, now started making me joyful.

Isn't it wonderful? That's what transformation of negative emotions do, it sows seeds for positive emotions in future. The same trigger of anger becomes a trigger for patience & kindness.

You must have noticed, that application of these antidotes require practice of watching one's mind & thoughts. Therefore in our Online Meditation Course , we not only conduct sessions on the 'art of watching our mind', but we also conduct sessions on training our minds to apply the antidote of transformation, each time an affliction arises. Yes, we do take all the above mentioned afflictions individually :)

To register for our coming batch of online meditation course, please write to us at homeyogishome@gmail.com