Newsletter February 2023
In this issue:
Shreyas (desirable) or Preyas (pleasurable) - choice is ours!
In our day-to-day life, we are always presented with various alternatives to choose from. For example, in terms of food, we are often confronted with having to choose between food that tastes great but is known to be unhealthy (let's say French Fries and coke) and a healthy, home-cooked veggie dish which we may not find tasty enough. Similarly, in order to maintain a healthy body and mind, we may commit ourselves to a regular, daily yoga routine early in the morning. When the alarm goes off in the morning, we are confronted with having to choose between staying in the warm, comfortable bed a little longer or making the unpleasant choice of jumping out of bed to practice yoga.
As we know, we are always faced with similar situations in every aspect of our life, be it work, family, shopping, planning a vacation etc. More often than not, we end up making a choice that is pleasing but not necessarily desirable versus another alternative that may be highly desirable but not pleasing. For the most part we prefer something that is pleasing to one of the five senses - hearing, touch, sight, taste and smell. Choosing pleasant over the desirable may provide instant gratification but can cause incurable harm in the long run. We all know how, by choosing to consume food that is pleasant but otherwise unhealthy, we can end up getting all kinds of serious ailments like high BP, diabetes, cancer etc.
Read more ...
Weekly ongoing classes
As many of you are aware, I teach weekly ongoing yoga classes as per the schedule given below. These classes are offered both online via Zoom as well as in-person at my home studio.
Schedule:
- Monday: 6:30 - 8 PM (level 1)
- Tuesday: 6:30 - 8 PM (level 1)
- Wednesday: 6:30 - 8 PM (level 1)
- Saturday; 10:15 AM - 12:00 noon (level 1/2)
Instructor: Subhash Mittal
Registration: Fill out the registration form, providing information in all the fields, and submit it online.
Access: In-person at my home studio, or online via zoom. Zoom access will be provided upon receipt of registration.
Schedule and Fee: Please visit my website here for the current schedule and available payment plans. If you are a new student, the fee for the first month is $40.
How to pay: check, Zelle (use subhashmittal@gmail.com), Venmo (use 9199269717) or paypal (go to bottom of page)
Upcoming Programs
21-day Yoga Immersion
Tip-toe balance
You can download the 21-day Yoga Immersion flyer here.
No prior asana, pranayama or meditation experience is required.
You can participate in the program online via zoom or in-person at my home studio.
- What: 21-day yoga immersion
- When: Monday, February 13 - Sunday, March 5, 2023
- Time: 6:00 AM - 7:30 AM (US East Coast time, EST)
- In-person participation: at my home studio located at 206 Redwood Park Drive, Morrisville, NC 27560
- Zoom Access: Login info will be provided upon receipt of registration and payment
- Instructor: Subhash Mittal
- Fee:
- To register: Fill out the registration form, providing information in all the fields, and submit it online
- A brief outline of what is planned for the course is given in this document (pdf) on my dropbox folder. I would welcome any comments or feedback on this propposed outline.
- Commitment:
- A firm commitment to complete the program without missing a day
- At the end of the program, continue the same practice at home for another 21 days to make it a life-long habit
Samkhya Karika study group, 2nd and 4th Saturday
podcast channel
As you may be aware, I have been offering monthly workshops wherein I discuss various aspects of yoga philosophy. The main focus in these workshops is to discuss the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali in some depth. In addition, from time to time, I also discuss concepts from the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and other related ancient scriptures. In order to preserve these talks for future reference, I have been making an audio recording of these discussions and sharing them with the participants. These audio recordings are now available on the podcast channel on my blog. You are welcome to download these audio recordings for your use. In addition, you can listen to these podcasts as well as subscribe to them on itunes as well.
youtube channel
As you would have noticed from many of the recent posts on my blog, I have been adding short videos of many of the commonly practiced asana and pranayama sequences. I strongly urge you to subscribe to my youtube channel and visit the channel frequently to get instructions for your own asana and pranayama practices. Please share the link to the channel with your friends who might benefit from these detailed video instructions.
I would love to hear your feedback and, of course, would welcome suggestions for future videos that you would like to see on the channel.
Yoga in the News
Not just mind & body, experts say yoga can prevent and help manage chronic diseases
My colleagues and I observed a similar effect in a pilot study on the benefits of yoga for individuals with Type 2 diabetes. After doing yoga twice a week for three months, several participants reported paying more attention to their diet, snacking less and eating healthier, even without any nutrition intervention. Our patients also reported less stress and an increased willingness to engage in other types of physical activities.
Read more ...
Yoga May Prevent Degenerative Disc Disease
The effects of yoga in preventing or eliminating low back pain are well documented. The study below shows that yoga may even reduce degenerative disc disease in the spine, a condition thought to be the precursor of numberous back pain conditions.
A groundbreaking study conducted in Taiwan and published in the European Health Journal in March of 2011 compared the spines of long-time (10 years or more) yoga teachers versus a group of non-yoga practitioners using MRI imaging. The yoga teachers were found to have significantly less degenerative disc disease.
Read more ...
Yoga, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Improved Patient-Reported Outcomes in Fibromyalgia, IBS
Mind-body interventions (MBIs), specifically cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and yoga, were shown to improve patient-reported outcome measures in patients with fibromyalgia (FM) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), according to a study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry.
Read more ...
Yoga and Mindfulness for Social-Emotional Development and Resilience in 3–5 Year-Old Children
The present study found the intervention appeared to be associated with improved scores indicative of preschool social-emotional health (specifically TPF subscores of the DECA) related to initiative and self-control, and scores indicating reduced behavioral concerns among intervention students compared to historical controls.
Read more ...
Have a question/suggestion?
If you have a yoga-related question, please write to me and I would do my best to provide an answer in a timely manner. I would love to hear your suggestions for future newsletter articles.
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