Newsletter March, 2021
In this issue:
Padmasana (Lotus pose) and how to prepare for it (video)
 Padmasana (Lotus Pose)
When you see pictures of ancient yogis, most of them are shown meditating in Padmasana - पद्मासन (Lotus Pose). This is one of the most commonly mentioned asanas as a meditative posture. Some of the other asanas that are commonly listed among meditative postures are Sukhasana (Easy Pose),
Siddhasana (Adept Pose), Swastikasana and Vajrasana (Diamond Pose). These are the asanas in which you sit either for meditation or pranayama.
 Goddess Lakshmi
The word padma or kamala (lotus) has been used as a symbol of beauty and charm in ancient Indian literature. Beautiful women, especially those with beautiful eyes are often compared to the beauty of a lotus flower. You can come across these common names of Indian women - Kamalakshi or Kamalanayani (both meaning "one with eyes as lovely as a lotus), Padmavati (beautiful as a lotus) and many similar names.
In the Hatha Yoga Pradipika (HYP), Padmasana is one of the two meditative postures described, the other being Siddhasana.
Read more ...
Upcoming Programs
Understanding the Mind to eliminate Stress
- What: An Introduction to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
- When: Third Saturday of the month
- Next Session: Saturday, March 20, 2021
- Access: remotely via live video streaming using Zoom
- TIME: 2:30 - 4:00 PM
- FEE: FREE
- Instructor: Subhash Mittal
- To register: please fill out the registration form
Read more ...
14-day pranayama intensive
- What: 14-day pranayama intensive
- When: Monday, March 29 - Sunday, April 11, 2021
- Time: 6:00 – 7:30 AM (US East Coast time, GMT-4)
- Access: Remotely via live video streaming (Zoom); login info will be provided upon receipt of registration and payment
- Fee:
- Instructor: Subhash Mittal
- Daily Routine: Light stretching (10-15 minutes), Pranayama practice (45 min), Relaxation (15 min), Yoga philosophy/meditation (15 min)
- Commitment: A firm commitment to follow this schedule and attend every day
- To register: fill out the registration form, providing information in all the fields, and submit it online
Yoga for low back pain with Jyoti
- When: Every Thursday for six weeks
- Next session starts: Thursday, March 25
- Time: 5:45 - 7:00 PM
Back pain is one of the most frequent causes of activity limitation in people. However, 95% of all back problems are organic, meaning that they are the result of sprains due to common postural and movement habits that can easily be addressed through yoga.
By bringing attention to muscular dysfunction, imbalance, postural asymmetries, and alignment, this program effectively addresses the problem of chronic low back pain.
more information/ registration
Yoga Sutra 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
Workout Mistakes Damaging Your Body, According to Science
Researchers in the department of kinesiology at Alabama's Samford University recruited physically active women who did not practice yoga for the study and put them through single, 30-minute sessions of Hatha yoga and Vinyasa yoga separated by 48 hours. Each time, the participants were given a self-reported anxiety questionnaire to complete and pre- and post-session saliva tests to measure levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Results showed a significant reduction in cortisol levels and anxiety after meditative-style yoga but not after power yoga.
Read more ....
Make your sleep sweeter with yoga nidra
Most yoga nidras start with someone’s voice guiding you to sense parts of your body with mindful breathing. This technique of mindful breathing to different parts of your body is designed to trigger your parasympathetic nervous system helping you relax. By listening to a yoga nidra before sleep, you should fall asleep faster and sleep longer.
Research has found that yoga nidras improve quality of life and well-being.
Read more ....
House committee again approves bill to allow yoga in schools
The third try might be the charm for an effort to overturn Alabama’s prohibition on teaching yoga in schools. The House Education Policy committee approved a bill, from Rep. Jeremy Gray, D-Opelika, that would lift the ban, which has been in place since 1993.
Read more ...
How Does Pranayama Affect Our Physiology?
Participants in studies using pranayama practices as a treatment experienced positive neurocognitive effects, psychophysiological effects, biochemical/metabolic effects, as well as positive impacts on multiple clinical conditions/diseases.
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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