As you may be aware, I have been offering monthly workshops wherein I discuss various aspects of yoga philosophy. I started these monthly workshops about two years ago with the main intention of providing a summary of the yoga philosophy and psychology as given by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras. Even though that continues to be the main focus, based on suggestions from the participants, I have also presented a summary of the Bhagavad Gita as well as that of Kundalini Tantra in a few of the sessions.
In order to preserve these talks for future reference, especially by the participants, I have been making an audio recording of these discussions and sharing them with the participants. I have now decided to share these audio recordings will all the readers of my blog who are interested in developing an understanding of the underlying concepts of yoga. After doing some online research, I found out that the best way to share audio information is through the medium of podcasts. Further research made me realize that creating podcasts and presenting them to the blog readers involves several steps, some of them not quite straightforward. As a result my "project podcast" kept getting postponed since I could not dedicate the required amount of time to set it all up.
Here is another recipe, shared by Nina, for a dish that we enjoyed during the recent breakfast get-together for the participants of the pranayama intensive.
As always, we had a delightful breakfast get together with the participants of the currently ongoing pranayama intensive. Here is the recipe for the "Quinoa Apple Breakfast Bake" dish, shared by Cynthia.
Quinoa apple breakfast bake
Ingredients
1 c. Quinoa
2 c. Almond milk (sweetened vanilla is best, if not then add a bit of vanilla extract and maple syrup)
1/3 c. Ground flax seed
1 Tbs Apple Pie spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice)
1 Tbs. Coconut oil (melted)
1 chopped Apple or Pear
Optional
Raisins
Dried cranberries
Other fruits/berries
Chopped nuts
Method
Spread dry quinoa into the bottom of an 8×8 baking dish. Mix together all the other ingredients except apples and chopped nuts. Pour the mixture over the quinoa, then sprinkle the chopped Apple pieces all over the top. Bake at 375* for about 50 minutes to 1 hour, until quinoa is done. If using chopped nuts, sprinkle these over the top during the last 10 min of baking.
Please share your own experience with baking this dish.
I am pleased to announce the next Meditation Intensive. In this program, I plan to discuss the basic concepts of meditation and practice several of the meditation techniques. Most of the information that I will be sharing is based on the concepts discussed in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and related classical yoga texts.
No prior pranayama or meditation experience is required.
Here are the particulars:
What: 14-day Meditation Intensive
When: Monday, March 7 – Sunday, March 20, 2016
Time: 6:00 – 7:30 AM
Location: 4000 Bearcat Way, Suite 102, Morrisville, NC 27560
Daily Routine: Light stretching (10-15 minutes), Pranayama (15 min), Relaxation (15 min), Meditation – discussion and practice (45 min)
Commitment: A firm commitment to follow this schedule and attend every day
Fee: $90
To register: fill out the registration form, providing information in all the fields, and submit it online
Strongly recommended
Light,’sattvic’, nutritious, VEGETARIAN food
No alcohol, drugs, tobacco or any other item of similar nature
A personal commitment to continue the practice after the program is over
Back pain, especially pain in the lower back, is perhaps the most common reason why people join a yoga class. Many people notice stiffness in the back when they wake up in the morning. Most stretches in a typical yoga routine are geared toward making the spine more flexible, stronger and healthy.
Marjarasana
(cat and cow stretch) is a simple stretch that, when practiced regularly, can go a long way in keeping the spine healthy and pain free. In the yoga routine that I practice and teach, I start each asana (stretching) session with Marjarasana.
I hope you will enjoy practicing with this video sequence.
The word "marjara" (मार्जार) in Sanskrit means a cat. In English, the name gets commonly translated as "cat and cow". In this stretch, the spine is moved rhythmically up and down. While breathing in the movement of the spine resembles the ‘hump’ of a cow’s back. While exhaling the spine is moved so it resembles the back of an angry cat. Hence the name "cat and cow".
I am pleased to announce the next Pranayama intensive. In this program, we will be practicing some of the main pranayama techniques given in our ancient yoga texts. I will also discuss the underlying concepts in the practice of pranayama and all the wonderful benefits that the practice can bring us.
No prior pranayama or meditation experience is required.
Here are the particulars:
What: 14-day pranayama intensive
When: Monday, February 8 – Sunday, February 21, 2016
Time: 6:00 – 7:30 AM
Location: 4000 Bearcat Way, Suite 102, Morrisville, NC 27560
In a previous post, Denise, who is undergoing cancer treatment shared her experience about her yoga practice. In today’s post, Kerry, who is undergoing treatment for MS for a few years now, has kindly agreed to share her yoga experience. Kerry began attending my yoga classes, taught during the lunch hour at a local corporation, almost seven years ago. Subsequently when she changed her jobs, she decided to continue her yoga practice with me and started attending the classes at my studio. About three years ago she told me that she had been diagnosed with MS. But rather than showing any signs of depression or anxiety, she, like a true warrior, has stayed very positive in her attitude and has been handling her situation bravely.
In the notes below, Kerry has kindly shared her experience with her yoga practice.
Denise started attending yoga classes with me a little over a year ago. In the registration form that she filled out, under "any medical issues" she wrote, "Last 10 years only major medical issues; surgery to remove section of large intestine and heart attack." When she came in for the class, I was pleasantly surprised with her cheerful smile and a very pleasant attitude. She gave no indication that she had gone through major health issues in the past. She became quite regular in the classes and started enjoying them.
After about three months of regular classes, she suddenly stopped coming. I just assumed that she might have had some health issues and would be back soon. After about a month of absence I received an email from her telling that she had been diagnosed with cancer and will need to go for surgery. From that time on she kept me in the loop, updating me frequently with news about her surgery, subsequent radiation and chemotherapy. After a couple of months of recovery from surgery and treatment, she came back for the classes and has been attending very regularly. She is back to her cheerful self, always displaying a very positive outlook and an infectious smile.
As many of you may be aware, I have been offering a monthly workshop on various aspects of yoga philosophy at the studio. These workshops are normally held on the 3rd Saturday of the month. My main objective in teaching these sessions is to share the underlying concepts of the practice of yoga as given in the ancient yoga texts.
I started these workshops with the main intent of discussing the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. In his Yoga Sutras, Patanjali has provided the very essence of the philosophy and teachings of yoga in a highly scientific and systematic exposition. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (YSP) are one of the six darshanas (Sanskrit word for philosophy) of Hindu schools of philosophy and a very important milestone in the history of Yoga. The book is a set of 195 aphorisms (sutras), which are short, terse phrases designed to be easy to memorize. Though brief, the Yoga Sutras is an enormously influential work that is just as relevant for yoga philosophy and practice today as it was when it was written. A study and understanding of the Yoga Sutras can bring about a very positive transformation in one’s life.
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