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Recently I received this link from a friend of mine about an article in NYT describing research on creativity conducted at the University of New Mexico. The research utilized f-MRI technology to study and "measure" creativity under different conditions. On reading the article I noticed striking parallel between the findings of this research and yoga philosophy as given in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. In order to point out the similarities to the author of the article, Patricia Cohen, I have written her the following letter:
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Gomukhasana – गोमुखासन (Cow-face Pose) is one of the popular sitting postures. It is called "cow-face" because in this pose the lower limbs resemble the face of the cow. The two knees with the gap in between look like the mouth and, the shin, the side of the face. The feet look like the ears of the cow.
Step-by-Step
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As we know, pranayama (breathing techniques) and meditation are two of the key ingredients of an integrated yoga routine. Patanjali, in his Yoga Sutras, has given us these 8 "tools", called the eight limbs of yoga (Ashtanga Yoga) to achieve stillness of the mind – yamas, niyamas, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi. Many of the yoga practitioners tend to limit their practice to only the 3rd limb, asana, the physical postures. Even though the practice of asana will make the body more flexible and stronger, by practicing only asanas we are limiting ourselves to a small subset of the benefits that yoga can provide. If we want to achieve the full complement of benefits of yoga, we need to avail of all the "tools" that are given to us.
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Meditation is the seventh of the eight limbs of yoga (Ashtanga Yoga) as given by sage Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras. The eight limbs of yoga are:
- Yama (social restraints)
- Niyama (personal commitments)
- Asana (physical postures)
- Pranayama (breathing techniques)
- Pratyahara (sense withdrawal)
- Dharana (concentration)
- Dhyana (meditation)
- Samadhi (total absorption)
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The "21-day yoga challenge" program got off to a great start on April 5. A total of 15 participants signed up for the program. Since then one person has opted to discontinue. She has a two-month old baby. After trying for a couple of days she realized that it was too early after the delivery of the baby to come back for yoga. It is great that she has the desire to get back into shape quickly after childbirth. However, it is very encouraging to see that she listened to her own body and made the right decision to discontinue with the program. The rest of the group seems to be fully committed and have been coming regularly at 6:15 AM. For some of them getting up that early is indeed a big challenge; but as days go by, they all seem to be enjoying the experience. One person who had to miss the weekend due to prior family commitment has promised to continue the practice at home.
I have requested the participants to maintain a daily journal of their experience with the program. It would be great to get a write-up from everyone at the end of the program where they can present their individual experiences. I can put these up on the website for others to see and get inspired.
Please see the details of the programs in my earlier post.
Some time ago, I received an email asking me to join a 30-day yoga challenge program. I did a quick search on Google for something like "30-day yoga challenge" or just "yoga challenge", and I came across a large variety of yoga challenge programs being offered. Most of these programs entail making a commitment and then practicing at your own home using a video or a tape that the originator of the program offers you. Since I am myself a firm believer in establishing an on-going regular practice, I thought about offering my own version of a similar program. In this program, instead of practicing on your own at home, you will be practicing with me in a group. However, instead of calling it a "challenge", I have decided to call it the "Yoga Immersion" program. I like to engage the students in all aspects of yoga – asana, pranayama, relaxation, meditation, yoga philosophy, yogic diet etc., essnentially creating an environment where the students can immerse themselves in yoga.
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I recently received this link from a friend with the title, “Bad Karma: How Yoga Can Lead to Serious Injury – Sloppy teaching and overly competitive students are giving yoga lovers serious and scary injuriesâ€. As you can see, the title says it all. So, the answer to the question, “can yoga practice cause injury?†is apparently “yesâ€.
But this begs the question – how can a practice which is considered to be a healing art and science cause physical injury? To understand the answer to this question, we have to recognize that like any other physical exercise, yoga also involves physically stretching the body in different ways. Injury occurs when we don’t pay attention to the basic safety guidelines which have been prescribed for every form of exercise.
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In an earlier post, I had talked about the ‘mindfulness yoga’ workshop at Yogaville that I attended some time ago. In one of the sessions at this workshop, we practiced what is commonly called “Yin Yogaâ€. In this style of yoga, the emphasis is on mindfulness while practicing the asanas which are generally held for a long duration (several minutes). So, I decided to follow this practice of long hold times in a few of my recent classes. We practiced some of the simpler poses like the forward bends, gentle back bends, some side stretches and twists and held each for about 2 to 3 minutes. The feedback has been very encouraging and most of the students seem to have enjoyed these sessions. There are a few who had some difficulty holding the poses. At the end of this post, I will provide excerpts from some of these feedback emails that I received.
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A student to Bankei (Japanese Zen master):
‘Master, I have an ungovernable temper – how can I cure it?’
‘Show me this temper,’ said Bankei, ‘it sounds fascinating.’
‘I am not angry right now,’ said the student, ‘so I can’t show it to you.’
‘Well then,’ said Bankei, ‘bring it to me when you have it.’
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I would like to share with you a recipe for making a highly nutritious and healthy fruit smoothie. This recipe is really easy to make yet the results are just delicious. This has been my most favorite drink for breakfast over the years.
I am very fond of tropical fruits like mangoes, pineapple, banana, pomegranate, papaya etc. In general, I am what you can call a "fruitaholic" – I just like all types of fruit, including apple, pear, grapes, strawberries and all the rest. For my typical fruit smoothie, I just gather all the fruits that I have in my refrigerator. I wash the fruits thoroughly, core the needed ones like apple and pears and put them in the blender. My most common mix of fruits consists of mangoes, pineapple, grapes, oranges, banana and strawberries. To this mix I add a cup of home-made non-fat yogurt and let the blender do its job. I personally don’t enjoy getting grape skin in my mouth so I end up running the whole thing through a filter and put it all back in the blender. Now I add some nuts to the mix – almonds, cashew, walnut/pecan nuts etc. I blend the whole mix one more time and voila! the most delicious and nutritious drink is ready to be devoured.
As I mentioned, I like most fruits in my smoothie. However, there are two that I found do not render great taste in the smoothie – papaya and melon (even though I love eating them otherwise). I tried these a couple of times but now I have decided not to use them.
Instead of yogurt, you may also like to try fat-free/low-fat milk or soy milk.
To really enjoy the drink, I drink it really slowly, one sip at a time, enjoying the taste of the crunchy nuts and of course all the fruits that are in there. Please try this recipe and let me know how you like it. Along with this drink, I also have a piece of toast made of home-made multi-grain bread. I will share the recipe for the home-made bread in another post.
Do you have a favorite breakfast drink or another favorite recipe? Please share your recipe with us.
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Video DVD
Yoga with Subhash (asana and pranayama)
- Basic asana sequence (~50 min) ($18)
- Pranayama/Meditation (~35 min) ($12)
- Set of above two ($25)
Video recording of special programs offered in the past
(Links to YouTube videos will be provided)
- 21-day yoga immersion - $40
- 7-day hip opening intensive - $20
- 14-day meditation intensive - $30
- 14-day pranayama intensive - $30
- 7-day hamstring/quad intensive - $20
- 14-day Level 2 yoga intensive - $35
Payment options:
- cash, check, Zelle (use subhashmittal@gmail.com) or Venmo (use 9199269717)
- PayPal (go to bottom of page) (add $5 to the fee listed above)
Please contact me if you would like to buy.
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