Start Your Day with Yoga Sundae and Meditation
As I bit into the creamy, chocolate ice cream, I stopped in my tracks, my eyes moved heavenward and I had an overall sense of well being. There is definitely good in a world that can make such delicious ice cream! My mind became calm and peaceful - I realized that it was neither in the past nor future, but in the present - enjoying the first bite of the ice cream. Yoga, like ice cream, is refreshing. Luckily, the body can take more Yoga than ice- cream! Yoga practices keep me calm, peaceful, and dynamic through the day. Here’s the perfect yoga sundae to kick-start your day.
Start with a base of light stretches. The Butterfly Pose , Chair Pose (or Sofa Posture if you want to feel more comfortable), and other light body stretches remove the restlessness from my body. “Sthiram Sukham Asanam,” instructs my Sri Sri Yoga instructor. These light stretches help me maintain my posture and sets the base for the real thing
Add generous scoops of my favorite yoga flavor - Padmasadhana. This powerful sequence of asanas, gears me up for the day. I can walk 4 miles, trek, or face any situation with a calm mind when I do Padmasadhana. My instructor taught us to use the breath as a tool to help us stretch more while relaxing in the asanas. While most people think that asanas are twisting the body into different shapes, I have learnt in The Art of Living that yoga is about accepting each asana as it is, smiling and moving into it, and relaxing in it. Although, I have succeeded in relaxing in Natraja asana (Lord of the dance pose) and Pawanmuktasana (knee to chin press), I am yet to learn to relax in Naukasana (boat pose).
Add a scoop of pranayam. Pranayam means regulating the prana (life force energy). With my attention on the breath during Padmasadhna, my mind forgets to oscillate in the past or future and remains on the current intake of breath. Remember I said we use the breath as a tool to stretch and relax in the asanas? With the Naadi Shodhan Pranayam, my mind becomes really calm and peaceful. Just as my best friends know when it isn’t the right time to call me, my thoughts know that this is not the right time to disturb me.
Top it with meditation. As restlessness of the mind and body disappears, I effortlessly slide into meditation with my Sahaj Mantra or an Online Guided Meditation.
This yoga sundae keeps me in the present moment and gears me up for another day of juggling workplace pressure and family responsibilities. If you enjoy large sundaes, you can add a scoop of Sudarshan Kriya too! I love sharing this yoga recipe with my friends and family; it strengthens our relationship and improves my yoga practice.
The lessons I learn on the yoga mat, work off the yoga mat too. It is the perfect beginning to a perfectly yummilicious day.
By Sylaja Kannan
Start with a base of light stretches. The Butterfly Pose , Chair Pose (or Sofa Posture if you want to feel more comfortable), and other light body stretches remove the restlessness from my body. “Sthiram Sukham Asanam,” instructs my Sri Sri Yoga instructor. These light stretches help me maintain my posture and sets the base for the real thing
Add generous scoops of my favorite yoga flavor - Padmasadhana. This powerful sequence of asanas, gears me up for the day. I can walk 4 miles, trek, or face any situation with a calm mind when I do Padmasadhana. My instructor taught us to use the breath as a tool to help us stretch more while relaxing in the asanas. While most people think that asanas are twisting the body into different shapes, I have learnt in The Art of Living that yoga is about accepting each asana as it is, smiling and moving into it, and relaxing in it. Although, I have succeeded in relaxing in Natraja asana (Lord of the dance pose) and Pawanmuktasana (knee to chin press), I am yet to learn to relax in Naukasana (boat pose).
Add a scoop of pranayam. Pranayam means regulating the prana (life force energy). With my attention on the breath during Padmasadhna, my mind forgets to oscillate in the past or future and remains on the current intake of breath. Remember I said we use the breath as a tool to stretch and relax in the asanas? With the Naadi Shodhan Pranayam, my mind becomes really calm and peaceful. Just as my best friends know when it isn’t the right time to call me, my thoughts know that this is not the right time to disturb me.
Top it with meditation. As restlessness of the mind and body disappears, I effortlessly slide into meditation with my Sahaj Mantra or an Online Guided Meditation.
This yoga sundae keeps me in the present moment and gears me up for another day of juggling workplace pressure and family responsibilities. If you enjoy large sundaes, you can add a scoop of Sudarshan Kriya too! I love sharing this yoga recipe with my friends and family; it strengthens our relationship and improves my yoga practice.
The lessons I learn on the yoga mat, work off the yoga mat too. It is the perfect beginning to a perfectly yummilicious day.
By Sylaja Kannan
Yoga.. CHOCOLATE FLAVOUR!!!
Why do we love chocolate?
It makes us forget everything else and focus on this one moment of pleasure.
Whether we eat it hard or soft, solid or liquid, cold or hot, with or without other nuts n things we are immediately brought into this present moment forgetting future worries or past regrets. When you smell a whiff of hot chocolate automatically your eyes close and you have this goofy smile pasted on your lips.
according to our mood also sometimes we prefer one over the other.
when we are down or sad a cup of hot chocolate warms us up.
when we are happy maybe a thick shake, or something crunchy keeps it going.
when we are thoughtful some munchies which are chocolate coated could do the trick
a three layer chocolate pastry can make us vent our jealousy or anger
and it can go on.....
Some prefer the dark version, some the white, some flavored, some textured with different solids and some plain vanilla.
man or woman, tall or short, fat or thin, beautiful or ugly, from anywhere in this world you can be....to love chocolate. its like we are made to love chocolate.
More over, every country has its own versions of chocolates, in candy bars, in toffees, shakes, ice creams, sauces etc BUT the essence remains the same.
Just like spirituality. It Is the essence of any religion but has its own rituals in different areas (I will not say countries as they have borders and I don't see them in the spiritual world)
the goal is the same- to achieve the ultimate. Just the roads are different,
like dark, white, flavored or textured and their combinations.
this path is the same but it means differently to everyone as all of us are so unique..Somebody once said- Be Yourself, everything else is taken!
For some the path is hot chocolate or thick shakes, munchies, chocolate coated candies,etc.....
But the purpose (or shall I say the end result) of it all is to be bring us in this present moment where there is nothing but love and happiness.
This experience of the present moment can happen easily with eyes closed in meditation.
After regular practice of meditation life becomes the expression of this happiness and love that one feels.
Now some people just eat the chocolate and not workout- which is certainly isn't intelligent.
So when we get the fruit of meditation it is a good idea to share that love and happiness by doing some Seva.
With a little bit of discipline like some sort of excercise or Yoga (an hour of spiritual practices daily) you can indulge in any form and flavor of chocolate (any kind of seva you want to do) without getting 'weighed' down :-)
It makes us forget everything else and focus on this one moment of pleasure.
Whether we eat it hard or soft, solid or liquid, cold or hot, with or without other nuts n things we are immediately brought into this present moment forgetting future worries or past regrets. When you smell a whiff of hot chocolate automatically your eyes close and you have this goofy smile pasted on your lips.
according to our mood also sometimes we prefer one over the other.
when we are down or sad a cup of hot chocolate warms us up.
when we are happy maybe a thick shake, or something crunchy keeps it going.
when we are thoughtful some munchies which are chocolate coated could do the trick
a three layer chocolate pastry can make us vent our jealousy or anger
and it can go on.....
Some prefer the dark version, some the white, some flavored, some textured with different solids and some plain vanilla.
man or woman, tall or short, fat or thin, beautiful or ugly, from anywhere in this world you can be....to love chocolate. its like we are made to love chocolate.
More over, every country has its own versions of chocolates, in candy bars, in toffees, shakes, ice creams, sauces etc BUT the essence remains the same.
Just like spirituality. It Is the essence of any religion but has its own rituals in different areas (I will not say countries as they have borders and I don't see them in the spiritual world)
the goal is the same- to achieve the ultimate. Just the roads are different,
like dark, white, flavored or textured and their combinations.
this path is the same but it means differently to everyone as all of us are so unique..Somebody once said- Be Yourself, everything else is taken!
For some the path is hot chocolate or thick shakes, munchies, chocolate coated candies,etc.....
But the purpose (or shall I say the end result) of it all is to be bring us in this present moment where there is nothing but love and happiness.
This experience of the present moment can happen easily with eyes closed in meditation.
After regular practice of meditation life becomes the expression of this happiness and love that one feels.
Now some people just eat the chocolate and not workout- which is certainly isn't intelligent.
So when we get the fruit of meditation it is a good idea to share that love and happiness by doing some Seva.
With a little bit of discipline like some sort of excercise or Yoga (an hour of spiritual practices daily) you can indulge in any form and flavor of chocolate (any kind of seva you want to do) without getting 'weighed' down :-)
Why Do We Need To Meditate
Many among us have this question that why we need to meditate. Here is the video by H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of the Art of Living foundation, who reveals the answer to many of our questions related to meditation. Yoga along with meditation makes us feel rejuvenated and helps us to go more deeper within ourselves.
Breathe Your Way to a Calm Mind with Yoga
The mind never gets a day off. It’s either busy with ‘who-said-what’ or mulling on the past or the future. With yoga and meditation, train your mind to stay calm, happy and relaxed.
Imagine going on a long drive to the countryside with a rundown car. Far from enjoying the scenery, you will be caught up with the car trouble. We don’t often realize but the same happens when the mind is too occupied with past events or future anxieties. We fail to enjoy the beauty in simple things – being with nature, enjoying a sunset. Is there nothing that can ‘quiet’ the mind and allow us to enjoy the moment? Yoga could provide the answer.
How does the mind work? What does yoga do?But first, is there really a need to quiet the mind’s chatter? Do you find your mind wandering off on a trip of thoughts about the past or future? Even with your eyes open and glued to a computer screen, your mind could be elsewhere. The result: low productivity and efficiency; unachieved deadline.
Such mind-chatter affects not just our work but also our day-to-day life, making us restless and uncomfortable. While there is no way the mind can be ‘turned off’ for some time, the holistic yoga package comprising yoga postures (asanas), breathing exercises (pranayama), Sudarshan Kriya and meditation helps the mind come back to the present, and restores clarity and alertness.
Relax with yoga postures
It’s a good idea to start with some stretches and yoga postures that help make the body stable and light. Practicing yoga can sometimes seem challenging to beginners. At the onset, the body is stiff, unsteady and lacks flexibility. Moreover, we become aware of uneasiness in certain parts of the body while stretching in yoga poses. Sri Sri Yoga teachers say that it is just the body's way of demanding attention. In such situations, take your attention to that part of the body and take some deep ujjayi breaths.
Calm the mind with breathing exercises
If you repeat the same activity described above – this time after doing a few rounds of breathing exercises(pranayama), such as Kapalbhaati, Bhastrika, or Nadi Shodhan pranayama – you will be surprised to see the difference! Did you notice that lesser number of thoughts cross your mind when your eyes are closed; maybe even disappear, meaning the mind is devoid of all mundane thoughts. You can find that you are more focused and clear and can execute work faster than before.
Imagine going on a long drive to the countryside with a rundown car. Far from enjoying the scenery, you will be caught up with the car trouble. We don’t often realize but the same happens when the mind is too occupied with past events or future anxieties. We fail to enjoy the beauty in simple things – being with nature, enjoying a sunset. Is there nothing that can ‘quiet’ the mind and allow us to enjoy the moment? Yoga could provide the answer.
How does the mind work? What does yoga do?But first, is there really a need to quiet the mind’s chatter? Do you find your mind wandering off on a trip of thoughts about the past or future? Even with your eyes open and glued to a computer screen, your mind could be elsewhere. The result: low productivity and efficiency; unachieved deadline.
Such mind-chatter affects not just our work but also our day-to-day life, making us restless and uncomfortable. While there is no way the mind can be ‘turned off’ for some time, the holistic yoga package comprising yoga postures (asanas), breathing exercises (pranayama), Sudarshan Kriya and meditation helps the mind come back to the present, and restores clarity and alertness.
Relax with yoga postures
It’s a good idea to start with some stretches and yoga postures that help make the body stable and light. Practicing yoga can sometimes seem challenging to beginners. At the onset, the body is stiff, unsteady and lacks flexibility. Moreover, we become aware of uneasiness in certain parts of the body while stretching in yoga poses. Sri Sri Yoga teachers say that it is just the body's way of demanding attention. In such situations, take your attention to that part of the body and take some deep ujjayi breaths.
Calm the mind with breathing exercises
If you repeat the same activity described above – this time after doing a few rounds of breathing exercises(pranayama), such as Kapalbhaati, Bhastrika, or Nadi Shodhan pranayama – you will be surprised to see the difference! Did you notice that lesser number of thoughts cross your mind when your eyes are closed; maybe even disappear, meaning the mind is devoid of all mundane thoughts. You can find that you are more focused and clear and can execute work faster than before.