YOGARPANAM

THE TRUTH

2010-10-20T01:49:00.000-07:00

" Money and status mean nothing to me. What I seek is knowledge. I will serve only my Guru. In this world I will be a slave to nobody, work under nobody!"

Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya

Rather pursue truth than pretend to know
Rather share knowledge than proclaim to be an authority on it
Rather practice than preach
Rather be in stillness than sound
When we think we are an authority on something it’s a manifestation of powerlessness and fear. To be a true yoga and spiritual practitioner one requires a great amount of love, compassion and selflessness. Knowledge without these qualities is as good as an ocean without water. Achieving tough asanas and bending in all directions have no meaning if the foundation of truth is missing. The toughest part of a yoga sadhana. This is what my inner core truly believes.
Samita.

YOGA AND VEDIC CHANTING

2010-05-19T20:58:00.000-07:00

YOGARPANAM
Tapah Svadhyaya Isvarapranidhanani Kriyayogah

YOGA

TAUGHT IN THE TRADITION OF SRI T.KRISHNAMACHARYA

AND SRI T.K.V.DESIKACHAR

VEDIC CHANTING

CHANTING OF YOGA SUTRAS OF PATANJALI

(Private and small group classes)

योगार्पनाम
तपः स्वाध्याय इश्वराप्रनिधानानी क्रियायोगः
योग श्री टी.कृष्णमाचार्य एंड श्री टी.क.व्.देसिकाचार परंपरा

CONTACT Samita/समिता
EMAIL yogarpanam@gmail.com
WEB http://www.yogarpanam.blogspot.com/
WITH PRIOR APPOINTMENTS.
No Yoga classes on Poornima/Full Moon Days
http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/?country=35

IMPORTANCE OF PERSONALIZED YOGA CLASSES/TEACHINGS By Samita Rathor

2009-05-30T10:49:00.001-07:00

CAN 2 PEOPLE HAVE THE SAME BODY STRUCTURE, SAME DISEASES, SAME LIKES/DISLIKES, SAME EATING HABITS? No…it’s not possible. Then how can we teach them the same thing? This is the traditional yoga philosophy and belief of Sri Krishnamacharya and his son Sri Desikachar.We have a unique physical, mental and spiritual level, which differs from person to person. This is when we need a one-on-one instruction, the real, best and long-established form of Yoga training. The student consults the teacher regularly and practices what’s specifically designed for them, daily. The student provides feedback so that the practice can be polished and made more individual specific, as required. Yoga becomes an individual journey, and the learner develops the skills to observe the subtle changes that occur in his or her own physical, mental and spiritual level. To heal these different areas of the body and mind, a very specific Yoga grounding based on the individual’s need is taught which is to be followed daily where a healthy diet, lifestyle and therapy, play an important role. After a certain age yoga needs to be individualized.Group yoga could prove hazardous if done without examining the student,physically, mentally and emotionally. Getting to know a person on these 3 levels is a time consuming process, which evolves over a period of time as the teacher and student interact on a regular bases.

RIGHT RELAXATION

2009-04-02T00:39:00.000-07:00

“Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.”

Thanks to our modern lifestyle that keeps the mind and muscles tense most of the time due to working conditions, exciting entertainments like movies, violence, sports etc and alcohol, drugs and loud music being used in our daily life.

Is relaxation merely a physical condition? When little or no energy is consumed by the body or mind it is a stage of real relaxation. Relaxation occurs when the body mind and spirit are at ease. Many have even forgotten that rest and relaxation are nature's way of recharging. Even while trying to rest, the normal individual expends a lot of physical and mental energy through tension.
Each and every act of ours uses stored energy and we need constant energy renewal. Our modern virtual lifestyle has given rise to muscles and mind that are overstressed. This can cause enormous quantities of energy depletion which leads to severe nervous tension and anxiety related illness. When the body and mind are constantly overworked, their natural efficiency to perform work diminishes. In order to control and balance the work of the body and mind, it is best to learn to scrimp and save the energy produced by our body. This may be done by learning to relax.
All energy may be consumed within a few minutes by bad moods, anger, injury or intense irritation. The process of eruption and repression of violent emotions often grows into a regular habit. The result is disastrous, not only for the body, but also for the mind. In right relaxation, there is practically no energy or "Prana" devoted. In order to achieve perfect relaxation, a combination of physical, mental, and spiritual relaxation is essential.
PHYSICAL BODY AND RELAXATION
Our actions are a result of our thoughts. Just as the mind may send signals to the muscles ordering them to contract, the mind may also send another message to bring the relaxation to the worn-out muscles. Daily exercise can increase the body's energy, but it is futile if energy is constantly being wasted by keeping the muscles always in a state of tension. Some people have trained their muscles to be so tense that they cannot relax them even at night, resulting in constant energy drain.
MENTAL BODY AND RELAXATION
The mind becomes overloaded and exhausted bombarded by various stimuli. We Thoughts, anxieties, worries use up immense amounts of energy. It is important to sit aside each day for the mind to unwind and recoup its energies. Slow and rhythmical breathing for a few minutes can release a lot of mental stress. One may try to relax the mind bur all tensions and worries cannot be completely removed until one reaches spiritual relaxation.
SPIRITUAL BODY AND RELAXATION
As long as a person identifies with the body and the mind, there will be worries, sorrows, anxieties, fear and anger. These emotions, in turn bring tension. Complete mental and physical relaxation comes only with an inner fine tuning of body and the soul. Tuning to the divine source brings the realization that all happiness and peace come from within.
For individuals who find it difficult to actually relax owing to not having the time due to a busy schedule or finding the mind constantly getting distracted few tips may be of aid like-

Warm water bath helps to loosen up muscles. It deepens respiration and can take tension away from your body, pushing those stress toxins out of the body.
Music is a great way of helping you to relax, relieve stress and any anxieties you may have. It also helps you function mentally and physically, which is why music is a great therapy. It's regularly used for meditation. Soothing music that has a tempo of about 60 beats per minute can calm the human heartbeat and create a relaxing effect.
Asanas like Savasana done under the guidance of a teacher can produce holistic relaxing states.
Pranayama and regulation of breath by long and slow exhalation are beneficial in creating a relaxed state of mind.
Meditation is a way to achieve this relaxation. During meditation, the rays of the mind are focused and we experience absolute silence and peace. This gives a profound inner relaxation to the body and mind, relieving all stresses. Through meditation, we can achieve an experience of oneness that destroys emotions such as jealousy, anger, fear, and hatred from their roots.
Relaxation is vital in our lives as it helps to keep our stress levels down, and as a result improves our health. So give your stress wings and let it fly away. Begin at least with 10 minutes of winding down.
As Gandhiji rightly points out, “there is more to life than increasing its speed.”

samitarathor@gmail.com

2008-11-06T00:56:00.000-08:00

EXERCISE THE RIGHT WAY
According to Patanjali’s Yoga sutra ‘Sthiram Sukham Asanam’ means asana is a body posture and state of being in which one can remain firm, composed and at the same time relaxed.
The incorporation of asanas in conjunction with other types of exercise will greatly aid in minimizing any or all budding aliments that may or could occur over time from other forms of laborious exercise.
Exercise increases strength and stamina of the muscles but Yoga affects complete body mind complex and triggers a change from negative to positive direction on the physical, mental, spiritual level of existence.
There are many contemporary bodily culture methods intended to build up the muscles through motorized movements and workouts. Asanas or yogic physical exercises are designed to develop not only the body but also expand the mental and the spiritual faculties. Exercise is essential to physical and emotional well-being. If it isn’t done properly, exercise can actually have an unfavorable effect. The main difference is that unlike yoga in physical culture emphasis is on violent movement of muscles which produces large quantities of lactic acid in the muscle fibers causing exhaustion.
In asanas the respiration rate falls, whereas in exercise it increases. Generally, physical exercises are done very quickly and with a lot of heavy breathing; therefore the respiratory system is forced to work much harder.
In asanas the metabolic rate decreases whereas with exercise it increases.
In asanas the muscles receive minimum nutrition and oxygen, the internal organs receive more. In physical exercise, it is the muscles that receive the most nutrition and oxygen at the cost of the other organs. Large muscles are developed by most types of physical exercise: these bigger muscles require greater nutrition and supply of blood.
· Less oxygen consumption is required while doing asanas whereas in physical exercise it is increased.
The blood pressure and heart rate in asanas, goes down, whereas in exercise it increases.
Asanas help to harmonize the endocrinal secretions, balancing the emotions and giving a positive attitude to life.
Physical exercise tends to overwork the joints and can often be a catalyst in triggering rheumatism and stiffness later in life. The opposite is the case with asanas.
When practicing yoga, vigor and control play separate roles to achieve a perfect balance in every part of the body, as well as the mind. After such motivating exercise, a sense of freshness follows. Many forms of exercise require physical strength and endurance and can lead to a feeling of fatigue after 30 minutes of practice. An athlete's strong lung capacity is achieved by hard and forceful usage, which is not helpful to preserving the health of the lungs.
Most types of physical exercise require the body to make fast forceful movements. They have repeated actions, which often lead to tension and fatigue. Yoga poses on the other hand, involve movements, which bring stability and energy to the body, the senses, the mind, and the consciousness.
Many exercises improve energy levels by boosting nerve function, but ultimately, this exhausts the cellular reserves and the endocrine glands.
Asanas encourage flexibility and the capacity to adapt to the environment and to change; if done correctly, they also develop stamina.
Yoga practitioners need less food than people practicing physical exercise.
Asanas are done slowly, with relaxation and awareness which also encourages co-ordination between the body systems and the mind, unlike physical exercises.
Physical exercise tends to build up toxins in the body, whereas asanas eliminate them. Toxins build up in the body, and blood pressure and pulse are increased. Ultimately, the heart is overworked.
In yoga practice, the brain is quieted; the senses are stilled, generating a calm feeling of well-being.
Asanas develop inner awareness; exercises just have a physical feel good factor.
People who practice yoga require lesser food than people who workoutIn Yoga the brain and body unite and are in sync with each other. Energy is evenly balanced between the two. No other form of exercise so completely involves the mind and spirit with the body, resulting in over all well-being.

2008-08-06T23:00:00.000-07:00

YOGA – BENEFITS OF A ONE ON ONE PERSONALIZED YOGA PRACTICE
By Samita Rathor
Yoga is best learnt under personal guidance.

The word Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root YUJ-Yujyate Anena- that literally means to unite-join in harmony.
“Yoga, really, is a practical science to help understand one’s true self. Today it is largely perceived as a mainstream therapy which is only a downstream effect of the main purpose of being a spiritual pursuit. One to one is the real approach to be adopted in teaching yoga or for that matter any subject of this nature. While it is difficult to pursue, it removes the risk attended with the group class, where there is every possibility for injury and negative results at both physical and mental level”, says S Sridharan, Managing Trustee of the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram, Chennai.

Yoga focuses on disciplines of the mind and the body, which helps the individual to nurture and cultivate a healthy and meaningful life style – an existence of rectitude and purpose, and keep him on the path of moral advancement.

What primarily enthralled me when I got initiated into a tailor made special Yogic practice was the ‘stillness of the mind’ I experienced. The whole idea that yoga is a personal and individualistic practice suited me to a T. I was never a believer of the ‘one size fit all’ syndrome’, until I experienced the benefits of it. Without debate and with a lot of emphasis one should know that Yoga is a one on one practice ‘if taken seriously and with commitment’. Our body, breath, mind, heart as well as our very own experience of the world provides the raw working material for our own practice and for each one of us these are different. It's that personal. No matter how deep our similarities, we are unique in every level of our being. Each Individual is only one of its kind and in a state of continuous change throughout life on earth. Thus Yoga practice must be adapted to the individual and not the individual to Yoga. Can two people have exactly the same body structure, same likes/dislikes, same eating habits and same ailments? Certainly not! Then how can we teach them the same course? The practice of Yoga to suit the needs of individuals is extremely important in this day and age. One should never push a student to do something he or she was unable to do.
A Yogic practice has to be personalized according to the person's needs. If it does not help the mind or is forced beyond an individual’s ability, it is not Yoga.

At the onset, we must be aware of what we this astonishing individual Yoga practice can achieve.
Yoga has asanas/postures that take action on the different joints of the body including those that are never really visible in the x-ray vision, let alone exercised. This in turn increases flexibility.
Yoga is perhaps the only form of activity which massages all the internal glands and organs of the body in a thorough manner, including those – such as the prostate - that hardly get externally stimulated during our entire lifetime. Yoga acts in a wholesome manner on the various body parts. This stimulation and massage of the organs in turn benefits us by keeping away disease and providing a forewarning at the first possible instance of a likely onset of disease or disorder.
Increasing lubrication of the joints, ligaments and tendons takes place– likewise, the well-researched yoga positions exercise the different tendons and ligaments of the body. Surprisingly it has been found that the body which may have been quite rigid starts experiencing a remarkable flexibility in even those parts which have not been consciously work upon. It is here that the remarkable research behind yoga positions proves its spirit. Seemingly unrelated “non strenuous” yoga positions act upon certain parts of the body in an interrelated manner. When done together, they work in harmony to create a situation where flexibility is attained relatively easily.
By gently stretching muscles and joints as well as massaging the various organs, yoga ensures the optimum blood supply to various parts of the body, detoxifying it. This helps in the flushing out of toxins from every nook and cranny as well as providing nourishment up to the last point. This leads to benefits such as delayed ageing, energy and a remarkable zest for life.
Muscles that have become flaccid, weak or sluggish are stirred frequently to shed excess flab and limpness.
But these enormous physical benefits are just a “spin-off” of this powerful individual practice. What yoga does is bring into line the mind with the body and these results in real levels of benefits. It is fairly obvious in today’s world that the determination of the mind has enabled a person to accomplish unexpected physical and mental feats, which proves ahead of doubt the mind and body connection.
I enjoyed the increased flexibility and freedom from my knee pain that I noticed soon after beginning my personalized and one on one practice, but most of all it was the sense of being able to manage my thoughts. The peace was like a magnet to commit to Yoga instantly. I was aware that asana practice was embedded in a larger philosophy but I chose not to learn about it until much later. I was told that one on one practice is the key word. The payback I felt then from my personalized regime of Yoga was enough. Even though I am a long way from attaining complete union with myself, I am glad I have made a beginning...you could do the same! Tiny drops of water make an ocean. Yoga is like an ocean and the few minutes spend everyday in practice are like drops of water, which come together forming a pool of peace. From a single drop to a pool of water, the drop grows larger and larger by daily perseverance and practice, into a big ocean of calm and still. But remember that every individual drop of water is different and so are we! That's what a one to one Yoga pathway means. Look for a teacher who challenges you but does not push, who offers modifications, and who works one-on-one with students.

Yoga is much larger, encompassing all areas of our lives. Asanas are synonymous to Yoga in our modern society but they only form a part of Yogic practice. A lot of people feel yoga is something magical, physical exercise, acrobatics, living in a cave, therapeutics and so on. It is a way of life and experientially different from person to person. Once a friend of mine who always slept 3 to 4 hours after midnight came and told me-"Oh I heard you are into Yoga! So am I! I go thrice a week and learn lot of asanas from this person who can bend in any direction". Yoga is not a fad. Even in the circus we see the rubber man attempting all kinds of amazing body gymnastic postures. That is not Yoga. "Yoga is the settling of the mind into calm." Calm resides in awareness. The practice of yoga in all its aspects allows us to reconnect with and exist in awareness, through svadhyaya or self-study.
An experiential and personalized Yogic practice can help you cultivate body, mind, and spiritual awareness.

"Yoga serves the individual, and does so through inviting transformation rather than by giving information." T.K.V. Desikachar

Email samitarathor@gmail.com