Goodbye, McLeod Ganj
It's our last day in McLeod Ganj and my sunrise walk took me through the peaceful woods on the way to the Buddhist temple - a kaleidoscope of Tibetan prayer flags flapping in the breeze, prayer wheels spinning to the hum of Om Mani Padme Hum, stray dogs lazing in the early sunlight. I realize how little quiet time we've...
Yes, I Have a Yoga Name
I've always thought it was faintly ridiculous when I'd hear someone in the US use their "yoga name", especially when clad from head to toe in Lululemon lycra. I had cynically joked about how my chosen yoga name would be Yogini Sri Shakti Jai Murphananda. [caption id="attachment_1384" align="alignright" width="200"] Yogi Sivadas on Sitar[/caption] But, here in India, after several weeks of advanced...
Gee, I can Make Ghee!
Love butter, but worried about cholesterol? Guilt-free ghee is your alternative! [caption id="attachment_151" align="alignright" width="300"] Butter About to Become Ghee[/caption] Fat is good for you! In fact, "good" fat (in moderation) is an essential part of a healthy diet if you want happy joints, healthy tissues and good digestion. This is what I learnt today at our Ayurvedic cooking class with Dr...
Buddhist Nun and Anger
A magical day today. I met a Buddhist nun at Tushita, after finishing morning meditation (sans Hairy Bearded Dude). The only reason we met was because I heard uncontrollable laughter as I walked past her home, so I stopped to see what was going on. She'd just thrown a papaya skin into the woods for the monkeys and by mistake...
Tushita and the Hairy Bearded Dude Meditation
I finally made it to Tushita today, a Buddhist meditation center between McLeod Ganj and Dharamkot, where you can drop in for daily morning meditation. It was our day off, so the walk through the forest with its silent, tall trees was a welcome shift from the tuk tuk, taxi and car fumes we try to avoid by breathing through...
Ayurveda and Yoga
Ayurveda is the Vedic science of healing for both body and mind, developed in ancient India around 1500 BC. The word means "wisdom of life". It's a vast subject, and I like the way it's summarized in the book, Yoga for Your Type - An Ayurvedic Approach to Your Asana Practice (David Frawley and Sandra Summerfield Kozak): "We develop disease because of...
Great Yoga Master, Guruji BKS Iyengar, Leaves Us
[caption id="attachment_116" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Sri BKS Iyengar - no longer with us, but always in our hearts[/caption] Sad day today ...
Yoga Philosophy
We've been diving quite deeply into the extremely broad subject of Yoga Philosophy. The mind is swirling with concepts of Vedanta, Sankhya, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa, Jainism, Charuvarism, Buddhism, the Vedas, and the Ashramas (four stages of life). It's fairly heavy going, but also fascinating and rich in the history and the culture of ancient India. Parts of the Vedanta philosophy appeal...
Hanuman Comes Visiting
[caption id="attachment_1396" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Monkey Business[/caption] Today, a monkey strolled into my yogi cottage. And when I advanced towards him, shooing him away, HE advanced towards ME, and bared his teeth. I backed off and watched as he made his way to the kitchen shelves and started to pick things up and toss them across the room, while I tried my...
Yoga Kriyas and Welcome to the Digestive System
Yogi Sivadas' teaching of yoga is classical and is also strongly influenced by Ayurveda, the ancient science of better health. He believes that most emotional, hormonal and physical imbalances and agitations of the mind are caused by bad diet, poor digestion and a sedentary and/or stressful lifestyle. Healthy digestion and elimination is crucial. The exasperated expression, "Oh, she's full of shit!",...