Yoga Detox Sequence

Yoga For Immunity

Several factors control our immunity. Activities of thymus gland, spleen, tonsils, adenoid gland and digestion and metabolism are few things we may be able to modulate through life style practices. This sequence of breathing techniques and poses may help to complement what you already do. 

Please be aware that yoga poses may not be easily accessible to you in the beginning- it's a practice perfected with time. Please listen to your body and modify poses and breathing as you feel good. By definition yoga poses need to be comfortable and stable. If you feel otherwise, you may need to sit back and think if you are doing it in the right way. I will post more on mindful execution of stable and comfortable yoga poses later~ Jay

Think Positive!

THINK POSITIVE


“The Chinese had gone through the hell and we learned a lot from those systems they put in place”, the President said. The quarantine protocols we follow and the reduced appearances of new cases in China is a beacon of hope in this otherwise precarious situation. If you get out of the fear of corona (I am in no way downplaying the potential damage this virus could do), you will also see inspiring stories and opportunities. I did:

1.       I was not able to post anything in the Facebook or here for some time; Here I am, taking to you all…haha

2.       It is inspiring to see governments, pharmaceutical companies, testing service companies and non-profits come together to fight our common threat.

3.       “It’s the time for us to support and protect our community and our elderly”, we all say. I haven’t heard such a statement in long time. It’s important we wash our hands to protect us. By doing so, we protect others. We develop “herd immunity”

4.       When we saw footages of empty shelves in stores; and fighting for toilet paper rolls (why all the rush for toilet papers, I still don’t get it!), we decided the stay back home and utilize all the things in our freezer; and bit creative in what we cook.

5.       I had my yoga class in Oakbrook LA Fitness this morning. I was surprised to see 32 men and women in the studio. I took the opportunity to deliver a class on how yoga poses and breathing could improve and boost our innate immunity. I was able to walk participants through steps into headstand, which, normally,  I would not in a crowded class. Head stand is the King of asanas for immunity. 

6.       “SAVED movie premiere has to be postponed”, I say sadly; “Good, you got some time to clean up few dubbed tracks”, Bindhu Said.

7.       I was pleasantly surprised by the gym etiquettes: everybody cleaning equipment before and after their work out. 

8.       You may not be able to visit your parents and grandparents and social in traditional ways. But you can be “soul-cial”. Invest your soul into all relationships: Call, talk (over the phone), keep them in your thoughts and let them know that.

Follow everything you do to keep yourself, your family and the community safe; drink plenty of water, orange juice, stay active and take enough rest. THIS STORM TOO WILL PASS, till then I will see you all here often ~ Jay

“A positive attitude, can turn a storm into a sprinkle.” & “Storms draw something out of us that calm seas don't”

Yoga: The Lexicon of Subconscious.

Yoga: The Lexicon of Subconscious.

It was a sultry summer afternoon. The boy stood hesitantly on the submerged slimy half wall of the village pond. Little fishes fondled his feet. The son looked at his father who was balanced in the water, with skepticism on his ability to swim but with confidence in those open arms. “You can do it”, the dad insisted. The child closed his eyes and jumped into the cold water; moved his hands and legs freely, feeling the support of his dad; floated in the water, moved slowly and started swimming.  The man was my dad and that’s how I learned to swim. No water acclimatization; no kicking lessons; no rowing practices; no floating devices. (This is not to encourage anybody to take this path; just to say how Faith, Confidence and Hetero Suggestion worked for me then)

On a remote island, on a stormy night, a young girl sat in front of a small congregation listening to their pastor on his sermon on faith. The gathering was stranded on the island when the storm broke loose. After several hours, the pastor and the rest of his group was able to find a boat to the mainland. They were astonished to see that young girl there and wondered how she reached there - so fast in the storm and in the rain. The girl said: “didn’t you say that we can walk on the water, if we have faith”

“If I just touch his cloak, I will be healed” and with this belief the woman inched forward in the crowd and touched His robe and she was freed from her suffering.

The denominator in last two stories is the same: a stage for autosuggestion, hetero suggestion, faith or belief; proclamation; and manifestation. We may call it mystery, phenomenon or miracle; modern thinkers call it the power of subconscious mind – the non-argumentative, non-squabbling self that do not dispute what was passed to it. It indelibly mark those suggestions, thoughts, feelings and emotion and present them in all its glory and marvel at the right time. The key to etch these feelings, emotions and thoughts into the subconscious is to bypass the conscious mind – the watch dog – that is continually modulated by temptations and instant gratifications.

Yoga, meditation and mindfulness is a gift given to us to access the subconscious mind. I have taken “Impregnation of subconscious” as the theme of my classes for the next few months. When you set the stage for the beginning of the yoga practice with breathing, when you move mindfully to execute one of those millions of poses listening to the Body, Energy, Action, Direction, Elaboration and Dynamic stability, you’re moving with your subconscious mind. Sub themes of strength, balance, detox and mindfulness are handy tools to train the subconscious. When you hear  “center yourself”, “find your sacred place” or “leave your strengths, weaknesses, imperfections, money, job, relationships, health, beauty for the next sixty minutes”  remember the stage the yogini is setting for you and be ready to act: sync with your subconscious  mind.

Hope to you some time in one of my classes.

Love,

Jay

P. S. “A man is what he thinks about all day long”, R. W. Emerson

Lifestyle Adherence

Hope 2019 is treating you well; and you are returning the favor as well.

I recently heard about “failure Friday”- the second Friday of the New Year when many fall off their resolutions!  Also heard the best time to buy used fitness equipment is February. I pondered these two hypotheses; there seems some meat in them.

So, why we fall off that precipice? Why struggle to adhere and commit to the newly perceived norms? My two cents (rather four):

1. Ask: Why are you doing what are you doing and how? So what?

2. You and, of course, many have told who you are and that has engrained in your brain. Remember: you are more than what you (and others) think. I strongly believe we are pliable (in a good way): we can modulate our body, we can control our mind, and could still tether our soul to “that” original cord.

3. Get the right information, synthesize your own and pave your own path (one size will not fit all; or, there are several paths to the same destination). Google, YouTube, Alexa, Internet, advices, even peer-reviewed publications are only leads; build on that. I write for a website   https://healthy-indian.com/ . It’s a good site for life style practices. Recently they published one of my essays - https://healthy-indian.com/lifestyle/are-genes-really-our-destiny/ there is no dearth of information.

4. Acquaint with what you do; make a truce, a friendship and a bond. Find somebody who can motivate and inspire (or, even drag you to the gym). Like we say in yoga, it’s a time to recognize the grace we seek (warrior 1); stability we aspire (warrior 2), balance we nurture (warriors 3), humility we develop (meek warrior) and the ensuing success (exalted warrior). These qualities will stay with you like a valiant friend in our journey – like Veerbhadra to Shiva, Krishna to Arjun, faith to Job or Katniss Everdeen to Peeta Mellark.

Continued Best,

Jay

Wish you all an Idyllic 2019!

Fair Fights.

Idyllic New Year to you, your family and loved ones. Wish you all the best in 2019 – A Blessed year to pursue goals with passion and perseverance.

Let your resolutions be your dreams

Imperfections and disappointments to fuel them

(In life there are no failures, only invitations to succeed)

Truth to light your path

Our creativity, talents and commitments are like timid wild animals. Seek them gently with care to ground them. Try to connect with them and accept them with love. I had talked in the past on the transition from sympathetically active flight, fight, freeze or faint to parasympathetically active realm of feed, relax and happy - a journey to discover the soul, the purpose of your life. There are few fights you may have to pick up, though; like a matador, with a purpose:

1.     Fight the feeling to be dissatisfied and unsatisfied. Change is a journey, sometimes long, that sting often. Gaining the mastery against the external influence (causes for discontentment) is a treacherous odyssey. A tortoise with its limbs withdrawn give clarity to that action. Make your goals comfortable, stable and steady. You are the reference and the judge. Let realities replace perceptions with right association (especially with food) and impressions.

2.    Fight the urge to devalue yourself. The power to transform yourself is in you- listen to your body, mind and spirit and be mindful. Differentiate challenges and struggles. Ability to find solutions to challenges is the beginning of your intelligence. Always ask: How are you doing? Why are you doing what are you doing? ...so what? Teach yourself! You are the one who knows you the best. Work with your strengths, recognizing your imperfections. One way to know something is to know yourself; to get closer to something is to get closer to yourself; and to learn something is to teach yourself.

3.    Fight the impulse to be (too) self-centered. Honor others. Ask for help when you need and help them in need. You may have a lot to offer to them and much more to learn from them. We are no more islands and it’s no more the survival of the fittest; cooperatively we all thrive. Thoughts, practices, talents, efforts, skills, passion and perseverance may all be absorbed from right associations. The opportunity to watch, observe and learn in a group setting makes one gritty; it creates herd immunity and collective resilience.

All the best to you this year and years ahead; Love,

Jay

Cultivate Mindfulness in Life and Yoga Practice

Let’s Count it!

Aristotle had a hypothesis: women have more teeth than men! For almost 2000 years the dogma remained unchallenged until someone had a brighter idea. He said, “Let’s count it” A revolutionary insight. Reflection on age-long practices often unravel truths. Recently, I gave a presentation “Plant pigments: beyond aesthetics” at St. Xavier University on plant pigments, flavors, fragrances, artificial food colorants, their drawbacks and alternatives. I was hungry after the question/ answer session and thought to eat some cookies. While I was about to bite one, a student raised her hand. Her question caught me off-guard: “you told the issues with artificial food colorants, why are you eating the cookies loaded with those”. I was embarrassed. Another student saved me with another question on the subject matter. I ignored the first and tried to answer the second one; the first one persisted. To make the story short, I had to give up those cookies. The seminar sailed through unchartered territories- meditation, yoga, mindfulness, organic, vegan…I was challenged. Challenging our thoughts, believes and practices is the beginning of realization to transform the body, mind and soul. Now you know where I am going, hold on.

Once I met a faithful vegan; enjoyed the discussion on the science; and felt an urge to follow it.  His spouse termed the habit a headache. Deliberation with others on the subject crystallized my thoughts: it is expensive, and it’s hard to balance the demand of our body and food sources. I took the challenge and decided to go vegan this advent season- economically and (mostly) transparent to the household and parties. One of my friends asked, “what the poor plants did, in the past thirteen years (my career as a plant scientist) to hate them so much?” I never thought so. I don’t have an agenda driven by any faith or fallacy. My goal is to analyze food matrices in the molecular level and find alternatives to meat, fish and dairy products respecting the wallet; challenge myself beyond what I have been doing. Remember: finding solutions to challenges is the beginning of intelligence. (So…that’s is your agenda: Yes, agreed.)

I happened to share my thoughts with two of my friends, Sarah Giuliani and Kate Schwatz- both have a good understanding on the food, food ingredients and alternative sources for proteins, amino acids, fats and vitamins. Sarah suggested it may be good idea to rename veganism due to various stigma attached to it. I am planning to dig little deeper into this topic in this season and will share some of the recipes and thoughts of Sarah and Kate here. I am going call this “Eating Mindfully”, segue for the theme of my yoga classes for this month. I consider mindfulness as a tool to create kindness, reduce anxiety, depression and ADHD. In the context of yoga, I was specific on the mindfulness of executing yoga poses, practicing breathing and quantifying foci. This time, I incorporate food into that puzzle.

Yoga, meditation, pranayama (breathing) techniques, corpse pose, Mindful Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and prayer could all lead you to mindfulness.

How to create mindfulness in our yoga practice.

1.             Make breathing mindful. Explore the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and targets in your breathing. Triangular, SWOT (4-4-6-2) breathing is an excellent tool: inhale for 4 seconds; hold for 4 seconds; exhale for 6 seconds and hold for another 2 seconds. Exaggerate the actions of thoracic and abdominal muscles. Bring into your mind the complementary benefits (internal organ massage, sensitization of endocrine system…) of deep breathing. Redefine breath, if you may: breathing is nothing but our ability to enhance the three dimensional capacity of lungs.

2.            Make poses BEADED: In every pose scan your body to see how it acts, how the energy flows (close your eyes and listen), how you are working with your body; how you are directing and elaborating your poses to yield the dynamic stability you need to stand or sit in a pose for a long time (if needed) without any discomfort. By definition, yoga should be stable and comfortable.

3.            3. Make all foci -external, internal (locks)  and cognitive (chakras) - mindful

Hope you see you, hear your thoughts and share mine.

Love,

Jay