Food for thought

हरी ॐ

My students started telling me that how they improved efficiency of their digestive system. Now they can enjoy their food and got rid of their digestive disorders. Some told me that they improved their appetite and now feeling much fresh and energetic during the day. Some people already started eating vegetarian food frequently. And get lots of benefits from that.

Always we keep on thinking about our food; and why not? Food is one of the important energy sources for all of us. But many times we just forget to feed good quality food for our mind. By feeding positive thoughts to our mind we can make our mind healthy as well.

What we think, we become. Yoga teaches us, How to live your life in a proper way? How to think positively in your life? Yogic thoughts always give us a successful & joyful life. I would like to share a story telling the same.

This is a story about an old man who explained to his young grandson, about a battle that was going on inside himself.

The grandfather said, "My child, the battle inside me is between two wolves, one of whom is so evil, full of anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, hypocrisy, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.

The other is so good, full of remembrance of faith, joy, peace, love, compassion, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, and truthfulness."

The grandson pondered for a minute and then asked: "Grandfather, which wolf will win the battle?"

The grandfather replied simply, "The one I feed."

What the grandfather said is certainly Food for thought.

Yoga is always there to provide Good Food to all of us.

Keep on practicing it. And make your body and mind healthy.

So, Are you ready to have Yogic Diet?

Is it for me?

हरी ॐ

The classes were making progress very well, and really these people showed much more interest not only to learn only physical aspect of yoga but to learn what yogic philosophy is. I was very happy to know that they are very keen to know about yogic lifestyle and traditional way to learn yoga.


It was Ramazan month when we were having classes. When I heard about the tradition about Ramazan, I got impressed very much to listen the way to purify the body and mind. Ramazan is a Muslim religious observance that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, when the Quran was revealed. Prayers, fasting, charity, and self-accountability are especially followed at this time.


Fortunately this year the Indian festival ‘Vijayadashmi’ and ‘Ramazan’ were on the same day. So I was telling my students the importance of Vijayadashmi. Some of my students from that batch were on fasting during Ramazan. One of them ask me very interesting question.


He asked to me, “I’m Muslim. And I’m on fasting during Ramazan month.”


“Can I chant these prayers during Ramazan Month?” “Is it recommended to chant these prayers for Muslim people?”


I just gave him a smile and told him that the prayers are like affirmation which creates positive effect on your mind and body and helps to develop your personality in holistic way. It’s not restricted for any specific religion or for any specific people. Everybody can chant these prayers and get benefited from it. Even during Ramazan month what you are doing is Yoga only.


In the next session he did all the prayers and chanted mantras in the class without any hesitation. It’s really good example to follow the correct yogic path. After all what is yoga? Yoga is just the lifestyle which you have to live, experience. Instead of practicing yoga try to live Yoga.


So, are you ready to accept different lifestyle?

On vegetarian Diet

हरी ॐ

This is a very ideal example for everyone. On the very first day of the class when I was telling my students about the diet restriction for getting more benefits of yoga. I raised a point to become Vegetarian as well. And told them that how it’s important to be a vegetarian to keep your body and mind healthy. It’s very difficult for Kazak people to move suddenly on Vegetarian diet। I told them that it’s not very hard and fast rule that you must be vegetarian to practice yoga. But gradually you can change your habits.

As classes were progressing I told them to observe the changes happening in their body and mind। Everyone was very happy with their progress and all of them were enjoying it.

When I asked one of my students about his progress। He told me that he got lots of positive changes in his life. Before starting practicing yoga several times he tried to be on the vegetarian diet but that time it was quite difficult for him to continue this habit for long time. He could not manage to control his mind. But after starting practicing yogic studies he started feeling more efficient in all aspects. And he started eating only vegetarian food from the first day of yoga class.

I've seen that it takes quite some time for changing your habits। Even some time it takes several years to change it. But in his case he just did it in a moment. He told me that yoga only make him mentally strong and gave him energy to make a strong resolve to change his habit and to become vegetarian.

It’s a really good example to have a control over the mind।

In my experience of teaching yoga I realized that always we say that we need to get the control over the mind। But I think instead of controlling the mind, we have to be friendly with it as a best friend. Then it can listen to us and can follow all the things which we need to do.

May be he did the same thing........

What do you think?

Please don’t free my Soul!

हरी ॐ

Before starting yoga classes I invited everyone who was applied for the class; just to get introduced with each other. It was non formal inauguration function. One girl from that group helped me to translate in Russian language because nearly 50 percent of the students were unable to understand English very well. I delivered introductory lecture on yoga and asked all of them to follow some rules for the practice of Yoga. All of them appreciated the lecture, but there was one lady who seems like quite nervous while hearing my talk. But I did not take it seriously; I thought she is not much interested in this activity and will not continue the class.

But surprisingly on the next day she came to me, to ask some thing about yoga. The lady was quite nervous and asked me, to give her promise that I should not tell these things to others. She told me that she read in some Yoga book that if you practice Yoga and get mastery over that then your ‘Soul’ can leave your body and can travel anywhere in the cosmos. I was quite surprised to listen this from her.

Then she asked me that if she joins the class then, "will I let her soul go out of her body?" She told me, “I don’t want to let my soul go out of my body till the end of my life. I don’t want to loose it.” She asked me, “Shall I join the class?”

I was unanswered for a moment. First time in my teaching experience I got such type of (funny?) question. Then I just told her that Yoga is not like hypnotism that I’m going to control your body and mind. Even I can’t do anything to your body; you only have to experience the science of Yoga and get enlighten by the yogic practices. I’m just here to guide you through Yoga.

After that discussion she was like a free bird- happy. It seems me like she has unloaded the tons of anxiety from her mind and now ready to join the Yoga class. I asked her to come and enjoy the Yogic practices.

Now she is one of the most sincere students in my class and not even skipped any session from the beginning of the class.

*****

Yoga Pravesh in Almaty

~ हरी ॐ ~

With the holy blessings of Swamiji and Guruji I got a chance to teach outside India. It’s always a tough task to teach unfamiliar people; especially with different culture, different life style and in different country. But facing challenges is the only charm of life. So I decided to take this opportunity as a challenge. And if there are such powerful people to bless you always then every challenge becomes the path of flower which shows you the way to success only. My teacher Mr.B.P.Bam and Guruji used to tell me that, “If you are making sincere efforts with pure thoughts then there is nothing in the world to distract you from your goals. You just need to have faith on what you are doing and keep making sincere efforts for that.” “God is always there to take care of you. He has interest in you that’s why he keeps sending challenges to make you more efficient to face new once.” These sacred lines made me more confident to come here and teach these people of Kazakhstan.

Last year I was here in Kazakhstan for three months and that time I delivered personal Yoga training for two businessmen and their families. It was a nice experience to teach them and their families. This time I came here with quite big challenge i.e. for opening branch of Yoga Vidya Gurukul in Almaty (southern capital of Kazakhstan). I don’t know I’m fit for this job or not but Guruji trusted me and selected me for this big job for Gurukul. I’m here just to follow his path. And I’m quiet confident that I’ll be able to make it with his blessings.

I came here in May 2007 since that time I was looking for a proper place to open Yoga Center. In these days I was searching for the proper place, students for yoga class. Of course, doing all these things alone is quite difficult job but there are lots of supports from Mr. Prasad Bhamare (Organizer of Yoga Activity in Almaty), ‘Lancaster Group of Kazakhstan’ and ‘Keleshek Kazakhstan Foundation’. Mr. Nurlan Kapparov (chairman of Lancaster Group) managed to give his staff to work on this activity. Ms. Gulnur (President of Keleshek Foundation) worked on this project and helped me to find the place and to invite students for Yoga Classes.

Since 4^th September 2007 I have started teaching people of Almaty. It’s my first experience to teach a group of people out of India and to use interpreter for teaching. Teaching to a group is always quite tough task than personal teaching. Because in personal teaching your object of focus is always remains fixed. But in group teaching you need to take care of everyone in your class otherwise you can not succeed to impart this pure knowledge in proper way. But I’ve a hope that with Swamiji’s and Guruji’s blessings I’ll be successful to spread the light of Yoga here in Kazakhstan.

Today I'm going to have examination for the first batch to whom I taught in last two months. And will start teaching new people from 5th of November. During last two months I've got some fabulous experiences while teaching. I would like to share some of them with you.

Soon I'll post it here...