Hanumanasana

Hanumanasana
This posture is dedicated to the Monkey God Hanuman, who is an epitome of strength of surrender. Physically this posture is an intense stretch of the thigh area.

Step-by-step

Kneel on the floor. Extend your right leg forward and bend your torso with an exhale so that both your hands are on the floor.
Slowly start sliding your right foot forward. As the front leg straightens, resume pressing the left knee back, and carefully descend the front of the left thigh and the back of the right leg (and the base of the pelvis) to the floor. Make sure the center of the right knee points directly up toward the ceiling.
Please make sure that the back leg does not extend to the side back. Extend the front leg by keeping it active and engaged.
If the hip doesn’t reach the floor then hold your body weight on your hands. If it reaches the floor join the hands together in prayer position.
Hold the position for 30 seconds to one minute depending on your comfort level. To come out, press your hands to the floor, turn the front leg out slightly, and slowly return the front heel and the back knee to their starting positions. Then reverse the legs and repeat for the same length of time.

The famous yoga guru, Shri. Pattabhi Jois, once said “practice, practice and everything is coming”. This one small sentence has probably launched a thousand yoga studios across the world. But, my thought is, are we reading the word “practice” in the right spirit? Do we all need to widen our definition of “practice” in the context of Yoga.

Probably the word “practice” has been literally translated from the Sanskrit word “Sadhana”.

Yoga is a science of gradual evolution towards our True nature of loving, empowered and energized Being. Following the methods of Yoga, in a wholesome sense over a period of time under the guidance of a teacher and being open to the grace is called Sadhana.

Asanas seem to be dominating the field of sadhana in recent years. People derive a great sense of joy and pride mastering asanas. It is very easy to get caught up refining the asanas for years and conveniently ignoring the field of psychological exploration. As we start practicing asanas our self awareness increases. We start understanding the ways of our body and it’s sensations. This awareness, if encouraged, broadens its field to the mind zone. Thus, if the asanas are practiced properly and under an able guide, they would definitely loosen up the dense subconscious tendencies of our mind, which will result in some deeper psychological issues to surface. This is when an honest and sincere review of the issues that come up should be conducted. This is a part of the process of refinement (sadhana) according to Hatha Yoga.

This refinement or transformation happens gradually and subtly. If the Yogi is involved “unconsciously” or mechanically in the sadhana there is a danger of getting “stuck”, leading to frustration, competition and in the end dropping out of the path. In fact somewhere deep down within we know there are skeletons in our mental closet and that’s why for years we “entertain” ourselves with the asana practice in order to avoid facing the fears within, which start coming up as we venture into exploring the mind.

This is a major issue in many yoga enthusiasts.

Here are some tips to help us avoid this trap:

• The Yoga sadhana has the inherent power to gradually take you from feeling of limitedness of body-mind complex to the final stage of identification with the True Self. That is why it is of at most importance to have a wider view of sadhana, wider in the sense of the sadhana being the means to liberation of body-mind complex and not just muscular stretches.
• Be patient, because on spiritual path it is not about how fast you get there.
• Have faith in Yoga, the Guru, and your own self effort.
• Since yoga is practiced also in social set ups like yoga studios etc, it is natural that the mind would start competing. Therefore it is necessary to remember that yoga is the process of “individual” refinement. So just keep your eyes on your own sadhana and do not get confused or distracted by others sadhana.
• It would not be wrong on my part if I said that Sadhana is a process of trade. Be sure to give something to receive something, this is how energy is transformed and karmas are balanced. That’s why the process of sadhana has also been called as a Yajna or a sacrifice. The Yogi voluntarily offers his/her negatives into the fire (tapas) of his self effort and this is balanced by the reward of feeling and being liberated.
• Finally, look at Sadhana-self exploration with joy and a sense of wonderment. It is beautiful how life brings us exactly the things that we need to learn. Till we learn, the experiences keep coming again and again. This is the basis of the Divine plan for us. In our myopia we just don’t see it. Every hardship is nothing but freedom in disguise. If we view life in this way, life in itself becomes a Sadhana.

It feels nice to be back with you on the site. It has been a whirlwind tour of 12 weeks across 11 countries, and what a tour it was! If I can sum up my experience in one word I would say “awakening”. Yes, the world is waking up. There is a wave of personal uprising, which is spinning off into people’s movement.

One of the reasons why my tours are such a huge learning experience for me is because of the local flavor. Which so ever country I visit, I chose to live with the locals, and experience their company, culture, cuisine and chaos. Superficially it looks like every country in itself is in some or other crisis and that at the base level humans are not happy. If we don’t look deep enough we feel as if the society as a whole has lost all options and is succumbing under the pressure of future and is dragged down by the guilt of past.

But amidst this gloomy overview I have seen a light of hope, a spark still burning, little movement of “awakening”. People across the world have started asking questions, squeezing out of comfort zones and pushing against the walls of their limiting belief systems. It is no more about accepting things hands down in hopelessness, the time for action has come, welcome.

The unrest as such is a movement towards stabilization of not only some countries but also the whole humanity. As our Yogi ancestors would have told us, the Earth is one country and all of humanity is its citizens.

Not just in Yoga philosophy but this has been a common wisdom across ages. One of my favorite Roman philosopher Seneca wrote that there are two kinds of citizenship. About one of them he said “terminus civitatis nostrae cum sole metimur” (we measure the boundaries of our citizenship by the path of the sun) and about the other he describes as “cui nos adscripsit condicio nascendi” (the one assigned to us by an accident of birth). If we want to create a more peaceful world, all of us in every country should come together and focus on the first type of citizenship. And this is what I see happening now. With internet technology closing in the divides between countries and social networking sites becoming the sanctums of solidarity, that little spark has started growing into a flame of freedom, freedom from limited view of life, humanity and our potential to be good and do good.

How can Yoga help us kindle this flame of freedom that is sweeping across the world? First of all it is important to understand the basis of yoga which is Yoga is a science of conscious living and realizing our true nature, which is Love and freedom. If we remind ourselves to work with this ideology and ground ourselves in this belief the future that we will create will have an inherent strength.

Secondly, we all need to take a big conscious step towards personal responsibility. It’s high time we humans start becoming responsible for our own life and the life of humanity in general. Each action put forth as an individual, corporation or a country should have some accountability. This is not just in case of political organizations but also the corporate Goliaths who have been taking human society on a mindlessly manipulative spree. When a person understands the implications of his/her own actions and acts responsibly, the society as a whole, since it is made up of individuals will develop a common consciousness. That is when we will see the humanity moving towards a common goal, a “summum bonam” as they say.

And last but not the least, let us all look at each other as “human beings” first. Beyond the color and the race the same red blood flows in our veins, beyond the country and commerce we all breath the same air. Yes, it is hard because we have been conditioned by society over years to segregate each other on basis of these hollow classifications, but it’s now time to look beyond it. We all have been blessed with a conscious mind, and the will to consciously choose. So, let this be the moment in which the whole humanity chooses as One. The only way we can manage this is by consciously reminding ourselves that we are all in our own stages of personal development, and not to be judgmental and prejudiced on basis of the above.

This revolution that has taken the globe in its stride will simmer with us recognizing the fire of freedom within and then letting it light a few fires around in our immediate family and neighborhood. Let us all contribute our own part in this process by being the change that we want to see.

For details, visit: soulretreats.wordpress.com/

Bharadvajasana

Bharadvajasana

Step-by-step

Sit on the floor with your legs straight in front. Shift over onto your right buttock, bend your knees, and swing your legs to the left. Lay your feet on the floor outside your left hip, with the left ankle resting in the right arch.
Twist your torso to the right, keeping the left buttock on or very close to the floor. Lengthen your tailbone toward the floor to keep the lower back long.
Place your left hand under your right knee and bring your right hand to the floor just next to your right buttock.
Press your shoulder blades firmly against your back.
Continue the twist of the torso by turning it to the right; or counter the twist of the torso by turning it left and looking over the left shoulder at your feet.
With every inhalation lift the spine a little more, with every exhalation twist a little more. Stay for 30 seconds to 1 minute, then release with an exhalation, return to the starting position, and repeat to the left for the same length of time.

Benefits

This asana is a safe way of developing the spinal flexibility.
The twists help to give the abdominal area a gentle massage thus helping heal ailments of the gastro intestinal tract.

This question brings us to a very important point mentioned in the books of yoga (Katha-Upanishad), the concept of Shreyas and Preyas. Shreyas and Preyas are two paths mentioned in the Upanishad. The simplest meaning of the paths is basically the ‘perspective’ with which you look at things. ‘Shreyas’ is the path of lasting good and ‘Preyas’ is the path of immediate satisfaction.

The Upanishad is obviously talking about spiritual path, but it is also perfectly applicable in our day to day life. The yoga enthusiast who does not conduct his asana with awareness and focus will lose site of the ‘present’ moment and push so hard so as to injure, just to get his/her body in some desired posture for a micro-second to feel good in the ego. If the asanas are conducted with an understanding that the body develops its capabilities over a period of time and not in one yoga class, the asana practice would be ‘lightening’ and un-stressful.

When the Yogi follows the path of shreyas, the perspective becomes broader, allowing for time and regularity to ground the practice, which can provide benefits for the entire life time, rather than injuring and causing a setback to the beautiful, gentle process of growth. Not just in the asana practice but also in day to day life, how many times have we gone over board with food, drinks, habit patterns, guilt and other tendencies because of loss of the bigger picture?

The beauty of Universe lies in the fact that the imminent and transient are both present simultaneously in the here and now; it is not that the permanent is in one place and the impermanent in another. In our life every moment presents a choice between the permanent and the impermanent. The impermanent comes in form of various situations, opportunities, and pleasures, while the permanent is ever there as the very basis of it all. The movies projected on the screen may keep changing but the ‘white’ screen permanently remains, untouched and unscratched.

So, if we really ’see’ things, they can be experienced in two realities, the immediate reality and the wider reality. A skilled mind can distinguished easily between them. This skill is called ‘viveka’ or discretion. An approach to gradually change the perception of things needs to be inculcated in our life. This can happen when we develop certain sensitivity to appreciate lasting happiness as opposed to the impermanent pleasures. This ability in the Yoga sutra is called ‘viveka-khyati’ in which the person is able to see things as they are and not what the mind-veils or sensory defects project.

For example – A person who needs to lose weight may have to give up eating some things and take up a rigorous exercise routine, in the beginning it takes a lot of effort to banish laziness and ‘behave’ while eating, later the challenge gets tougher as it takes even more effort to keep up the motivation to workout and diet over certain period of time. In this case, the immediate reality can be interpreted as ’suffering’ but over some months of consistent practice as the weight loss happens, the person finds joy, confidence and lightness. Ultimately this health routine, if managed properly can become a lifestyle and the constant yo-yoing of weight and psyche along with it can be controlled. In the view of ‘preyas’, the enthusiast could have quit the weight loss program labeling it to be ’suffering’ or by blaming others, but if the perspective is made broader and looked from the point of ’shreyas’, the few months of regular training can become a healthy lifestyle accruing benefits for the whole life.

Let’s get it straight, it’s about ‘Choice’, and life gives us enough chance and strength to make choices, that’s why in the sciences of Tantra its called ‘iccha shakti’, the ’strength of will’. Our choices create our reality. As long as the mind is full of attractions and repulsions, the impermanent alone attracts the mind and we do not choose the permanent. We become myopic with the immediate things, and turn blind to the bigger picture. The ‘inner voice’ or the ‘intuition’ diminishes as the mind is busy fulfilling the demands of immediate externals.

The two important things we all should practice are firstly to take time to ’see through’ things and not just ‘look at’ them, look for the bigger picture and not the immediate pleasures. This can be developed over a period of time by being mindful and aware of the situations and taking responsibility of the choices we make.

Secondly, generate trust in that ‘inner voice’. This can be achieved by practicing meditation to stop the chatter of mind between likes and dislikes, working on past issues with forgiveness and letting go, and finally giving the ‘inner voice’ a chance in every experience that life takes us to. Let us all try to live our own truth honestly till we reach the final Truth. Let us resolve to look beyond the ‘me’ and ‘mine’ and waking up to the call of our Hearts.

A time will come when our Will, will become the Universal Will and then the life will flow through us and not against us.

“For many years I have suffered from an inferiority complex about my dance. During Prasad’s workshop, my soul opened up. And for the first time in my life my body was dancing with so much that I wept with joy. I could not understand what was happening to me. I finally felt freedom in dance – “It’s wonderful!” – because I thought before that I could never dance.

I had never practised yoga before that. It was a new and unexpected experience for my body. My chest filled up with oxygen, became free and I was breathing easily. Now I practise exercises and feel more energy and high spirits. I have been getting lighter and more flexible.

During meditaton on the river Teacher (Master) asked us, “What have you comprehended from workshop about yourself? What is your motto?” The answer that came to me was, “Trusting myself, turning inwards deeply – diving into myself!” I could feel the river, its stream, it seemed to me that the river penetrated through me. Now I feel that my womanhood will also blossom. I want to feel myself like a woman – I want to love and be loved.

After the trip to India, I have got internal tranquillity, peace of mind and self-trust. I discovered Love. I am happy. I am grateful to Prasad, love him like my Teacher (Master) and wish to keep going on up this path.”

- Aldana
Workshop participant from Lithuania

“This is the fifth time I have joined his workshop. I started my spiritual journey in 2006 and the first workshop that I joined was Prasad’s Yoga Workshop.

But each time that I came close to him, I would feel annoyed and disturbed emotionally by his presence. It seemed as though he could cut through the layers of my mind and go directly to my essence. He helped me face my fears every time, which was a painful process at that moment. I promised myself each time, “Okay, it’s the last one, no more of this, he does not understand my sufferings or story.” However, after a while, I could sense that I am a little bit lighter than before, and I came back again each time for being disturbed, i.e. facing what I have been covering up.

For me, the spiritual journey is a process of discovering the true self or the truth. On the way, you have to come face to face with those emotions or fears that you have hidden for a long, long time. This process is very painful, but yet meaningful. And it is also a process to learn how to love yourself and embrace yourself, whoever you are. Self love and acceptance is the key. If you can’t face the mud that covers the goldstone, how can you find the gold underneath? And the truth is, you are the gold.”

- Helen Ho
Participant at the Yoga Workshop in Hongkong

“Prasad’s yoga workshops helped our actors cultivate a heightened awareness of their bodies and physical abilities. His techniques also helped to focus them toward the character work. By integrating the mind and body Prasad and his yoga classes opened up the actors to both physical and mental work. Prasad is a wonderful teacher and yoga practitioner and we are so fortunate to be able to work with him.”

- Jillian Campana, Ph.D.
Artistic Director – Studio Three Theatre (USA and India)
American School of Bombay – Theatre Faculty
University of Montana – Professor of Theatre

Yoga for Physical Education

Prasad made yoga fun yet challenging for our physical education students at the American School of Bombay. His communication was age level appropriate (11 – 16 year olds) enabling him to quickly establish a good rapport with our students. His expertise was evident as he blended the health related components of fitness with yoga and made excellent anatomical and physiological connections. Prasad made yoga meaningful to our students by explaining the benefits to their total health and making clear connections to their lives; enhances academic and sport performance, reduces stress, and improves mental, emotional and physical health. Prasad’s ability to challenge their mental boundaries in order for our students to achieve substantial physical improvement within such a short time frame (only 3 days) was amazing.

Thanks to Prasad’s help, we are incorporating yoga on a regular basis into our Physical and Health Education classes and we are excited that he has agreed to return on a yearly basis to our classes.

- Debra Darson
Head of Physical & Health Education Department,
American School of Bombay

I have had the chance to join the retreat in Thailand last week with Prasad. I am practicing Yoga now for 8 years, I met different teachers from all over the world, participated in numerous workshops and retreats as well. A lot of teachers have strong knowledge about body structures and scriptures. But most of them do not have this ability to communicate their true love for Yoga, the true meaning of yoga and spirituality.

To me, some of the great teachers appear to be surgeons who look at you as a disease not a human being. But not Prasad. He is not a fashion Guru Man who only wants to be ‘in’. His focus is on the meaning of Yoga – “It is the steady movement of the individual soul towards the Supreme Soul. Yoga is a steady ascent to the Divine”.

Besides the basic postures, with Prasad you can explore your divine essence, your true love towards yourself. You learn to let go. I enjoyed those 3 days so much – to reconnect with myself, his words were mine, he touched me with his words, his way of teaching, his patience, his true love for each student. As for myself, because of him I am confident with Pranayama I gained understanding.

To have a class with Prasad is exploring behind the Asana, whether you are already a teacher, a yogi or a newcomer. You cannot stay without receiving any self transformation after meeting him. This man is not only gifted but he really loves human beings! Thanks a lot Prasad. I hope to see you again and have the opportunity to join other workshops.

- Christine Balastegui
Participant, Yoga Journal – Thailand Retreat
February 2011

Vashishthasana

Vashishthasana (’side plank posture’), is a powerful arm balance posture. The name is dedicated to the wisest sage of Yoga.

Step-by-step

Start in the adho mukha svanasana (’downward dog’) and lengthen your arms and your legs.
Lower your hips and shift your weight forward to come into the start of push up posture. Keep your feet together and balance the body.Press your weight down through your right hand and forearm.
Roll your body to the right, balancing on the outer edge of your right foot.
Place your left foot on top of your right foot and keep your legs straight.
Extend your left arm towards the sky and look at your left hand by turning your head.
Do not let your hip drop, hold your body in a straight line. Beginners can take support of the left leg by placing the left knee on the floor. Hold for up to 30 seconds.
Exhale as you slowly return to Plank Pose, then into Downward-Facing Dog.
Repeat on the opposite side.
After both sides, rest in child posture.

Benefits

(Note: It is important to ensure you are performing the pose with correct alignment.)
The posture is strengthener of your wrists, forearms, shoulders, and spine.
It works on tight hip area and opens the hips and hamstrings. It helps improve balancing ability and concentration.
It also allows strengthening of abdominals for venturing into advanced arm balance postures.

- Nigel Oakins
Publisher, Yoga Journal – Thailand