Happy 2008!!

God does not want us to do extraordinary things; he wants us to do ordinary things extraordinarily well.

Usher in the new year leaving behind all the negatives of the past year & taking only the positives. I would like to thank and wish a very happy 2008 to my blog guests in India, the US, the UK, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, Botswana, Hongkong, Norway, France, Germany, Taiwan........

Will be back in 2008 with more interesting stuff. I would greatly appreciate comments & suggestions from you.

Cheers!!

Thought for today

Originality is the art of concealing your sources.

How Tai Chi Works

In his book 'Tai Chi & QiGong', the author Bill Douglas says that Tai Chi is truly the exercise of the future. Just as we flow through the changes of life (or not), our life energy, or Qi (Chi, prana), flows through us (or not, if we are stressed out). Qi is the energy of life and flows through all living beings. It animates, heals & nurtures life. When the stress of change makes us tense, we squeeze off the flow of life energy. Physically this feels like tension. Tai Chi & QiGong are easy, simple yet sophisticated relaxation exercises that encourage the muscles to let go of tension, the mind to let go of worry and the heart to let go of angst. These negative emotions block the flow of Qi. They are the result of our mind or body being unable to "let go" of something.

The goal of Tai Chi is to move through a series of choreographed movements like a slow martial arts routine, but very slowly & in a state of absolute relaxation. In order to do this we have to let go of our mental/ physical tensions, grudges, prejudices and anything that keeps us tied to the past. This enables us to flow more easily into the future by clearing our mind and body of old stress so we can get a fresh perspective on life.

I have been practising Tai Chi for a year now, and believe me, it works!!

Thought for today

Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.

Have fun with this ball game!!

Juggle two rubber balls with one hand placing the other behind your back. Throw the 1st in the air, then throw the 2nd & catch the 1st. Go on like that for a few counts & change your hand.

It's a difficult game to get in the beginning, but don't lost patience. It needs a keen sense of observation plus hand-eye co-ordination. With practice you'll be able to adjust the height, pace of the throws. It works like meditation, develops concentration & co-ordination, and cultivates a sense of balance. Pass it on to your friends, children and their friends.

I learnt it at the Yoga Institute, Santacruz, Mumbai; from one of the teachers. He equalled the two balls that we were juggling to the dualities, the opposites that exist in the world and the purpose was to strike a balance so that none of the balls will fall. Yin-yang, ida-pingala, hot-cold, sunrise-sunset, love-hate, hard-soft, awake-asleep and so on. The universe works on the principle of dualities and our job is to balance them to lead a good life. Any kind of extreme is detrimental. This made a lot of sense to me.

Therefore, learn, practice & have fun. Will blog about more such games later.

Ciao

Thought for today

The hourglass sits on the mantle for each of us and each of us can see that all of the sand is no longer at the top. The sand is running. Time is passing. We can't "save" time - we can only invest it while we watch it go by.

Is it time for New Year Resolutions??

Around New Years', invariably all publications (newspapers & magazines) carry articles regarding resolutions for the new year. Some questioning the celebrities, some common people. But I have never seen any article about the resolutions taken in the past year and an evaluation of them - were they followed, their effects in life etc. I am not saying that one shouldn't have resolutions, but they need not be connected to the new years.

And resolution is a process
1. Taking a resolution
2. Making effort to adhere to it
3. Analyzing our performance
4. Taking corrective measures

I know i am starting to sound like an MBA (masters in business administration), which BTW i am, but that's not my point. Life is about planning, managing, organizing, controlling.

Sometime back i went to see my neighbour who's going to turn 100 (that's right one hundred years on this planet) in a couple of months. We were generally chatting when she told me about her daily routine. One thing that struck me was that every morning before getting up from bed she'd take resolutions for the day. It can be anything small or big like not eating a few things, not getting angry, doing a good deed, not using cars, having only lunch, calling a long lost friend, visiting the temple, laughing a lot, helping a family member, creating something new etc. And i thought to myself, is this the way to live, drawing boundaries everyday??

But on second thought i feel, isn't it a great way to live? After all moderation is the key. And having resolutions for the day helps us in being control. It improves mental strength, willpower, self control (brahmacharya), effort (tapa) and makes life more interesting. We might feel as if we are being CONTROLLED but after a few days it becomes a second nature.

There is a direct correlation between breath, mind and body. So taking a resolution and following it definitely improves our health. Take a minute here just to ponder on this................................................. (think of a possible resolution, the effort you would have to put in and the benefits you could derive).

I feel, New Year's Resolution is like a top of a mountain we wish to climb and daily resolutions are the steps taken for reaching the top.

Is there anything that you would like to share???

Thought for today

A man is not hurt so much by what happens, as by his opinions of what has happened.

A man in search of Peace

There was once a man who had one wife, four children living in one BHK (bedroom, hall kitchen), very stressed with work, lack of space, children crying and shouting, totally distressed in his life. One day, saintly person came to the village who was apparently distributing peace. So the man went to him asking for mental peace in his life. The sage was ready but on one condition that the man does exactly whatever he said without questioning.

For the first week the saint asked the man to bring a dog into his house. "A dog!!", the man said. "We can barely manage with the 6 of us living in this tiny house & you are asking me to bring a dog on top of that." "Do as I ask you do, if you want peace and come back to me in the next week", the saint said. So the man did as was told. Next week he met the saint, a cat was added to his home. The man started to protest but kept quiet because of the saint's condition. Third time the man went to him with his hopes high on getting what he wanted, but to his shock a goat got added. And a few hens in the fourth week. By this time he was getting used to the shabbiness of the house, stink of the animals but yet he survived.

In the later weeks he was asked to get rid of all the animals one by one. First when he got rid of the hens, he was happy. When the goat went he was glad, his happiness knew no bounds when the cat was gone & he was in sheer bliss. When the dog was left the man was so much at peace that he didn’t even bother to go back to the saint. So the saint came to his house inquisitive about what had happened and asked to give the dog away. The man had finally found his peace.

What changed? The situation remained the same. He was staying in the same dingy house with his wife & four kids; but his outlook towards it changed. CAN WE ALSO TAKE A BETTER LOOK AT OURSELVES KEEPING THIS IN MIND?

Analyzing Anger

Here's a small quiz which tells us 'How do we cope with anger?' Think and answer the questions.

Sometime back I had written a few articles on anger, effects of expressed and suppressed anger and managing anger. It will give you a better perspective if you are to take a peek through these articles before jumping on to the quiz.

Coconut Water

While having fresh coconut water, take out 2 tbsps in a bowl. Take a few drops on your palms and massage it on the face. Massage your scalp with the rest. Keep it for sometime before washing it off and see the result.

We have taller buildings but shorter tempers,
wider roads but narrower viewpoints.

We spend more but have less,
buy more but enjoy less.

We have bigger houses but smaller families,
more conveniences but less time.

We have more knowledge but less judgement,
more experts yet more problems,
more medicines but less wellness.

Kareena swears by yoga

I have always found Kareena Kapoor to be the most glamorous actresses of our times. And at present she sports one of the best bodies in business. FYI Kareena's been practising yoga for her body & mind since a couple of years now. Want to read more......

This is a recent article which appeared in Mumbai Mirror. We should learn 'commitment' from celebrities. I know they are paid (in cash & kind) to do so but aren't we also paid, albeit in kind? Remember we used to have a poem in school "What money can't buy?", well health is surely one such thing.

Batti Bandh - Lights Off !!!

Batti Bandh is an entirely voluntary event taking place on the 15th of December between 7:30 & 8:30 p.m. This event is aimed at requesting all of Mumbai to stand up for a cause that is greater than all of us. All you need to do is switch off lights and appliances in your home, shop, office, school, college or anywhere you are for 1 hour to take a stand against global warming.

I am going to encourage youth who have taken this initiative and i urge you too. This is your chance to show yourself and the world that you care. It's only a tiny symbolic step, but every effort counts. For more visit website.

Personal Note - Holiday walk

Sorry for a long hiatus from blogging, i was on a short vacation to Mahabaleshwar (a beautiful hill station, 6 hrs drive from Mumbai). We stayed at Ramsukh Resorts & Spa, which i would definitely recommend to all for their location, services, facilities and food. For the four days that i was there, i ate and ate......... from morning bed tea, breakfast, a hearty lunch, tea snacks to the dinner at night we were served everything. The only thing which kept me active, light, energetic, without putting on a gram of weight (after literally hogging food), was walking. And that is the reason i am writing this piece.

We (my husband & i) used to walk for 2 hours everyday absorbing the fresh air, nourishing sunlight and keeping ourselves fit, not to mention getting ready for the next meal. The resort also had organized jungle walks every morning which were very refreshing. Apart from those all hill station including Mahabaleshwar offer tourists various walking routes.

Well that's what these vacations are for, right? So, when on a holiday, keep walking.........

Personal Note

I have been practicing the headstand (shirshasana) for many years. Started as a kid doing it against the wall but have taken it more seriously since the past couple of years. And i have surely progressed. From the wall, to a foot away from the wall, holding for 10 seconds to 1 minute, 3 minutes and now i can hold with ease for even 7-8 minutes.

The point i want to make here is that, there is absolutely no short cut to anything. We have to be persistent and patient. And the results will come slowly, step-by-step. That's how life is!!

Variation in the Warrior

After going into Warrior - I, (with arms up in namaste), slide the same arm as that of the back leg down to the heel and take the opposite arm over the head. Tilt the head to look towards the heel. A nice variation to the warrior. It strengthens the legs as well as gives a nice twist to the spine. Hold it for as long as comfortable & change sides.

Enjoy your practice!!!