Temple in which your soul resides

In India, where I grew up, there is a belief that the body is the temple in which your soul resides. The healthier and more cared for the outer temple, the more serene and wise the soul. 

Yogic nutrition can be summed up in the Rule of 3. I am going to tell you what this rule is not first and then I’ll tell you what this rule is. The Rule of 3 is not about carbs, fats, sugars, or calories. The Rule of 3 is not about whether or not your body needs dairy or animal protein. The Rule of 3 is not about how much gluten you choose to consume or not to consume. 

Stop worrying about those at once. I mean right now! Use common sense. If you are allergic to something don’t eat it. If eating something makes you feel bad, don’t eat it.

Now let us turn to what the rule is.

The Rule of 3 asks us to focus on only three items in our diet. All we have to do is to keep our intake of these 3 items to the optimal. 

The first item in the Rule of 3 is water. Drink very large amounts of high quality water. Carry water with you at all times. And remember to drink water when doing slow yoga! 

The second item in the Rule of 3 is fresh fruits and vegetables. Find and eat only the freshest organic fruits and vegetables. Participate in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project and get a weekly box of organic fruits and veggies each week. It may be the best political statement about supporting a slow lifestyle that you could make while becoming healthy! Eat these every day, several times a day.

The third item in the Rule of 3 is Ghee. Ghee is familiar to Indian and French cooks (who refer to it as clarified butter) as well as yogis who swear by its almost magical properties. You can buy ghee at your local heath food store or Whole Foods. Ghee is butter transformed through an almost alchemical process rendering it very powerful in its abilities to do two things: First, to carry nutrients deep into your tissues and organs, and second, to detoxify. Ghee is unique in its ability to detoxify fat soluble toxins in the body. Most importantly, it tastes great! Try it on top of lightly steamed vegetables or cook with it instead of oil or butter!

The Rule of 3 provides a simple, yet comprehensive nutritional system for the development of a beautiful body. And the more beautiful your body looks and feels, the more you honor the soul that resides within your temple. 

Peace and Love,

Slowly,

Abhay

Relaxing into the postures

I recently received an email from an old student of mine that made me think about the difference between yoga and Western modes of exercise. Here is an excerpt from the email:

Hey Abhay! How's it going? I have been thinking about you a lot lately. Since I'm working in SF now I joined a gym nearby and have been taking yoga there every Monday and Wednesday morning - at 6:30am no doubt! It's a moderate hatha-based power yoga class and is quite challenging, but I'm doing well with it and feel fantastic. I also work out there twice a week and am really happy with the improvements I'm seeing.

You're on my mind at every class because of the core things you taught me about yoga - breath and alignment. This class doesn't go into as much detail on those topics as yours did, and if I had not studied with you I would not be doing nearly as well...I'm afraid I'd be fighting the asanas instead of relaxing into them solidly.......

I was happy to know that this student really understood what yoga was all about. Because it is different from what we in the West call exercise. For yoga to have its almost magical effects you have to let go, relax into the postures, and flow with the rhythm of the 4 yogic cycles.

Peace and love

Abhay

Love

What exactly is love? Is it a feeling or state of being? Some mystical thinkers have described the development of the human being in terms of the development of love. When you can love everything, right and wrong, good and evil, you have reached nirvana, the state of oneness with all-that-is.

Yoga teaches us a different kind of love. A love of every aspect of our bodies. Consider the wonder that is your body that allows you to experience the beauty of each passing breath, the gentle breeze, the magic of a moonlit night. Why not take the time to appreciate each part of your body, to call each part beautiful: toes, ankles, calves, shins, knees, thighs, buttocks, anus, vagina, penis, belly, internal organs, chest, breasts, back, shoulders, upper arms, fore arms, elbows, wrists, palms, fingers, neck, face, scalp.

Our yoga practice is a love-fest of sorts. The point, according to the ancients, is not to exercise each part, but rather to pay homage to each and every part of your body.

Peace and Love,

Abhay

Grace

Our practice of yoga aims at developing kripa, or grace, in body and mind. The idea of grace was very important to the Ancients and is the foundation of spiritual yoga even today.

The Ancients preferred the natural undulating curves of the belly, gently rounded shoulders, lenghtened muscle fibers. Modern day preoccupations with body fat content and the development of unnaturally shortened muscles (such as the six-pack) go against the vision of the great yogis.

What is it about yoga that makes it so different from western exercise? The yoga asanas, or postures, are designed to lengthen the muscle fibers while at the same time working on the glandular level to create harmony and balance. The major joints,glands, and organs are stimulated and recover their innate abilities to function flawlessly. Western exercise, on the other hand, simply tightens and shortens muscle fibers in an attempt to reduce bulk in some places and add bulk in others. This purely mechnical view of the body can only lead to a machine-like body.

Yoga sees the body as an organic whole and the practice of yoga is the practice of kripa or grace.

Peace and Love
Abhay