Day5 Workshop4

Chapter 6 of the Bhagavad Gita deals with the yoga of meditation and this is what Swami Samachitananda expounded on today. He talked about the need to prepare the body and the mind for the realization of the soul. Its not either the mind or the the body that is the real self, and this self can be realized through meditation. But practice is the most important thing here. He says reading scriptures alone does not do anything - they are merely the script for the action-the practice. Further discussion on how to meditate, how to prepare our body and mind and what is the ideal environment/ambience we need to create for meditation he said he would elaborate in the next lecture.

The workshop consisted of exercises while lying on our stomach, all of which are very beneficial for stregthening the spine, the entire back, especially the lower back. The shalabahsan (locust or grasshopper), the naukasan (canoe), the bhujangasan ( serpent), the dhanursan (bow string). After this the participants were individually taught the exercises done while sitting up, pachimottnasan (forward bend), akarnadhanursan (archer's stance), the ardhamaschidrasan (spinal twists excellent for those suffereing from diabetes), the gomukhasan (cow) and ustrsan (camel). Each of the exercises massage different internal organs and improve their efficiency.

Day 4, Workshop 3

Jnan yoga or the yoga of knowledge-knowing oneself is a rather dry subject and I have only heard the greatest of seers deal with it with some degree of credibility. It is a yoga for those among us who are rational, questioning, inquiring, investigative and experimenting by nature. Swamiji dealt with it very skilfully and tried to simplify it as much as possible for the layman. He quipped that if you go wrong in your physical yoga techniques you could perhaps blame it on your instructors. But jnan yoga is a tireless undertaking by the self to know the self. Any impediments and its consequence we have to bear it ourselves. It is a very difficult yoga to pursue.

NB: I would be happy to give more details of the speech to those who are interested.

The workshop consisted of physical postures, like the four count rolling that prepares our body for the more difficult postures, leg raises and cycling to strengthen the thighs and lower back. and the all important shoulder stand,s the fish, the plough, and the wheel.

Day 3 Workshop 2

Day 3 Wokshop 2 (27th Nov 07):

The discourse was on Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of devotion or faith. This Swamiji said was the path for the emotional among us. Those who need an idol, an object of worship, a prayer, a faith, a chant, a mantra, a cause, whatever be it as their crutch. He went on to explain the reason we need this crutch with another beautiful analogy. Look at an elephant that is idly standing. It swings its trunk aimlessly hither and thither. When you give an iron rod or a log, it holds on to that and stills itself. Prayer/chanting/mantra/devotion songs etc in every faith have the same effect, it helps the mind focus on one thing. Bringing about a meditational state.

Even in chanting, yoga techniques are being used as we hold our breath for long and breathe in a more measured pace. This was followed by a workshop on some excellent breathing techniques, useful for cooling our system aiding our digestion and promoting health. (Seetkari, seetali, vayusar, agnisar and uddiyan bandh). I personally find all of them extremely beneficial!

Day 2, Workshop 1

The first days attendance was overwhelming. A hall full of at least 200 participants turned up. The discourse was about one aspect of yoga called karma yoga. Swami Muktirupanandaji explained the need for having different kinds of yogas - man is diverse, with diverse interests and proclivities. Uniformity is for machines and uniformity is death he said. This is why we need different paths to the truth, a path that suits our mental make up.

He then went on to expound on the Yoga of action - Karma yoga! He explained how we should carry out each action, with complete absorption, with no thoughts of anything else besides the task at hand. When we finish with it, we should not let our mind linger on it - rather detach ourselves. When challenegd by a member of the audience that thoughts occur on their own and its not we who force it our conscience, he explained this is where meditation and mediatational techniques help!

After this our master-instructor Mr. Atul Deshpande conducted a workshop of some basic yoga techinques. We then split the crowd up into groups of 10 and each of us volunteer instructors helped fine tune the techniques for the participants. I think they were mighty pleased with the dedication of the volunteers. They all said they would be back the next day with more family and friends. All the techniques taught were from our three month Basic Course syllabus.

Day 1 of a Week Long Celebration

Nikam Guruji Yoga Kutir, a voluntary organization dedicated to teaching yoga on a voluntary basis, is celebrating its 10th anniversary of presence in Singapore. Its an organization I am extremely proud and honored to be part of. I am a volunteer instructor with them.

Its a week long celebration and I will be writing some details of the celebrations and perhaps use this opportunity to write about yoga itself. Meanwhile do visit the website.

Day 1: (25th Nov-07): The activities were for the volunteers only. We started off early in the morning with chanting of the Gayatri Mantra. This was followed by discourses by the Swamis/monks of the Ramakrishna order. Ramakrishna Mission being the venue for the celebrations and one of the eight centers in Singapore, where our classes are held.

After this we redefined our mission & vision statement and the core values for us the volunteers. The finale was a scintillating very engaging debate "Should Yoga be Commercialized". The winning team spoke for non-commercialization!

NB: All residents of Singapore reading this please consider this an invitation to attend the workshops. Held every evening this week. (26th to 30th November). Its free of charge and promises to be of the highest standard possible