YOGABHARATI

Within each of us is the capability to connect with our source and there lies the peace we are all seeking- the inner knowledge that gives us strength in the so called dark times- Louise L.Hay This quote resonates with me . I have experienced that when I am able to indeed make conscious connections with my thought process, feelings, deeply engraved emotions,I could find so many answers to my present state of mind.There is a tremendous release of the bottled up emotions which was buried deeply or pushed aside.I observed that  when painful/unpleasant feelings/experiences are not addressed by us consciously,it gives rise to some form of negativity which plays a role in our experiences that will follow in the future. It also affects our relationships with our loved ones as we might be still caught up in the past and not knowing to live in the present. The experiences could be a trauma in childhood or teenage hood, suppression of feelings, disharmony in family,hurtful dialogues...

I recently attended a lecture by Swami Bodhananda at his center "Sambodh" about this topic. I have always heard the association of stress with psychosomatic ailments and the yogic point of view to counteract stress. This was a warm change and I really enjoyed to hear the way he talked about this topic "Creativity " and it's application in our life to be blissful. This post has been written after being inspired by his words :) Stress has become a known concept for all and we all know the definition of stress and its complications. But this topic of “creative way of living to counteract stress” is pretty interesting and I thought of sharing a brief summary to all of you. There are several reason of stress , but  one of the main causes are : Inability to process the excess amount of information we are facing every day. There are so many choices and we get confused, frustrated . We get lost sometimes with so much information on a particular topic that...

Acidity refers to a set of symptoms caused due to excess acid production in the stomach. The stomach normally secretes acid that is essential for the digestive process. This acid helps in breaking down the food during digestion. When there is excess production of acid by the gastric glands of the stomach, it results in acidity. Acidity is responsible for symptoms like dyspepsia, heartburn and the formation of ulcers (erosion of the lining of the stomach or intestines). How does excess acidity affect us? • Physical and mental exhaustion by mid afternoon or evening • Immune system gets disturbed, so frequent colds, headache, flu, and infections. • Weak digestive power resulting in flatulence (bloated feeling) and discomfort. • Sleep pattern is disturbed- no deep relaxing sleep. • Vitamins and minerals are not absorbed well. Why do we get acidity? Main causes include lifestyle, diet and environment. • Mental and physical stress disturbs the acid-alkaline balance...

We keep hearing Yoga instructors say " come to class with a light stomach". Does this mean "empty stomach".....just starve and do exercise . Does it mean we can have stimulants like tea, coffee for an early morn class and go straightaway to class ....does this mean we can indulge in a late night dinner previous day where food particles are still undigested in the GI tract and we just attend classes to burn off the excess calories . Well....there is a whole lot of science involved in meal planning pre and post Yoga class....infact any exercise regimen. Eating pre and post yoga class is very imp to keep our glucose stores in a healthy level, to eliminate toxins created by muscle stretches, to minimise muscle damage, to boost immune response, to speed up fat metabolism and much much more. Pre-Yoga class- What to eat before a yoga class and when to - For an early morning class- have a fruit/dry fruits 15 min prior to the class- I would recommend a small banana...

Holiday time for kids can be quite challenging for parents especially moms . There are demands for variety in meals, variety in activities , more tv time , etc. When do we teach our kids to have a healthy lifestyle? it is not after they grow up to their twenties, but it is NOW. Small things can be reinforced so that they grow up in that habit to be healthy and conscious to be fit. This is to be done specially for kids 10 plus as this is the formative years to develop good eating habits, exercise habits, sleeping habits which plays a huge precious role when they grow up . What changes can we start with? 1. It is not that holidays means sleeping late and waking up late . It is a vicious cycle and this itself is the start of an unhealthy lifestyle. Have an understanding with the grown up child instead of forcing on the kid. Forcing gives resistance and lots of mental tension on both the sides. Talk to the child on the importance of lifestyle. To start with , tell the child to f...

Each time I watch Kung F u Panda with my 6 yr old son, I get new insights on the dialogues of Oogway. Just go deeply into this dialogue between Oogway , the Grand master and his student Master Shifu OOGWAY: Look at this tree, Shifu. I cannot make it blossom when it suits me, nor make it bear fruit before its time.  Shifu : But there are things we *can* control.  [ kicks the tree so that peaches fall ]  Shifu : I can control when the fruit will fall!  [ he slices a peach and throws the pit to the ground ]  Shifu : I can control where to plant the seed! That is no illusion, Master!  Oogway : Ah, yes. But no matter what you do, that seed will grow to be a peach tree. You may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach.  Shifu : But a peach cannot defeat Tai Lung!  Oogway : [ folding dirt over the peach pit ] Maybe it *can*, if you are willing to guide it, to nurture it. To believe in it.  If the" tree" is conside...

Fresh Mushroom soup Ingredients:       Onions- 1 medium        Mushroom- 15 button mushrooms chopped roughly       Olive oil- 2 tsp       Milk/soy milk- ½ cup       Garlic – 1 tsp finely chopped       Crushed black pepper- to taste Method: ·        Heat oil in   a pan. Add the garlic pieces and allow it to become lighly brown.   Add   the roughly chopped onions and sauté for a minute and then add the mushrooms . sauté for a minute and then add little salt. In the beginning mushrooms starts leaving water. Sauté for little more. Make sure mushrooms do not get overcooked as the flavor of the soup is this sautéed mushrooms.        Add the milk /soy milk and some water. Boil for some time.       Keep aside and allow to cool.        Reserve some mushroom piec...

Broken wheat pulav Broken wheat seems to be a hit with diabetics but others still feel that it is meant only for people trying to shed little of that sweet tummy fat and to prove that "I have stopped eating rice". Cracked wheat, Dalia, Lapsi or Broken wheat are few names given to a form of wheat which is prepared by milling whole wheat kernels roughly after its clean-up and husking. Since cracked wheat is made from whole wheat kernels, it carries not just lots of fiber and nutrition but also the rich nourishing outer bran and also the germ of the wheat.It is available in India in two forms Medium sized: This is very easy to cook. One measure of this requires 2 measures of water and cook the same as rice. This can be used to make upma, pulav, dosas. Fine sized : These wheat kernels have a very fine texture simlar   to rawa.This is very useful in making kitchdi, kheer, porridge( especially recommended for infants 6 months and above). How ...