Coping With Change

First weekend of November marks the end of daylight saving each year. This year too, the weekend came and went with the clocks turned back by one hour. Twice each year, I wonder the need for this change in modern times, where our lives are more attuned to the minute hand of our clocks than to the rising and setting of the sun. Nevertheless, as the daylight saving ends, the days suddenly become shorter and this change marks a need for us to get prepared for the cooler months ahead. This means making many little changes in my day-to-day schedule. The changes come in form of having early dinners that are warm and hearty, finding interesting indoor activities to keep the kids busy, pulling out my favorite rugs and throws and blankets making the house comfy and cozy and last but by any means not the least, coping up with reduced amount of day light. The relaxed pace of summers which lingers in early autumn suddenly comes to a halt and its time for change.

During my early years in this part of the world, these changes use to throw me off track. Being used to the set rhythm of dawns and dusks and tropical climates with very little temperature variations, I used to resist these changes, thinking that by ignoring them, I would still be connected to my place of birth in some strange way. But then I saw, that this resistance was throwing me off balance. And so I started thinking of why was I resisting this change. One obvious reason was to stay connected to those warm temperatures and rhythmic cycles followed in India. But the deeper I thought, I realized that following a set rhythm sets a soothing routine in our lives. Just like babies, we take comfort in knowing what to expect next. Change on the other hand is disorienting. It creates an anxiety in our minds and puts a fear of the unknown in our hearts.

Most of us resist this change by either not acknowledging it or secondly by fighting it. In my case, I took the first escape route of ignoring the change. I wanted to take comfort in my old habits telling myself that everything was going to be just fine. By taking this route, we get stuck in the past and thereby deter our own progress. It also leads to internal frustrations, as this resistance does not help us in working in conjunction with our surroundings. We thereby tend to hold on more to our old habits and the frustrations increase and we get caught in a catch 22 situation. The other way in which we resist change is fighting the change in which we acknowledge the change but try to convince others and ourselves of its worthlessness. This can lead to a lot of negativity and once again give rise to an internal conflict.

The best way to handle change is to acknowledge it and then work with it. Coping with change could be a long, slow process for some while for others it could be fast and rapid. Nevertheless, its is a process and how quickly or slowly we adapt to change depends on our mental setup. While humans are highly adaptable, avoiding change come as a side effect of our highly developed thought process. Yoga and ancient Indian philosophies talk about change as a process of growth. Nothing is static and change should be viewed as water flowing through the river. A rock on the riverbed does not touch the same water twice and vice-versa. The flow is what keeps the water clean and smoothens the hard edges of the rock to transform it to assume various shapes throughout its life. If the flow stops, the water will breed mosquitoes and the rock will gather moss. Changes in life have to viewed with the same perspective.

Each of us has a different style of coping with change. We need to understand our own unique style and then develop an approach that will help us guide through this process. Some of us are most comfortable when they know what to expect in a changed situation, while others are comfortable when they know of their role in these situations. There are still others who want to know how this change fits socially, in other words, how do others deal with this type of similar change. Identifying your own unique approach is the first step towards welcoming the change in a positive, graceful way.

Once we acknowledge change and identify our style, the best approach is to plan for the change. Some simple steps to follow would be

· Make notes of all the things that would be different in a changed situation.

· Establish strategies for our personal roles and reactions in situations that would be different from ones we were so used to.

· Develop a support group and a social network where you can talk to people in similar situations. This becomes a good coping strategy where we know that we are not alone in the journey.

· Lastly, don’t expect these changes to last forever. Just like day light saving would once again resume in April, these changes are to be made only till we encounter the next set of changes.

Once we establish these strategies, a sense of comfort sets in from knowing what is expected. The sooner we accept these changes, the more we would grow as humans and the better we would become in knowing our true selves.

“Change is not something that we should fear. Rather, it is something that we should welcome. For without change, nothing in this world would ever grow or blossom, and no one in this world would ever move forward to become the person they're meant to be.”

-Kanchan Raste

Yoga and Money

Yoga and Money are two terms that do not go hand in hand for most people. Many yogis and yoginis do not like to associate their work with money or finances. This is because our brains are conditioned towards thinking money, gain, finances, as having negative vibes. We are conditioned to think that they should not be linked to something as pure as yoga.

Ancient yogic scriptures, on the other hand describe 4 objectives that humans should achieve to have a sense of complete fulfillment. In Sanskrit those are known as 4 Purusharthas (Purush (Human/ Divine Being) + Artha (Objectives)). These objectives are defined as
Dharma (Righteousness/ Duties/ Obligations)
Artha (Wealth)
Kaama(Desires)
Moksha(Enlightenment/ Liberation)

Of these 4, the second objective talks about wealth, money and abundance. Ancient yogic scriptures thought of wealth as a positive, powerful form of energy. Of course, the means of earning this wealth can have negative energies linked to it. That is the reason why, the first objective talks about walking the path of righteousness and fulfilling our duties towards ourselves, our people, our society, our nation and our mother earth.

Once we take care of our Dharma, the next objective is to live a wealthy, abundant life. Keeping religion aside, if we can think conceptually, Bramha, Vishnu and Mahesh are the 3 main gods described in Hindu philosophy. They essentially represent concepts of Creation, Preservation/ Upkeep and Destruction respectively. While the 3 Gods are concepts, their wives, represent the energies required to implement these concepts. Saraswati, wife of the Creator, Bramha, represents energy in form of knowledge, intellect, wisdom, music and art. She is the one who can make the concept of creation possible. Laxmi, wife of the Presever, Vishnu, is represented as energy in form of wealth, prosperity and abundace. Energy in the form of Prosperity is required for the maintenance and upkeep of any creation. Lastly, Parvati, wife of the Destroyer, Shiva, is represented by energy in form of power.

We can see how wealth and prosperity form the essential founding energies of leading a fulfilling life. Though the ultimate objective of Yoga is to attain salvation, it cannot be obtained if we do not obtain the first 3 objectives. This is not to say that there are souls out there who have already achieved their first 3 objectives in some of their previous lives and their sole objective in this life is to attain Salvation. Those souls are far and few and they wont be reading this or any other article to understand their objective in life. For the rest of us, we still have to take age old described path.

Yoga in its truest form, helps you attract all the prosperity you wish to live a good life. Yoga is about empowerment. It is about living life to the fullest. One very important aspect of living life to the fullest is, not feeling deprived. Yoga helps in overcoming the sense of deprivation by helping you recognize your inner strength. It also helps you to either overcome or accept your weaknesses. Once we know the power within ourselves, which is nothing more than a form of energy, transforming it into a different form, in this case prosperity, happens very naturally. It also helps us look at wealth and prosperity in positive light.

This is one of the many, albeit important, aspects in which yoga can help in leading a fulfilling life.

Ayurvedic Detox Program

Ayurveda typically suggests a weekly fast, which helps in detoxification of your body on a regular basis. A more prolonged fast of 3, 5, 7 or 9 days is suggested at the turn of every season. A typical fast includes either complete avoidance of any type of food for the whole day or eating limited quantities of easily digestible, cleansing foods.

This is a life style program that should be incorporated as a part of your diet plan. It could be done either once a week on a particular day set aside or for a few days, as mentioned above, at the change of seasons. One can also combine both the programs by following it weekly and seasonally.

Initially it might be difficult to go without food for the whole day. In such cases one should limit their intake to either fruits or milk or simple but nutritious carbohydrates like potatoes or sweet potatoes. While all spices including garlic should be avoided, ginger is considered to aid in the cleansing process and thus could be eaten.

Following are some simple recipes that could be prepared during a detox program.

Stir Fried Potatoes with Peanuts and Fresh Coriander
Ingredients:
Boiled diced Potatoes – 4
Ground roasted ground peanuts – 3 tspns
Clarified Butter/ Butter – 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds – ½ tsp
Chopped Green Chilly - 1
Grated Ginger – ½ tsp
Salt and Sugar to taste
Chopped Coriander Leaves – ½ cup
Lime juice – 1 Lime
Method :
• In a pan heat clarified butter
• Add cumin seeds, chopped chilly and ginger
• Add potatoes, ground peanuts, salt and sugar
• Stir fry for 5 minutes till all the potatoes are covered with the ground peanuts
• Add coriander leaves and lime juice as garnish

Sweet Potato Pancakes
Ingredients :
Grated Sweet Potatoes – 2
Clarified Butter/ Butter – 4 tspns
Icing Sugar – 8 tspns
Method :
• Divide the grated potatoes in 4 portions
• In a skillet add ½ tsp of clarified butter
• Spread one portion in an even layer
• Cover the skillet and let it bake for 3-4 minutes on a low flame
• Remove the cover and bake on the other side for 3-4 minutes
• Garnish with 2 tspns of icing sugar

Yoga for Detoxification

Detoxification is a comparatively new term in the west and has gained more popularity in the last 5-7 years. However detox has been mentioned in the ancient health scriptures of Yoga and Ayurveda that are more than 10,000 years old

The word Yoga is derived from the root word Yuj, which means union. Thus practice of Yoga leads to the union of humans to the divine. Yoga is a practical path to self-realization, a means to attain enlightenment by purifying the entire being. Here the word “purifying” is important as it signifies a mind and body that is free of accumulated toxins – mental and physical. Thus detoxification is one of the basic underlying philosophies of Yoga.

Modern science now knows that 3 bodily systems play a major role in any type of detox – The circulatory, the digestive and the lymphatic. Yoga, through its various sets of asanas has proven to improve, regulate and maintain the optimum functioning of all these 3 systems.

Apart from the 3 systems mentioned above, Yoga also talks about the respiratory system and the Endocrine System. The respiratory system is tackled with the help of Pranayam or the breathing exercises. It helps in removing toxins and carbon dioxide accumulated in various parts of the body due to faulty breathing and life style practices. These exercises also help in proper functioning of the lymph nodes, which further help in purifying the blood.

The Endocrine System, which is responsible for production of all essential hormones, is handled in Yoga through Mantra Chanting and Meditation. Mantras provide specific vibrations to these glands. The mantras try to resonate these vibrations to the vibrations of the universe thereby making the glands function in unison with energies of the universe. This helps in the optimum functioning of the endocrine glands.

Thus incorporating Yoga in a detox program gives it a holistic approach as yoga detoxifies all the systems of your body. A typical routine should start with asanas, proceed to pranayam, followed by meditation and end with shavasan. Sometimes lack of energy could be a deterring factor in performing all the prescribed asanas during a detox program. In this case one can either resort to sun-salutations or perform asanas, which are less tiring. However pranayam and mantra chanting with meditation should not be avoided, as Yoga is the only system, which incorporates detoxification of the respiratory and the endocrine system along with the other biological systems.

Having said this, incorporating a proper diet regimen is inevitable in any detox program. Here is a link that talks about an Ayurvedic detox diet along with a few simple recipes.
Ayurvedic Detox Program

Introduction to The Chakra System

Chakras are energy vortexes described in detail in the Ayurvedic System. These are subtle energy centers, located at different places within the body. Though ayurveda has described many different chakras, there are 7 important ones, which run from the base of the spinal cord to the top of the crown. They are:

Muladhara: Base or Root Chakra (last bone in spinal cord *coccyx*

Swadhishthan: Sacral Chakra (ovaries/prostate)

Manipura: Solar Plexus Chakra (navel area)

Anahata: Heart Chakra (heart area)

Vishuddha: Throat Chakra (throat and neck area)

Ajna: Brow or Third Eye Chakra (pineal gland or third eye)

Sahasrara: Crown Chakra (Top of the head; 'Soft spot' of a newborn)

Chakra is a Sanskrit word meaning a wheel. These centers are thought to be spinning wheels of activity that receives, assimilates and expresses life force energy (prana) Each of the chakras is associated with a particular element, color frequency, gemstone and mantra (sound frequencies). Blocked energy in our Chakras can often lead to illness. Removing blockages and achieving balance within these energy centers has been central to ayur-yog healing therapies.

The colours of each chakra are especially symbolic to their function in the body. When we visualize the colour of each chakra we aid in nourishing and balancing the energy that resides there.

Muladhara is symbolized by a red colour of earthly power; Swadhishtan is orange, depicting creativity and exploration; Manipura is symbolized with a yellow colour, like the sun shining light on our individual path, giving us focus and direction; Anahata is associated with a green colour, a representation of new growth, hope, love and higher awareness; Vishuddha chakra is blue- connected to expression, communication and the power to manifest; Ajna chakra is indigo- associated with intuition, clear-sight and integrity, and lastly, Sahasrara chakra is violet in colour and represents spiritual union, connection to the higher-self, and consciousness of divinity.

By learning to tune into the energy of the chakras, one can begin to embrace the fullness of who you truly are.

In the coming months we would be learning more about each of the 7 chakras – their location, functions, characteristics, associated elements and ways of removing blockages.