108 sun salutations and Janai Pernima

The full moon on the 14th of this month brought about the festival of Janai Pernima, this is when all high caste men must change their ‘Janai,’ their sacred thread, which they wear looped around their left shoulder, until the next year. This tied in with my ritual of 108 sun salutations which I normally perform at full moon time with my fellow yogis in Kuala Lumpur; we would meet around 7am at sun yoga KL, and reach that meditative state during 108 salutations, feeding energy from one another and sharing our practice. Well this full moon brought much change, no longer in KL and practicing alone on my mat in my little shala on the roof. Imagining the mighty Himalaya surrounding me (they are still blanketed in cloud at the moment) certainly helped me through, as I reached Tadasana after every salutation I felt elated, rooted in the earth and lifted at the same time. So why 108? 108 is a sacred number in Sanskrit; 1 representing overcoming our ignorance and new beginnings, 0; emptiness and 8; infinite energy. I find doing this practice a way of cleansing, its not easy to complete, especially I found this at a higher altitude to what I’m used to, but the feeling of humbleness and thanks one receives on completion is well worth the effort. Then after a hearty breakfast of bean soup, a Nepali favourite at this time of year, my husband and myself headed down to the Kumbeshwar Temple in Patan to join in the celebrations. It was so colourful, so joyous and we were welcomed warmly to join in, receiving blessings from the priest, joining with worship to Lord Shiva, hands painted with henna and watching the boys energetically jumping and diving into the two ponds where a silver and gold lingam is set up for devotes to take a ritual bath in the water that is said to come from the holy lake at Gosainkund. It was a wonderful day listening to the tiny bells tinkling in prayer around this enigmatic time. This 108, I dedicated to my friends and family for their happiness and to Raymond and Dhemeri who were celebrating their birthdays close to this day.
Om Namah Sivayah
Smiling from the heart OM.

Sri Ganesha Namaha

Sri Ganeshaya Namaha
Jaya Ganesha Jaya Ganesha Jaya Ganesha Pahe mam
Sri Ganesha Sri Ganesha Sri Ganesha Raksa mam

Homage to Lord Ganesha, oh Lord Ganesha save me, Lord Ganesha protect me.

Lord Ganesha the elephant headed God, son of Siva and Parvati, the remover of all obstacles and granter of success, the bestower of wisdom and fulfiller of all desires, he rides on or is attended by the rat and he loves to eat modak, which is a sweetened rice dumpling filled with coconut and jaggery.

He is the first God worshiped before any other God, an ancient deity elicited for his immense strength and wisdom, he is worshiped to enable our path to be clear of obstacles, his trunk sometimes turning to the left sometimes to the right, corresponding to the two ways obstacles can be got round and the supreme goal reached. He is endowed with a gentle and affectionate nature, protecting his devotees and it turn he is revered and loved by them.

You are Language
You are consciousness
You are supreme bliss
You embody knowledge
Both earthly and divine.

This morning from the rooftop of my new flat in Kathmandu I saw a glimpse of the snow capped Himalaya before the cloud fell and kept them covered whilst we are in monsoon season still. What a wonderful sight before I entered my little shala on the roof for my morning meditation, as I repeat my mantra to Lord Ganesha the image of those mountains formed at my third eye centre and I felt an energy resonate through me. Moving to a new place, meeting new people creates mixed emotions, being here only two weeks there have been many obstacles to get around, a leaking ceiling, where to find basic things one needs and learning a new map of a new city, but I take refuge in the fact that Lord Ganesha will help me overcome those obstacles and will help me find the knowledge and learn all the new things that are all around me here. As a yogi, we are meant to be able to be happy and content in every situation knowing we are here due to our karma, knowing that it is what the divine wants for us, and this morning I smiled at the prospect of the huge learning curve I have in front of me. My wonderful GuruJi in India says the best teacher is the best student, well a student that is absolutely what I am, I have so much all around me to learn from, so bring on the journey and lets do yoga!
Sri Ganeshaya Sri Ganeshaya Sri Ganeshaya Namaha

Om shanti shanti shanti smiling from the heart.
Peace to all Love to all
Om and Prem.
nicky

Wisdom

"Be Childlike. Be simple. Be humble. The portals of the temple of wisdom are open unto the humble and simple." Sri Swami Sivananda.

Yoga Mangala is moving to Kathmandu

Well the winds of change came again and only having two weeks left here as a residence in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, I thought I would take this time to make a post about my move.
Mostly I would just like to take this opportunity to give thanks to all my fellow Yogi's and students here, who have enriched my life no end. I have learned so much from you all, you have all reached the depths of my heart where I will keep you. I hope you have gained from the sweaty times on the mat and the laughter times, in giving me the honor of sharing Om with you and this beautiful thing called Yoga. I salute you all and wish you all the very best in your journey's, please do keep in touch, now we are connected with the vital energy; prana, which I hope I can continue to share with you even across the miles.
Moving away is a time of happiness, of excitement of what may lay ahead, but also a time of sadness when one has to leave all those smiling faces that have meant so much.
Moving to Kathmandu, well lets see what happens, I hope that yoga mangala will continue to grow, to share with more and more people, and I will continue to learn. Nepal itself has so much to offer, the birth place of Lord Buddah, the energy of the Himalaya, those enigmatic eyes baring down from the stupa's, but it will be what it will be, and it is important to remember that home is in the journey.
I will certainly be back in KL in the future to give workshops and classes and hopefully you will all be over to Kathmandu for yoga classes, workshops, yoga vacations and maybe even yoga trecks through the mountains, so keep an eye on this blog to keep updated on what is happening, or even just pop over to come and say hi and share some Nepali vegetarian food!
For now I truly wish you every happiness in your own journeys, that you find the pure light that resides within you and take refuge in your own true self.
I will miss you all, but you will be forever in my hearts
Om Om shanti Om
Hari Om Tat Sat
love and light always
nicky x

5 Points of Yoga

The Yogi sees life as a triangle; the physical body undergoes birth, growth, change, decay and death. Yogi's say however that we are not born merely to be subject to pain and suffering, disease and death. There is a far greater purpose to life. For this reason the ancient sages of India developed an integral system to ward of the decaying process and to keep the physical and mental faculties strong. This is the system of yoga; a simple and natural programme involving 5 main principles.

1. Proper Exercise
The yoga asana's (postures) act as a lubricating routine to the joints, muscles, ligaments, tendons and all the internal organs. They increase the circulation and flexibility, massaging and stimulating all internal organs and glands. This form of exercise can be compared to no other.

2. Proper Breathing
Pranayama or breathing exercises aid the body in connecting to the solar plexus where tremendous potential energy is stored, which can be released for physical and mental rejuvenation. These exercises also clean and refresh the whole respiratory system and can increase lung capacity.

3. Proper Relaxation
Lying in the relaxation pose, cools down the body, when the body and mind are continually overworked their efficiency diminishes. Relaxation is nature’s way of recharging the body and mind.

4. Proper Diet
The yogi diet is strictly vegetarian including dairy products such as milk and yoghurt. We need the correct fuel for the body and mind, to give the correct energy and keep the mind calm. This diet gives optimum utilization of food, air, water and sunlight.

5. Positive thinking and meditation
This puts you in control; through meditation and positive thinking we can start to purify the intellect, bringing the lower nature under conscious control, through steadiness and concentration of the mind.

Consider these five points within your practice for a healthy and happy daily life, Om Om shanti :-)

Swami Sivananda

“Swami Sivananda’s life was a radiant example of service to humanity, both during his years as a doctor and later as a world-renowned sage and jivanmukta (enlightened being.) To serve all, to love all, to mix with all and to see God in all beings were the ideals that he taught and lived by.
Although fun loving and mischievous, he was loving and generous with a natural flair for a life devoted to the study and practice of Vedanta (the school of thought based primarily on the Upanishads; the philosophy of oneness.) He had an innate feeling of unity with all and an eagerness to serve.
Firstly becoming a doctor and moving to Malaysia to serve the poor there, editing a health journal and wrote extensively on many health issues. However he felt a spiritual calling returning to India and finding his Guru Swami Vishwananda, in Rishikesh within the Himalayas in 1924. Here he practiced intense austerities and spent largely the next 7 years in meditation. Slowly disciples started to gather around him, he started to travel to Sri Lanka and around India stirring the hearts and souls of thousands. He delivered lectures, chanting and meditation lessons, teaching people how to keep strong and healthy by practising yoga asanas, pranayama and kriyas. In Rishikesh an increasing amount of followers congregated and the first Sivananda ashram grew up around him. Swami Sivananda’s teaching crystallised the basic tenets of all religions, combining all yoga paths into one, summed up as ‘serve, love, give, purify, meditate, realise.’ His own life was a shinning example of the ideal of selfless service, of karma yoga, to him all work was sacred and no task was too menial. He searched tirelessly for opportunities to serve and to help others, never postponing what needed to be done. Swami Sivananda entered MahaSamadhi (left his physical body) on July 14th, 1963.”
Text taken from the Sivananda Teacher Training Manual.
Om shanti :-)

Om

Om is the supreme mantra. Actually there is no translation for Om, but we can say if we need to explain this mystic sound, that it is the sound of creation, or it is the vibration of the manifestation of creation. First there was Om, and then the Universe came. Any vibration at the end will lead back to Om.
Om is the activation of the 3rd eye centre, the point between the eyebrows; this place is the Ajna chakra, a chakra being an energy centre. Thus when the Ajna chakra is activated it in turn activates all the other charkas in the body; the cells become activated and rejuvenated.
By chanting Om it is said we can heal the whole body.
Om is a combination of sounds –
A U M
Each sound representing the different states of consciousness that we go through each day, the waking state, dream state and deep sleep state. After this there is silence, silence cannot be written.
Om is all sounds, all vibrations, all languages and all mantras.
The sound should begin from the navel, with a deep, harmonious vibration, which gradually manifests itself at the upper part of the nostrils.
The universe has come from Om, rests in Om and dissolves in it.
With that I say Om.