A Reflection

"What is life?  It is the flash of a firefly at night,

it is the breath of a buffalo in winter time,

it is the shadow which runs across the grass and 

looses itself in the sunset."

Crowfoot

In the case of our existence in this human form being a flash of a firefly then we should make each moment a precious, gentle and kind one, to ourselves, to all living entities and to Mother Earth.

"Like the grasses showing their tender faces to each other, this should we do also, for this was the wish of the grandfathers of the world."

Black Elk

Each moment a new opportunity to find oneness and peace and magic in everything, have beautiful days.  Chant Om Namo Narayanaya for peace each day for a few moments and make a difference. 

AUM Shanti shanti shanti

Mangala / Nicky

Back Pain - what is the root cause?

Back pain can come in all shapes and sizes; between the shoulder blades, around the rib cage and in the lower back, but one thing for sure is that today it is epidemic.  In fact it is one of the most common disorders of today and is estimated that 60% or more of the population will suffer from an incident of acute or more long term back pain at some stage of their life.

In a western outlook the cause of the pain can often be elusive and hard to or wrongly diagnosed and treatment ineffective.  Often Dr's lack the confidence to treat the problem maybe due to lack of explanation from a western scientific approach. 

Yoga offers a simple and effective way to treat the issues that are causing the distress and is a doorway to the root cause which may be far away from a physical attribute.  Root causes of the issue can be hotly debated within the therapeutic communities however in my experience of dealing with students with back pain the most common and root cause is stress and pollution of the astral nerves (nadis) through unwise lifestyle choices.  The astral nerves are so sensitive and are often bombarded with pollutants through modern living - fast pace, overwork, technology, sounds, what we read, listen to, watch and talk about and of course everything we ingest into the system creates toxins.  When there are toxins there are blockages to the flow of the vital life force (prana) within the energy channels and the subtle body.  When we experience pain there is not enough prana reaching this particular area of the system or in some cases too much prana - the flow of the energy is not as it should be.  Our astral nerves are so subtle and sensitive that blockages happen very easily and emotions can play a vital role in polluting the system.

Often the body is telling you that there is a build up of stress even if the mind doesn't want to accept it and maybe an emotional reaction to a situation is the real contributor to the pain.  

Keeping a simple daily yogic program which incorporates relaxation techniques, meditation and appropriate asana to strengthen areas of weakness in the body (maybe due to lack of use) and also release tension that is held within the muscles, tendons and ligaments etc is a natural and wholesome way to approach and combat the problem with longterm effect.  A simple diet of vegetables that are lightly cooked, whole grains, pulses, fruits and juices should be taken - when the digestive system is working well also there are less toxins and back pain can be eliminated.  Avoid excessive sugar, white flours, milk and dairy, meats, fish, oil and spices.  And of course avoid all those other damaging stimulants such as alcohol, caffeine etc.  Get out in nature and take in the fresh air - feel a breeze and become aware of every leaf, flower the moisture in the air and every insect and bird.  Reduce use of technology as much as you can and be more mindful about what you read and listen too creating a more harmonious atmosphere rather than nightmares!  Be mindful about negative conversations, all these things greatly contribute to the health of the body mind system.  And create a dedication to your daily practice and total faith in a dedicated and experienced teacher that can guide and relax you.  Everyone can practice daily even 10-15 minutes is going to have a great impact if practiced with the right attitude so maybe it is just a little more organisation or re-organisation of your time that you need.  

It is maybe more difficult to accept that the pain is coming from these elements such as stress, emotions and lifestyle,  than somebody giving you an answer that is just physical such as a torn muscle or ligament or slipped disk etc, but maybe  acceptance that the issues that I have mentioned here are a root cause is the biggest step you can take - the rest will take care of itself with mindful, dedicated and respectful practice.  Once you have accepted then you can begin to move forward on the path to wonderful happy health.  

Comprehensive yoga therapy techniques which incorporate deep relaxation, movements with breath awareness, breathing techniques, meditation and the right asana (yogic postures) for you is paramount to a joyful body mind system.  

I wish for every being to find that harmony back with the natural world and the natural self - and the natural self is that of a relaxed and contented one.  

Have beautiful days living gently with the earth

AUM shanti shanti shanti 

Mangala / Nicky 

A Story from Tao - or in other words Namaste

The Rascal and the Saint

Few people had the courage to remain with Chuang Tzu.  He was always creating embarrassing situations; saints were not supposed to do such things.  For example, he was seen one day in the capital riding on a donkey with his disciples following him.  The whole town was laughing - people were gathered on both sides of the road - because he was not sitting the right way on the donkey.  The donkey was going forward and Chuang Tze was sitting backward facing his disciples!

The townspeople were laughing and the disciples were embarrassed.  Finally one disciple said 'why are you doing this? You are making a fool out of yourself, and along with you we are being ridiculed with you unnecessarily.  People think we are idiots!'

Chuang Tzu said, 'There is something great implied in it - I have thought it over.  If I sit the way people normally sit on donkeys, then my back will be facing you, and that is insulting.  I don't want to insult anyone, not even my own disciples.  The other possibility is that you walk in front of me - and that is not right either, this would be the disciples insulting the master, and that is not right either.  So this is the solution that I have found.  Let the fools laugh - but you are facing me and I am facing you and that is how a master and a disciple should be, I am respectful toward you and you are respectful toward me, and the donkey has no objection - so why should we bother about what some people think?'

Now this kind of man is rare and unique and perhaps difficult to find.  He attained the highest clarity, consciousness, love, compassion and he remained cheeky and a rascal with playfulness until the very end.

Placing our hands together at the centre of our chest in Namaste mudra or the position of Namaste / Namaskaram brings this sense of respect - or the meeting of two - the sun and the moon, the master and the disciple, night and day the two polarities meet each other.  If you become sensitive enough you can feel the vital life force merging or transmitting between the two.  I make this gesture to all life forms, to every living being, tree, frog, human, bird and blade of grass - every drop of water - you are life of joyful life - life of divine consciousness.  I honor the light that is within you that is the same within me,  I honor the universe that is within you that is the same within me, together we are one.  

Have joyful days of practice and awareness of all life that exists around you and feel yourself in respect for everything

love life,  love the planet,  love yourself

Namaste - I honor and salute you as I honor and salute myself

Om Namah Sivaya

Mangala / Nicky  

A New Year begins when we decide to make a change.

Atha Yoganusasanam

And Now Yoga

So here we are in now 2020, somebody somewhere told us the year, that there are 12 months in one year and 24 hours in one day.  It seems at this stage people begin to make lists of all the things they would like to change for a new year.  Swami Chinmayananda explains beautifully that only when we as a human being make a choice for a change - a dedication for a change for a better self then a new year will begin.  Why wait for a number - this can happen at any moment throughout your day, month, year - life time - when the time is right make a conscious choice to change from a less meaningful way of life to a meaningful way of life.  And this means taking care of yourself in the right ways, of evolving away from materialism and moving toward knowledge - that you are not this body, this mind, these thoughts, and to reconnect with supreme satisfaction and contentment.  As one moment dies a new moment is born, in death of one thing there is life.  Where there is opportunity for the individual soul to merge with the whole universal spirit.

The great sage and compiler of the Yoga Sutras starts with the first thread - Atha Yoganusasanam - meaning and now you are ready - you have come to this point and now you are ready to make an integral change within you.  To come to start your journey working towards awakening through Sadhana - spiritual practice and Sadhana leads to knowledge and ultimate freedom.  To start to look within to nurture and clean internally, to maintain your inner landscape to begin to find the stupendous capabilities that you hold within you.  Or as Sadhguru says to engineer inwardly, to scientifically observe and analyse ourselves.  To put an end to a meaningless search and begin with a meaningful one, or to stop the searching all together and let things unfold in the 'way.'  To put an end to paddling up stream with a struggle and a beginning to surrendering to the flow of the water and allowing it to take you without effort.  To live a more creative life full of vitality and intrigue, a magical lust for the beauty of every leaf of every tree you pass on every day, for every bird and every ant that crosses your path, for a pure joy of all aspects of life.

Take a simple step forward to a profound way of life - creating your own sense of happiness and fulfillment and in doing so you will also be creating the same for others.  By helping yourself alone - you will become more and more proficient in helping others.

Only you can choose to start a new year only you, nobody or anything else can do it for you - no higher consciousness will do it for you - only you.  As Swami Chinmayananda says 'The day you decide to make that choice to live a higher life, that will be the new years day, it need not be January 1st, any day can be January 1st, new years day is the day that you decide to change yourself.'

So when you are ready if you haven't already done so - make it a new year - a beautiful new year.

AUM Shanti Shanti Shanti

Mangala / nicky

Taking a vow of Ahimsa - non violence

"Neither peace nor health can be gained without first cultivating inner harmony and health for all of humankind.  Food for one must be health for all.  Prosperity for one must be abundance for all.  Harmony cannot be achieved at any level while any form of life suffers."  Maya Tiwari

Ahimsa means non violence and taking a vow of ahimsa means it is not something to be achieved or pursued but simply a way of being, it is a state.  Being non violent in our hearts, hands and heads, in action, words and feelings, to all living entities and to ourselves, to all our fellow brother and sisters in the form of humanity, to all animals and to all plants, trees, the earth, water, fire, air and space.  

Making an intention to Ahimsa everyday - every morning and evening is going to help digest this state into every act you make, every word you say and every thought that pops into your head, and when it is not say a non violent act, word or thought - it will make you more aware of the negativity and help to turn it around to be gentle and positive.

You may approach this in different ways - by making a sankalpa or positive statement and mentally repeating it - sit or stand in a comfortable position and place the palms together infront of the heart center, take a deep breath to collect your spirit and repeat the vow of your choice - such as these below

I take the vow of Ahimsa - I make inner harmony my first priority

I take the vow of Ahimsa - In my thoughts, speech and actions

I take the vow of Ahimsa - To protect mother nature and my food source

I take the vow of Ahimsa - To preserve the heart of peace and love

I take the vow of Ahimsa - To strengthen my power of personnel awareness

I take the vow of Ahimsa - To invest in world peace and the protection of all beings

Or you may like to sit in a meditative pose and repeat with your breath -

Breathing in I calm my body

Breathing out I smile

Breathing in I calm my body

Breathing out I offer peace to the world

Breathing in I take strength from the great spirit

Breathing out a wonderful moment.

Ahimsa is a way of life, actually everything is rooted in Ahimsa - and all battles whatever they may be can be overcome and won by the practice of Ahimsa.

Let us bring positive vibrations of health, harmony and hope.

Wishing you all a mind of peace for the collective mind of peace of the whole universe "Yoga provides a real solution to our health problems, which is to return to oneness with both the universe and the Divine within.  This requires changing how we live, think and perceive." Dr David Frawley
Atha Yoga Anusanum - now you are ready for yoga

Have beautiful practice and beautiful days

Shanti shanti shanti

Mangala / Nicky

Raise yourself out of your condition.

Sometimes it may feel that our suffering is surrounding us like an impenetrable wall - it may seem inescapable and overwhelming.  In this posting I don't want to go into too much detail - just outline some postures that really aim to give us a way out - a release and a breath of fresh air.   The following postures or asana highlight a certain energy that can combat a certain way we are feeling they become a vehicle for the cessation for suffering things such as a clouded mind or anxiety.  Of course all therapy should be undertaken under expert guidance and not just from blogposts, internet resources or books, it is the guru that can truly pass positive channels and health and uplift you, however if you are a regular practitioner you can begin with regular practice of these asanas for particular conditions and practiced with awareness of breath, for some time, every day and with the right integrity you will begin to see the difference.

For Anxiety, worry, restlessness and insomnia - Prasarita Padottasana and Padahastasana 

These postures help to reduce mental tensions, external distractions and soothe the nervous system with deep abdominal breathing.  They also regulate the hormonal system and massage the digestive tract.

For memory or clouded mind - inverted V pose and savasana

When we invert the body we naturally encourage focused and deep breathing sending the oxygenated blood directly to the brain, bringing a greater sense of clarity.  Within the inverted V a complete stretch through the body is given which can attain a sense of space.  Also complete rest in savasana helps to clear the mind.

For Fatigue - Supta Vajrasana

In this pose feelings of safety and nourishment and encouraged, it opens the chest, improves respiration, circulation and helps to lift the spirits.  Also by stretching out the thighs the stomach is soothed and digestion aided which can bring increase of energy instead of depleting the energy.

As we practice so we become, take time for you as well as all the commitments and demands that are placed on you - you are not a machine but a very delicate and precious part of life - so take care of yourself

AUM always from the heart

Mangala . / Nicky

Changing how we think when we can't change the situation.

There was once a farmer who lived in a house with two rooms.  The cattle and bulls were in one room and his family in the other.  Life was hard, cramped and miserable so he reached a point where he was truly fed up and went to seek help from a Guru to see what to do.  The Guru advised him to put all the cattle in the same room as the family and lock the door to the other room they had originally been kept in and come back in a week.  After a week he went back, he told the Guru that life was so much worse than before and the family were more miserable what should he do?  The Guru told him to go back and put the cattle back in the original room and come back in a week.  When that week passed he returned to see the Guru, he was most happy and explained that life had become much better not only for the family but also for the cows!

When things are appearing that they are not going the way we want - when we have a disturbance in our mind due to a situation sometimes all we need to do is alter the way we think or feel about it to be able to live in contentment with what is going on.  We have to realise that the universe has its ways and rhythms and we have to be able to recognise and go with them, paddling against them only rocks the boat.  A wise person will recognise every situation as an opportunity - what that opportunity is could be very different from situation to situation and could be just the chance to be able to live with something and gaining the strength and courage to be at one with it.  That in itself can be a very powerful thing and puts you in control.  Recognise your feelings and become friendly with them just by observation.  If you want to be happy which all of us do, you have to find that state of original nature - mediation can reduce and combat suffering.  Holidays can bring freedom from the normal stress of life, meditation can bring a holiday for the mind and ultimately liberation.  Meditation is a technique to detach or disengage from a situation that maybe causing a disturbance to you, give you space to watch or look into your thoughts and then the power to overcome them or accept.  Meditation is the royal road to freedom.  

You can begin today with this simple meditation to help bring you back to your true self - 

Sit in a quiet place free from distractions - no phones, no other disturbances, if sitting is uncomfortable then you can also lie in savasana.

Hold the back straight and the spine tall.

Close your eyes and take a deep breath in and a long exhalation - repeat two more times.

Then allow the breath to regulate and become smooth and natural, notice the length of the breath and the movement in the tummy, chest, throat and nostrils.

Allow yourself to naturally become a little quieter and calmer.

Once you feel settled then start to mentally repeat SO with the inhalation and HUM with the exhalation.  Continue for the time you have - even a few minutes a day will make a huge difference.  

SO with the inhalation HUM with the exhalation.

Before you leave that space to continue your day, just sit for a few moments without concentration and just observe your wonderful self, rub your palms together creating prana and then cup your hands over your closed eyes and allow the eyes to drink the energy you created.

When you are ready slowly release the hands and continue with your day.

SO HUM meaning - I am that.  (I am that of existence, awareness and consciousness.)

Enjoy a beautiful practice, begin today without excuse, create a good habit and begin to address how we think without expecting change from a situation, if we change how we think then we are in control.  

AUM shanti shanti shanti

Mangala / Nicky