Yoga and dance in Mumbai: Spandana Studio

11/03/2024

The thing about exercise is we need to relook it in our lives every once in a while because it deals with THE most important part of us, our health.

1)lots of cutting corners..while spending/ wasting on other stuff..choosing a type of workout that doesn't need too much investment ..whether its money or time or exertion. Yes, as an instructor I am biased ..into thinking it's a kind of poverty thinking.. and as that famous line goes " itna me itnahi milega".

2. That if u do the same exercise day in day out your body hits a plateau and does not respond any more..no matter what type of movements u are oriented towards u need to increase the challenges in it every few weeks for it to have real impact.

3. And not moving your body for whatever reason means a dangerous loss of muscle ..as much as 1 kg in a week .. can exacerbate existing conditions..even if u have some issues moving is the best way to cope Eg:
..some injury in the leg ? ( u can still.work your upper body) or Depression? again movement will help u with the emotional downswing too...

4. And if u like to do slow workouts tweak it to dynamic once in a while..it's a kind of creative approach to health. This will be exciting for the body.




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07/03/2024

Doing on a park bench can be a slippery affair.

Dr , , says the most important way to prevent dementia and brain aging is through exercise.
Check out her lectures on social media.
Some major benefits she lists
1) Flow of focus and feel-good last at least 2 hours after a workout
2) Size of hippocampus ( memory center) and prefrontal cortex ( executive center) increases.

22/02/2024

A few years ago I used to find that letters blurred over, under stress. So went to a neighborhood optician n got myself progressive lenses. Subsequently I realised my eyes had become lazy ...in the sense I would feel I could not read anything if I forgot my lenses. Then I realised the optician had progressively increased the reading strength of the lenses. And this made my eyes even more lazy🤔

Subsequently I dumped the lenses. I keep reading glasses with me in case I need to read any fine print . But I dont need it. .but frankly whenever I go to an optician they ask me my age and appear not to accept my eyes are strong..and always prescribe a tad higher number. Interestingly, when I shared this age-biased reaction, a woman at a tailoring institute I visit shared that she also has suffered this. So what actually happens when an unnecessarily higher number is prescribed was that, the lady agreed with me, that we feel disoriented and even dizzy while using them. So instead of helping, these spectacles are actually hindering.

This is the kind of institutionalized nonsense one has to face when one hits a certain age.
The older lot don't help at all, by accepting institutionalized ageism at its face value. I have had the unfortunate experience of being intimated..nudge nudge. ..that I may be living in a state of denial 🙃 😜😑

30/11/2022

Recovery from any ailment needs a different strategy.

It surprises and irritates me we are not really trained well in it.. so many school hours wasted and I am still learning what should have been taught to me in school!

Recovering from a stomach bug:

* U feel like u are having a heart attack. And yes sometimes it can be mixed signals..often a heart attack can be missed for stomach upset and vice versa. It's the gas pressure in the chest cavity. Best to check your parameters or have it checked

* While u just want to curl up n sleep it off the accompanying discomfort can worsen stuff. I found sitting n sleeping upright relieved the discomfort. This prevents the acid from moving outside of its allotted space..stomach acids are potent enough to burn a hole in a kerchief..its best they remain there instead of swishing about elsewhere..

* I followed the BART dietBanana Apple sauce ( I used an apple jam as an alternative) and bland soft bread toast But this has been discounted nowadays as non-nutritious. But it really helped me turn the bend. .

* I always keep ORS around..coconut water was making me heave...so all this needs personal tweaking n never done to foolish or dangerous degrees. Drinking too much plain water can cause water intoxication..never self prescribe such stuff..

* Once I had a routine in place I needed to distract myself with something..where I could I did some embroidery..where I didn't have the stamina I watched Trevor Noah, though the latter hurt my stomach, from laughing aloud sooo much🙃

* Internet is full of warm bags, warm water baths for stomach bug relief. I recall paunchy uncles relieve their gastro issues with a little chunna on their belly buttons... it's a coolant used with betelnut in India. I felt a cool ice bag felt so relaxing..when the stomach is on fire cool is better than hot, I think? An ice bag at the stomach felt like bliss.

PN. This is a personal journey. Not a generic prescription. The subtext of it is this: take some charge, to facilitate your own healing.

25/07/2022

This basic pose can be very challenging. What's the internal point for this ?

Answer tomorrow.

Btw: standing comfortably on money leg, or balance, is a biomarker for youthfulness.

24/07/2022

21/07/2022

Modified

In yoga, the is compared to that of a swan. One, it's able to filter the grimy water for only what it needs.

Recently became aware of the other beautiful subtext to it..that it appears to be gliding calmly on the water surface but it's legs are paddling crazily beneath. The mind of a pure person is like that. The control is created through a continuous and intense awareness.
The calls this the .

This made me feel less of a psycho, as well. As Ramana says, till u get enlightened this intense spiritual "work" must go on.

07/07/2022

Even though we ostensibly love ourselves, we actually have a very conditional relationship with ourselves. As we do with the rest of the world. If people fall within the conditions we set for themselves..beliefs, customs, habits, behavior patterns ..which are compatible to our own, we accept them. The same pattern is how we respond to ourselves as well. Even though it may,superficially, appear to be different.

The quality of a true is an unconditional friendship with oneself.. .. ..to yourself.

This world will be a very peaceful, happy, fairytale kind space when each person becomes his or her own best friend.. and thereby emanates a vibe of love and acceptance to the rest of the world as well..

Asana in post is

04/07/2022

Another yoga quality is . Or attentive. Focused. Attentive to what?

No matter what the distractions of worldly life, the ability to stay focused on the Duvine.

01/07/2022

Starting today, will list the qualities of a true yoga practitioner.

In all yoga texts from ancient India exhilarating and inspiring definitions of yoga practitioners abound

But I liked this list:

SAMATVAM

This means " equanimity".
Even-mindedness.

No matter what, your soul is steady, like a " candle flame in a breeze less space".



Photo credit Meghna Bhalla

31/07/2021

Last week I bumped my elbow/ funny bone hard into something and was sure I had broken something inside. Yeah, that was the terrible pain gradient. But then after two days I decided to be sensible since movement was so painful and took an X-ray. No, I did not cancel any class. And as far I know no student guessed I was in pain either.They may have thought my K-tape was a style statement. I avoid canceling classes simply because it sets back everything, including healing. When u do nothing, u are kind of mopping and moping
X-ray showed that everything was intact. So started my needlework and then hooping today. It was not easy. But I feel once u establish rehab through play there is less pain by and by. And the healing process is faster.

26/07/2021

Yesss. Butterfly spin with both hands. My in August. DM me here for details. Once a week, Saturdays.

For me, hooping is very meditative. My yoga practice helps me hoop for hours with no fatigue. And my hoop practice helps me get advanced poses faster. They segue ..fuse into.. each other seamlessly.

"You can only have good thoughts while hooping. Anything negative just shoots out of the circle and fun comes in." Kevin O Keefe, World Hoop Organizer. From a book by Jan Camp.