Your Full Dimension of Personal Wellness

Our physical body is the vehicle we use to accomplish our goals. The comparison to an automobile is quite apt. Some people drive a fuel-efficient and low-cost car; some drive an “environmentally-friendly” car; some choose a luxury sedan; some drive a truck. The automobile we drive depends on a variety of factors: what we can [...]

Am I Well?

What does wellness mean? How do I know if I am well? We each have our unique sense of wellness. An Olympic athlete has a different expectation of wellness than does an office worker. A mother taking daily care of a young child has a different expectation from a surfer who is chasing the next [...]

Unlocking Inertia

Inertia impedes our ability to make change. Inertia can arise from our physical limitations: our individual strength, flexibility, balance, weight, etc. But the largest influence on inertia comes from our brain. We each have our own schedules, eating habits, sleeping habits, study habits, conversational habits, etc. Recognizing our need to change our nutrition or our [...]

Biology and Chemistry of Breathing

Pranayam is vital to yoga practice. Considering that how we breathe is linked to our overall health, why not use this free gift to maximize our wellness? Some of the most common illnesses in modern societies (high blood pressure and related coronary problems like heart failure and stroke) are related to poor breathing habits. The [...]

Physical Trajectories of Yoga

Follow up from Action Tools for Wellness: RussaYog uses the three tools of: pranayam (mindful breathing); kriyas (mindful movements) and; asans (postures with the body in stillness) to develop our abilities to remain mindful. To further enhance these experiences we use universal mantras. The physical trajectories and sequences in RussaYog® use the concept of puran [...]

Four Levels of Effort (Karma)

Karma means effort. A pranayam sequence, an asan, a kriya, a session of yoga, making chai, giving a hug, doing dishes, walking, sitting in a plane, and being patted down by a TSA (transportation security administration) agent at the airport can all be experienced at four levels. Level One: Precise and Functional: At this stage [...]

What Does Yoga Mean to You?

Is perfecting yoga postures an end to itself? Is yoga also a set of tools to be used in life? Why was yoga traditionally only practiced by men? Is yoga now primarily for women?  Is authentic yoga only practiced by Brahmins? Does one have to become Hindu to practice yoga? Can you be a good Muslim and practice yoga [...]

Growing Our Wellness

In this age of science, technology, and civil society, vast arrays of opportunities are available to many of us. From new careers to new travel venues to new foods to sample to new friends from around the world—each offer choices that were unheard of a generation ago. Undoubtedly, the modern age has seen a greatly [...]

First time? Learn all you need to know!

You enter a room with brightly-colored mats, jute ropes suspended from the ceiling, gentle music playing. The ropes beckon you to stretch your body gently, ushering in a sense of release. The instructor takes you through mindful breathing, then specific movements with the ropes designed to strengthen and challenge. This ‘child’s play’ is followed by [...]

Asans: What do they do for us?

If you mention to someone: “yoga class,” the image that most comes to mind is a physical posture or an asan, but what is the purpose of the posture? Any challenge taken on mindfully can serve as an asan. The challenge can be physical, intellectual, social or spiritual. The purpose of an asan is manifold [...]