Yoga, Mindfulness, and Life
Here are some ideas to help you find some calm in the midst of managing it all: Create a ‘contemplation’ space. A space that invites you to be calm and reflect may be easily created with a cushion and one or two special items. You can use this space to begin your day and set …
Continue reading "Daily Rituals to Brighten the Days at Home"
I recently wrote out my recipe for chai for a group of friends. I thought I would share it here, since you may find it comforting to prepare cup of tea, that is warming and spiced for good health. Enjoy! Preparing a cup of chai requires careful attention - the subtle flavors of the spices …
Participants in the mindfulness morning I host once a month asked me if I could talk about attachment during our next morning together. As I began to generate an outline for our discussion, I started, as I usually like to, with an open-ended question. What are we attached to? I began to consider the range …
Continue reading "Would less attachment lead to more connection?"
I often work at the newly renovated public library in a neighboring town, which has been designed for collaboration and work, complete with conference rooms, tech-help, a large hall filled with worktables, and a café. A couple of weeks ago, during my tea-break, as I squeezed Agave syrup into my mug, the top suddenly popped …
Two weeks ago I had the chance to attend a day of meditation with Tara Brach in honor of the launch of her new book, Radical Compassion. In this book, she describes a process called RAIN (Recognize-Allow-Investigate-Nurture). She explains that she has used and refined this process over a long period of time and she …
In conversations with friends, I often hear something like - 'Once this is sorted out then...' or 'I need to figure out where I want to live/work/what I want to do, then...' When we keep waiting for something to happen, to begin to live, how do we embrace the life we are living now? For …
It’s the middle of January and that means that it’s the middle of the month of New Years Resolutions. Maybe you made some that you are sticking to, have already forgotten or struggling with. Maybe you are still formulating, or still intend to come up with a few (like me ☺️ ). I have always …
As we head into the end of this decade and into the beginning of the next, I can't help but think about choices. Earlier this week I chose to participate in an hour of mindfulness with a support group for people struggling with mental health issues. I chose the theme of compassion for the session …
Earlier this year I took the final step to earn my certification as an Iyengar Yoga teacher. Among Iyengar yogis, this exam is called assessment. When a teacher in training says, for example, “I’m up for assessment next month.” They will usually get a knowing look – which contains both encouragement and sternness – reminding …
Over the weekend, I attended a yoga convention led by Birjoo Mehta, a senior and long-time practitioner of Iyengar Yoga from Mumbai. Throughout the 3 days, he taught us how to access the asanas (poses) that we practice with greater ease and stability. However, before we get to that – what inspired me most was …
Continue reading "Can we ease the struggle in our yoga practices and in our lives?"
Asha Ghosh 