by Sitaram Das | Mar 17, 2013 | meditation, Uncategorized
I find the Duncan Trussel Family Hour Forum to be really interesting. I was on there the other day, and was reading a thread about western magic, and their rituals. There was a practice called ‘The Gnostic Pentagram Ritual’. It struck me that it was very similar to a practice that I do, only with traditional tantric visualization, meditation and mantra. So, I decided to type my practice out, in both the interest of serving people who might find this practice useful, and also as a curiosity for those who simply like to compare spiritual practices cross culturally. I hope you enjoy.
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by Sitaram Das | May 29, 2011 | asana, yoga
Someone asked how they could use yoga to help with some sciatica that they started experiencing during their pregnancy.
Having never met them, this is what I felt like i could safely offer.
most generally, sciatica is caused by the irritation, compression, and/or inflammation of the sciatic nerve.
see, the sciatic nerve comes down the vertebrae and weaves through the pelvis, it passes under a part of the pelvis called the sciatic notch (bone). then it travels down through the glut and the hamstring.
often, what can happen, is through alignment, tension, injury, etc, is that the notch rubs against, or crushes the nerve. this is irritating. also, if there is a possibility that the nerve can get squeezed by the glute and the hamstring pushing, or being stuck together.
the best thing to do it to create space in the jammed areas, and be really mindful of your not making it worse by doing poses that jam up the area.
some poses that might be useful:
*pigeon pose while lying on the back, you can do it the normal way, if your hips are really open
*pascimottanasana with the knees deeply bent and the spine straight, to peel open the tissues in the back of the legs and butt. deeply bent knees, really really
*try putting two straps around your hips, pull one to the left, and pull one to the right. this can help open the pelvis nicely. you can keep them on while you do your practice, and it might support you nicely
*twisting triangle
*easy locust pose that will strengthen the low back muscles
avoid
*deep forward folding with legs straight
*deep backbends that jam the sacrum
hope it helps.
by Sitaram Das | May 17, 2011 | Book Club
Listening to one of Tara Brach’s podcasts, I heard her saysomething to the effect of, “for teachers, good stories are like gold”. She went on to say how she and her colleauges read and study trying to dig up the best stories for their classes. There is even a bit of lighthearted competition, to see who can find the best story first.
I also find my self diving into media both sacred and secular, attempting to glean something valuable, something I can sit with and savor, and something that I can share with my students.
I was thrilled to find “Wisdom’s Blossoms” in the used bookstore the other day. A lovely collection of short biorgraphies, it gives us a glimpse into the lives of many great saints, and yogis. We are treated to delightful portraits of pivotial movents that shaped our spiritual ancestors.
The authors took inspiration for this book from the Bhagavad Gita. The Gita itself is amazingly fantastic guide to yoga lifestyle and practice. A yoga teacher will probably want a couple of different translations, just to be able to look at it from different perspectives. Anyway, in Chapter 16, Krishna tells Arjuna that the devout and successful practitioner possesses certain qualities, such as “ Fearlessness, purity of heart, perserverance in aquiring knowledge and in practicing yoga, charity…Non-injury, truthfulness, freedom from wrath…radiance of character, forgiveness, patience…” (God Talks with Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita, Paramahamsa Yogananda).
Krishna lists 26 qualities, and there are 26 corresponding stories in ‘Blossoms’. Milarepa’s life exlemplifies perserverence, and The Buddha teaches nonviolence. Jnaneshwar, a great saint who, coincidentally, penned an inspired translation of the Bhagavad Gita, offers a lesson in modesty. The Great Sikh Guru, Tegh Bahadur, embodies fearlessness. In a very beautiful way, the authors include both men and women, and masters from many traditions. The book is structured so that we can enjoy a single story at a time, or devour the whole book at once. Its a really nice addition to my library, and it might be to yours, as well. Enjoy!
Pick up your copy today by clicking here!
by Sitaram Das | Feb 3, 2011 | asana
spread your toes as wide as you can.
now take your attention from you toes, back a little, into the ball of your foot.
spread the ball of your foot as wide as you can, from the center of the ball of the foot, out to the big toes edge, and the little toe edge.
now relax the toes a little, and just let them gently extend forward.
Focus on opening and spreading the ball of the foot.
snuggle the ball of the foot into the ground, and lift from the center of the arch.
this will send more weight to the outer edge of the foot. this is good, press into the outer edge of your foot, but don’t loose your connection to the ball of the big toe.
visualize a line that runs across the center of the foot (left-right)
the front of the line reaches forward, the back of the line reaches back.
Draw your knee back a little to press weight into your heel, and lift the calf muscle upward at the same time.
let the heel flower out from the center to the edges.
by Sitaram Das | May 13, 2010 | Ayurveda
Last week was a crafty week, i decided to make both lemon pickle and saurkraut. Saurkraut I’ve made before and find totally delicious, but I haven’t made lemon pickle before. Arsha Vidya makes a slammin version, but it never occured to me that I could make it myself. However,I found a recipe online and decided to try it out. Funny thing is, is that now that this recipe is on my mind, lemon pickle is popping up everywhere! I just found a second method, which looks great as well.
Although it certainly needs a little more time, i tasted it yesterday, and it is coming along really nicely. here are the two sites: (you’ll love the website names)
Salt and Fat
Evil Mad Scientist
