Q: One thing that many people find hard to understand is the role of a Guru. Nowadays, when you say Guru, people say that my teacher is my Guru. Teachers, in their own way, are Gurus, no doubt. What is the significance of a spiritual Guru and how do I identify one? Will I reach anywhere if I don’t have a spiritual Guru? If I do manage to find my Guru, then apart from his seva (service), what else should I be doing? Sri M: According to what I believe, the person who seeks Moks

Ayurveda, the traditional healing system of India, is often looked at as a way of optimizing the functioning of the body. Ayurveda is capable of assisting in the healing of many conditions as well as extending life itself. The knowledge of Ayurveda has its roots in the Vedas, the sacred texts of India from which many spiritual philosophies and religions have sprung. These include Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Yoga and others. It is a science not only of the physical body, but

Oil bath is a traditional, weekly Ayurvedic home remedy still practiced widely in South India. Sri K. Pattabhi Jois routinely recommends oil bath to his yoga students especially for the relief of back and knee pain as well as stiffness. Weekly oil bath reduces excess internal heat (pitta in Ayurvedic) particularly in the joints, liver, and skin. This heat is generated by poor lifestyle, including consumption of oily, processed, and difficult to digest foods, alcohol and tobac

In respect of understanding what is yoga, people make two common mistakes. Most people think that yoga means only asanas or physical postures. It's that and more. Yoga is a complete way of life including therein, gyan yoga or philosophy, bhakti yoga or path of devotional bliss, karma yoga or path of blissful action and raja yoga or path of mind control. Raja yoga has eight parts of which only one part is asana. Not an alternative The second misconception about yoga is that i

OK time to get more traction for THIS conversation but first an apology to my Yoga studio owning friends who may not like what I am about to say. I hope you can take it in and give it some thought and perhaps make a shift in your offerings. Owning a Yoga studio is hard work. It is not a place where fortunes are made. Fortunes are spent. Sleep is lost. Hair turns grey. If you are one of the lucky ones, you can keep it going and not need to take out a second mortgage, get some