Month: March 2024

A mystery yet unsolved…

It was written 600 years ago. It’s 234 pages long. It’s been studied by cryptographers and codebreakers alike. And yet, we still have no idea what any of it means. This is the Voynich manuscript. The Voynich manuscript has been studied by many professional and amateur cryptographers, including American and British codebreakers from both World War I and World War II. …

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Do you really look?

On Looking: Eleven walks…came highly recommended. I haven’t read Alexandra Horowitz before, and the reviews on Goodreads were not the most encouraging. Nevertheless, I did start reading… As the title suggests, and I suspect the blurb outlines, this book is about a few walks that Alexandra took around New York City. Alone, with her kid, …

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What’s gotta give…

Mahashivratri. The night when you stay awake, and pray to Shiva, the ultimate Yogi. A lot of questions may arise in our minds, when we think of Shiva, and Shivratri – or the night of Shiva. For instance, why is Shiva synonymous with austerity? He is always depicted as a mendicant, as a renunciate – …

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Of the original mother…

Mother Nature – We are born from nature, we live by nature, and when we are gone, we become part of nature again. It is sad that we have to practice something that is inherently natural in us. For thousands of years, we have lived in close conjunction with nature, being a part of it, like …

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On writing…

Wilting flowers do not cause  suffering; it is the unrealistic desire that flowers will not wilt that causes suffering. – Thich Nhat Hanh. “And how is an individual like an inscription in water? There is the case where a certain individual—when spoken to roughly, spoken to harshly, spoken to in an unpleasing way—is nevertheless congenial, companionable, …

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India…or Bharat?

Bharat that is India. Or India, that is Bharat. Kiran Bedi: Did we make a mistake in converting our name from Bharat to India? Sadhguru: A serious mistake. Whenever somebody occupies a nation, the first thing they will do is change your name. This is the technology of dominance; this is the technology of enslaving. If …

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Twelve steps to a better you…

The 12 steps of Suryanamaskara Pranamasana or Anjali Mudra / Prayer Pose Utthana Hasthasana / Upward Salute Padahastanasana  / Hand To Feet Ashva Sanchalanasana / Equestrian Pose Phalakasana / Plank Pose Ashtanga Namaskra /  Salute With Eight Limbs or Knee Chest and Chin Bhujangasana / Cobra Pose Adho Mukha Svanasana / Downward Facing Dog Ashva Sanchalanasana / Equestrian Pose Padahastanasana / Hand To Feet Utthana Hasthasana / Upward Salute Pranamasana or Anjali Mudra / Prayer Pose 1. Pranamasana/ Anjali Mudra …

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Stand straight!

Today, we look at Tadasana. Tadasana, ‘mountain pose’. B.K.S. Iyengar, the renowned guru of yoga, said, “Once we can master ‘tadasana’ then all the other poses come.” In tadasana one begins the journey from the outer body… inwards. The basic standing pose tadasana awakens the practitioner to the body – the outermost sheath – the …

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Of hands and feet…

Padahastasana is a variation of Uttanasana (उत्तानासन) or Standing Forward Bend.Pada (पाद, Pāda) = leg, footHasta (हस्त, Hasta) = handAsana (आसन, Āsana) = pose, posture, seatPada-Hastasana (पादहस्तासन, Pāda-Hastāsana) = feet-on-hands-posture Padahastasana or the Hand to Foot pose is part of Sūryanamaskāra or the Sun Salutation series. It appears as the 3rd pose and the 10th pose in this series.https://www.youtube.com/embed/3R7TDfhiIDk?feature=oembed How to practice …

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