The first day is also the easiest.
Some people think otherwise, but in my experience, the first day is the easiest to get by. You are fresh, well-fed the previous day, and eager to get going.
The middle part of any fast is the worst, relatively speaking. You are only halfway from where you started, and you still have another half to go.
But wait…why call it fasting?
This is what I had written last year…
Will leave you with food for thought (I recognize the pun). If the whole process is to slow down one’s metabolism and step away from the crazy pace of life, to reflect and introspect…then why is it called FASTing? SLOWing would be a better word, wouldn’t it? But then, English isn’t a very scientific language, so expecting a deeper thought from such a rudimentary means of communication would be asking for too much.
So instead, let us instead call it व्रत – vrata – the Sanskrit equivalent, which means vow, resolve or devotion, and is derived from the root ‘vr’ (will, rule, restrain, conduct). The Saurapurāṇa prescribes ten virtues which must be cultivated as common to all the vratas. These are forbearance, truthfulness, compassion, charity, purity of body and mind, curbing the sense organs, worship, offering into fire, satisfaction and not depriving another of his possession. That’s a whole lot more than not having food for nine days. That is a whole lot more to observe, and work on.
So from now on, it is vrata.
This was my schedule at sunrise on Day 1:
- Yogic warm up
- Tadasana
- Surya Namaskara
- Vrikshasana
- Trikonasana
- Virabhadrasana
- Balasana
- Balasana variation
- Adho Mukha Shvanasana
- Pranayama
- Dhyana
And here is my schedule at sunset:
- Yogic warm up
- Surya Namaskara
- Virabhadrasana – 3-5 min hold
- Balasana
- Balasana variation
- Adho Mukha Shvanasana
- Pranayama
- Dhyana
I will be starting mantra japa mostly tomorrow. But the yoga schedule will, in all probability, remain the same. Too much variation is not good in yog, one has to let the body and the mind flow in a particular manner before attempting changes.
And in case you haven’t read the Devi Mahātmayam series that I compiled last year, I will be posting a link per day for your reading pleasure. Here is the first one:
ॐ देवी शैलपुत्र्यै नमः॥
Om Devi Shailaputryai Namah॥
या देवी सर्वभूतेषु माँ शैलपुत्री रूपेण संस्थिता। नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः॥
Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu Maa Shailaputri Rupena Samsthita।
Namastasyai Namastasyai Namastasyai Namo Namah॥