DIET CHART

Diet chart:( For Therapeutic Yoga Practitioner)..

Breakfast (7 to 9A.M.):

1. Orange juice or any fruit juice, - 1 cup.
2. Fresh apple or any fresh fruit. – 1.
3. Germinated grams.- ¼Th cup.
4. Wheat bread or Roti & vegetables
or Dalia & vegetables or corn flacks
with milk.
5.Horlicks. – 1 cup.

Lunch:

1. Salad ( a mixture of tomato, cucumber, - 1 cup.
Radish, lettuce, carrot, etc..
With salt, pepper and lemon juice or
Salad dressing ).
2. Vegetable soup - 1 cup.
3. Rice or wheat bread or roti
4. Pulse.- 1 cup
5. Cooked green leafy vegetables (sabji)
6. Cooked green fresh vegetables of any kind (sabji)
7. Curd .

Afternoon Refreshments (3 to 5 P.M).

1. Fresh fruit of any type.
2. Salted biscuits or any light food.
(Easily digestible).
3. Cheese. – 1 slice.
4. Horlicks - 1 cup.


Dinner:

1. Salad. – 1 cup.
2. vegetable soup. - 1 cup.
3. Wheat bread or Roti - 2 or 3.
4. Pulse.
5. Cooked green vegetables

* * * * * * *

Eat balanced diet which include salad, fresh green vegetables and fresh fruits along with other dishes of the day. Eat at least two hours before going to bed at night. Eat not more than about eighty five percent of your capacity. Eat slowly after chewing the food very thoroughly. Do not drink water during meals, but only about after half an hour of finishing your meals.

Take ten to twelve glasses of water everyday.

Avoid fried, roasted and spicy food. Exclude red pepper, pickles, hot spices, chutney and arhar dal from your menu. Non vegetarians should avoid meat.

Do not take more than two cups of tea or coffee, do not take coke and other aerated drinks. If possible stop drinking tea and coffee. Avoid taking bed-tea or drinking water as you get up in the morning.

Diabetic patients must avoid fried, fatty, spicy, starchy and sugar-containing food, for a period of four to five months from the date of starting yoga practice; the diabetic patient should not take rice, potato, banana, orange, mangoes and such fruits in which the percentage of sugar is high.
They can take an apple a day. Non vegetarians can add small quantities of fish, liver and eggs in their diet but should avoid meat or chicken for a few months..

THERAPETIC YOGA

THERAPETIC YOGA and ITS ESSENTIALS

Therapeutic yoga is basically a system of self treatment. According to yogic view, diseases, disorders and ailments are the result of faulty ways of living, bad habits, lack of proper knowledge of things related to individual’s life, and improper food. The diseases are thus the resultants state of a short or prolonged malfunctioning of the body system. This malfunctioning is caused by an imbalanced internal condition, created due to certain errors of the individuals.

Since the root cause of disease lies in the mistakes of the individual, its cure also lies in correcting those mistakes by the same individual. Thus, it is the individual himself who is responsible in both the cases, that is, for causing as well as for curing the disease.

This being the basic assumption in this system about the nature of the trouble and its remedy, there is total reliance on the effort of the patient himself. The yoga expert shows only the path and works no more than as a counselor to the patient.

The yogic process of treatment comprises three steps:

Proper diet.
Proper yoga practice, and
Proper knowledge of things which concern the life of an individual.

Proper Diet:

The diet is recommended according to his disease and his bodily condition of patient.
The most common items of diet for almost all patients of therapeutic yoga are: fruits, salad, leafy vegetables, green vegetables, wheat bread and pulse (selected). For non-vegetarians, fish and lever are allowed in certain cases but meat and chicken are generally forbidden.
Basic principles of eating: eat slowly, to eat only 85% of capacity, to eat at least two hours before their retiring time at night, to avoid drinking water while eating, not to eat to hot, spicy, fried and roasted food, not to take more than one or two cups o coffee or tea in a day and if possible to stop these completely, to give up the use of tobacco in any form, and to avoid the use of alcohol.

Yoga Practice:

The patient is asked to practice yoga according to his disease and his bodily conditions.
In a majority of the cases, a regular practice of only few asanas is enough for curing the diseases. In some of the diseases the practice of pranayama together with the asanas becomes essential of good results. In certain cases, specific KRIYAS such as BANDHAS, MUDRAS and certain yogic techniques are used for desired result.
Besides these, practice of concentration and mediation is also necessary in certain cases.

A large number of diseases are cured within two months of yoga practice. In certain cases, it takes about four months or even more. Diseases that take a longer time are Juvenile diabetes, Polio, Paralysis, Parkinsonism, Obesity, Ulcer, mental health cases, etc.

The patient of particular disease is advised to practice only as much of an asana as is possible for him. By doing only what is physically performable, the patient gains in strength as the kriyas begin to condition the body and diminished the disease. When the disease is cured, physical ability improves and the same asanas are performed better even by those who were unable to do them at the beginning.

Proper Knowledge:

A lot of things need to be told to the patient which are informative, conceptual theoretical and also philosophical. Yogic literature is very rich in this respect and is divided into two main categories: (1) Spiritual interpretation of things, and (2) Scientific interpretation of things. Depending upon the nature of the disease, a patient is counseled and informed in detail about the various concerned aspects of life.

Yoga Vs Medical System:

In any medical system the primary reliance is on medicine. It is assumed that a particular medicine will cure a particular disease. That means in the medical system an external agent is needed. But here, it is the patient himself who’s personal understanding, practice and care cures his disease in yogic system.
The patient’s suffering from various chronic diseases, which had lost their faith in the medical system because in spite of year’s treatment they had not a lasting cure. On the other hand, a great number of such patients achieved permanent cure through therapeutic yoga within a period of two to four months. This has specially been so in cases of diabetes, arthritis, asthma, gastro-intestinal disorders, nervous tension and various other cases.

This limitation of the medical system should not mean that it is inferior to the yoga system; rather it is only a matter of limitation and scope of a given system. There are areas where only the medical science and not yoga can come to the rescue of the patient. Similarly, there are certain diseases, which though regarded incurable though medical system, are definitely cured through yoga. This shows that every system of treatment has certain unique points as well as limitations.

Further, the medical treatment has now become so expensive that millions of people all over world cannot afford it. Yoga on other hand does not involve any expenses.

The therapeutic yoga is now scientifically established, it can be used as a ‘self-cure method’ by people suffering from various disorders in any part of the world.

Essentials of Yoga practice:

Self-treatment though yoga needs suitability of time, place, body condition, dress and similar other matters. In order to drive full benefit of therapeutic yoga it is necessary to understand the following requirements and principles related to its practice.

Time:

Though the morning time before breakfast, is regarded best for practicing yoga, one can also do in the evening or at any other time, provided the stomach is empty and not heavy with food. The general principle is to give an interval of three to four hours after eating and then do yoga. Also a gap of half an hour or so should be given after drinking water, tea or any juice. The body should be in a restful and normal condition at time of practicing yoga. One should do yoga at the same time every day. A practice for at least five to six days in a week should be enough to show improvement.

Palace:

Practice yoga on floor. Avoid bed. Use a carpet, rug, blanket or mat on the floor. The place of yoga should be neat, clean and well ventilated. There should be constant supply of fresh air at the place. During summer a fan can be used. If the place is air-conditioned, make sure that there is sufficient supply of air.

Silence:

One should maintain silence while doing yoga. Any conversation, mental activity and even listening to music should be avoided. Silence helps in preserving energy as well as in being attentive during practice.

Rest:

There are two types of rest in yoga:
Short rest and,
Long rest.
The short rest should be for about six to eight seconds only. This is taken in between two rounds of the asana, or between one and the other asana.
The long rest comes at the end of all the asanas, pranayamas and other kriyas which one does at a stretch. The general principle is to devote one forth of the actual practicing time for this rest. For example, if one has done yoga for twenty minutes, the rest at the end should be for five minutes. The rest is better done in SHAVA SANA.

Dress:

There should be minimum clothes on the body while doing yoga.
Male practitioners can wear half-pants or pajamas.
Ladies can wear sari, slacks or stretch-pants with blouse.

Bath:

It depends on the convenience and personal choice of the practitioner to bathe either before or after the practice. It should be better to take bath before yoga. There are certain asanas which are done after bath and it creates feeling of neatness and purity.

Female Problems:

Female practitioners should avoid yoga practice during menstrual period and during advanced stage of pregnancy. Under such conditions, yoga practice should be generally discontinued. Yoga for pregnant women (after 4 month) has to be performed on a selective basis under proper care and instruction of a yoga expert. Proper practice of yoga during early stages of pregnancy enhances the health of the child in womb and it also helps to make the delivery painless.

How Much Yoga:

Maximum time devoted for actually practicing yoga should not exceed forty-five minutes in a single day of winter. In summer, the maximum time for actual practice should be thirty minutes. This difference in practicing time has to be maintained because of variation in impact of weather on the body.
Though there should be only one session of yoga practice in a day, those who would like to divide their in two sessions should allow a gap of eight hours between the first and the second session. A minimum practice of fifteen minutes per day should be quite satisfactory for maintaining good health.

Proper Diet:

Diet occupies a dominant place in the yoga system. It is said that ‘as you eat, so you become’. This is because the kind and quantity of food affects the physical and mental condition of the individual.
In yoga, all foods have been divided into three categories; Rajasi, Tamasi and Sathvik.

Satvik food is good for yoga practitioners. In this type, the food is cooked with the least amount of spices and without much seasoning. The food is fresh and nutritive, and is cooked in a simple way.

The most important principle is to eat a balanced diet. Balanced diet contains salad, fresh vegetables, fresh fruits and raw nuts.

The ideal time to eat salad is to make it the first item of lunch and dinner.
Eat not more than about 85% of your capacity. Do not overeat or even to your full capacity. The proper method of eating is to eat slowly and swallow the food after thoroughly crushing and chewing it. One common error which the overweight people generally make is that they eat too fast.

Yoga practitioner should drink Ten to twelve glasses (5Ibs) of water every day. Water should not take at the time of eating, but after half an hour of eating it is recommended.
According to yoga literature, several skin diseases and disorders are corrected if water is not taken while eating. The drinking of plenty water is highly recommended.

Avtars.

Avtarhood would have little meaning if it were not connected with evoloution.
The Hindu proccession of Ten avtars is itself,as it were,a parable of evoloution.
First the Fish Avtaar,
then the amphibious animal between land and water,
then the land animal,
then the Man-Lion Avtaar,briding man and animal ,
then man as dwarf,small and underdeveloped and physical but containing in himself the godhead and taking possession of existence,
then the rajsic,satwik,nirguna Avtars,
leading the human devoulpment from vital rajsic to the satwik mentel man and agagin the overmental superman.
Krishna, Buddha and Kalki depict the last three stages,the stages of spiritual development--Krishna opens the posibility of overmind,
Buddha tries to shoot beyond to the supereme liberation but that liberation is still negtive,not returning upon earth to complete positivly the evoloution;
Kalki is to correct this by brigning the Kingdom of the Hevean(Divine) upon earth ,destroying the opposing asura forces.The progression is stiriking and unmistakable.
As for the lives in between the avtars lives,it must be remembered that Krishna speaks of many lives in the past,not only a few supereme ones,and secondy that while he speaks of himself as the Divine,in one passage he describes himself as a Vibhuti,vrsninam vasudevah.We may therefore fairly assume that in many lives he menifested as the Vibhuti veiling the fuller Divine Consciousness.If we admit that the objevct of avtarhood is to lead the evoloution,this is quite reasonable,the Divine appearing as Avtar in the great transtional stages and as Vibhutis aid the lesser transtions.

Sri Aurobindo...

Jyot and Kalash !

Jyot ! That serene little fire in a little lamp..... I have often wondered what might be its significance ! Of all the elements , fire is the one which is absolutely invisible as if it did not exist unless one really makes an effort to bring it on. Stones are just stones. But when they are struck against each other , it produces fire. That is so much close to what God is . He is everywhere but it needs some effort to actually see Him , feel Him. When we have a little flame before us , it really symbolises what God is and inspires us to make that effort to ignite the cosmic spark in us.

If we look closely , the flame has many parts , blue flame in the middle which is surrounded by two or three more layers. The last layer is invisible but immensely potent and hot.Every layer is at a different temperature and has different attributes. Is it not similar to what our body is supposed to be -physical body , ethereal body , causal body and many kinds of layers with fancy names ? And there is another factor common to both. A little whiff of air and it is gone. It is there one moment and gone the other. Our bodies die but the soul lives on. The flame dies out but the element of fire lives everywhere. Flame is nothing but a body , a physical attribute of heat and light. That is so close to what we are as humans and as souls.

And then we also keep a 'kalash' (pitcher)of water nearby. Flame and water both signify the Infinite. And we are all part of that Infinite. But we live in ignorance and these two elements are a means to inspire us , awaken us and be respectful to the powers of Nature. These two symbols talk to us and not only refer to our ignorance but also show us the right path. How is our ignorance signified ? The flame tells us that there is fire in all the things in this world but we can't see it. The Water tells us that it has many drops in it but the drops don't know it. A drop can not feel the sea but the sea feels all the drops. And this is also the path that these symbols show us. Don't be the drop . Be the Sea. The secret of life and eternity lies latent in all of us. Just ignite it !

Jyot also tells us . Be pure like me ! Burn your harmful thoughts and purify the ambience around you. The water in the pitcher tells us to be calm and serene and tto stay so while facing the vicissitudes of life. This reminds me of what Swami Kripananda had said once . Turn your heart into a pond of crystal clear water. Very peaceful and very tranquill. Then many creatures would be drawn towards it to quench their thirst. The deers would come and so would the lions. They all would see their own reflection in it and would be mesmerised... And one day LOVE itself would come . It will stoop to have some water , will see its own shadow in it and will stay there for ever...

Ten Avtaars.

It begins with the fish(Matasya) respresenting the first menifestation of life-force in water.The next.,tortise(kurma),indicates the extension of the scope of this new mode of life to the land.The third decent ,the boar(Varah),stands for fresh release of force>then comes the man-lion(Narsimha) symbolising the transition from animal to a man.Next is dwarf(Vamana),the primeal man,his size standing for the infancy o the species.Then comes Parshuram.He is not only the fully devolped man,but also who can mould externel events to his advantage,Thismastery is symbolised in his holding the parsue.we see the next decent .Rama,taking place,while earlier incarnations still exists.What is remarkable is Parsuram surrendering hispowers to Rama,the event esteblishing the superiorty of ethical power over mere physical and vitalistic powers.The eighth Avtar Krishna,stands for spiritual wisdom.So far the avtars have helped the proccess of devolpment along the evoloutinery line..Then comes Budha,to show the Path of liberation to such souls who,in their conscious choice ,decide to withdraaw fronm the proccess of evoloution.Finally the age of Kalki is to come--the only parable in world mythology with aclear futuristic proposition.he is to put an end to semo barbric elements persisting in the human consciousness and pave the way for the advent of gnostic humanity.
from the writings of Manoj Das.

HARImation

Hanuman

When Ram with his army reached the outskirts of Lanka , they camped near the ocean and spent the night admiring the night sky. Lord Ram wondered why does the Moon have dark spots in the centre. Almost everybody was ready with the answer. Some said that the dark spot is the cauldron of poison that the moon hides in its bossom. The others said that Rahu affected the moon and that is why the moon looks kind of dark. This theory and that ...But all this while Hanuman was silent . Then Lord Ram turned to him and asked , " Hanuman , what do you think about it?" And he said , " Prabhu , that is Moon's heart . Since the moon always has your 'saanwali murti' in it, therefore ,we see a dark spot there".

Such was the devotion of Hanuman. Overwhelming ! He was intelligent , a great warrior, an astrologer, a musician , an immensely talented person and reached the pinnacles of spirituality. But he never took pride in it. His common retort was that it was all the grace of Lord Ram. Can such a character be ever paralleled ? No . He performed all the important stuff in the story of Ram but never took credit for it. He was extremely grateful when he was able to do his duty well. And the Universe likes grateful people. These qualities and the Grace of God made a devotee attain the stature of God. No wonder till this day , this exceptional devotee himself has throngs of devotees. No other 'bhakt' has attained such heights.

Giridhar Gopal

Giridhar Gopal

Gowardhan Girdharai

One fine day bal gopal and dau, when roaming on vrindavan gullies (lanes) saw, villagers & Nandababa (krishnas father) arranging for some special puja. When they asked for whom was this puja organized, they were answered that this puja was to amuse INDRA , so that he will send clouds of rain & if they don’t give offerings to him his anger will perish every thing.

Shri Krishna was annoyed by the answer, it confirmed him that devendra was in the claws of ahankara (pride) & then what ? Shree krshna’s leela started, he convinced all the villagers to worship GOVARDHANPARVATA because it’s the mountain who, without any querries always fullfill their needs, gopala told them to worship govardhana as their “ISHTA”

By this annoying deed of the villagers,Indra was pulled off from his exalt position, he became mad with anger & ordered his clouds of doom to destroy Gokul.

To save Gokul from Indra’s kop (anger) the adbhut maya dhari expanded his miraculous maya & lifted up GOVARDHANPARVATA just by his little finger in order to make its shed, the clouds rained for seven days & nights but failed to drown gokul. Then indra himself came to challenge shree Krishna & was stunned by his powers, then guru brihaspati aware indra about anant & achyut narayana. Indra immediately refuged to shree Krishna for pardon chanting

“Aditya Hridaya Stotra”

“Aaksharam paramam brahma, jyoti rupam sanatanam,
gunatitam nirakaram rakshamayam
mananantakam ……”

Since shree Krishna saved all the cows from Indra’s kop hence by param pita’s(Brahma) order Mata Surabhi (mother of all cows) felicitated gopala by the name “GOVINDA”

“SHRIKRISHNA GOVINDA HARAMURARA JAY NATH NARAYAN VASUDEVA”

Cultural Dance Forms of India

Cultural Dance Forms of India

BHARATNATYAM

{ BHARATNATYAM=BHA + RA + T + NATYAM }.

"BHA" means Bhawa that is Emotions.

"RA" means Raga that is Dorame (Sargam).

"T" means Tal that is Rythm.

NAYTAM means Natak/Abinay that is Drama.

Bharatanatyam is a classical dance form originating from Tamil Nadu, a state in Southern India. This popular South Indian dance form is a 20th century reconstruction of Cathir, the art of temple dancers. Cathir in turn, is derived from ancient dance forms. The word Bharata, some believe, signifies the author of the famous Sanskrit treatise on stagecraft, called NatyaShastra.Bharata refers to the author of the Natya Shastra, and natya is Sanskrit for the art of sacred dance-drama brought to the stage at the beginning of the 20th century.

Traditional roots

Bharatanatyam traces its origins to the Natya Shastra written by Bharata Muni, a Hindu sage. In ancient times it was performed as dasiattam by temple Devadasis. Many of the ancient sculptures in Hindu temples are based on Bharata Natyam dance postures karanas. In fact, it is the celestial dancers, apsaras, who are depicted in many scriptures dancing the heavenly version of what is known on earth as Bharatanatyam. In the most essential sense, a Hindu deity is a revered royal guest in his temple/abode, to be offered a standard set of religious services called Sodasa Upacharas ("sixteen hospitalities") among which are music and dance, pleasing to the senses. Thus, many Hindu temples traditionally maintained complements of trained musicians and dancers, as did Indian rulers.
Bharata Natyam as a dance form and carnatic music set to it are deeply grounded in Bhakti. Bharata Natyam, it is said, is the embodiment of music in visual form, a ceremony, and an act of devotion. Dance and music are inseparable forms; only with Sangeetam (words or syllables set to raga or melody) can dance be conceptualized.

STAGES OF BHARATNATYAM

Typically a contemporary performance includes:
Ganapati Vandana - A traditional opening prayer to the Hindu god Ganesh, who removes obstacles.
Alarippu - A presentation of the Tala punctuated by simple syllables spoken by the dancer. This really is sort of an invocation to the gods to bless the performance.
Jatiswaram - An abstract dance where the drums set the beat. Here the dancer displays her versatility in elaborate footwork and graceful movements of the body.
Shabdam - The dancing is accompanied by a poem or song with a devotional or amorous theme.
Varnam - The center piece of the performance. It is the longest section of the dance punctuated with the most complex and difficult movements. Positions of the hands and body tell a story, usually of love and the longing for the lover.
Padam - Probably the most lyrical section where the dancer "speaks" of some aspect of love: devotion to the Supreme Being; or of love of mother for child; or the love of lovers separated and reunited.

Thillana - The final section is a pure dance (nritta) when the virtuosity of the music is reflected in the complex footwork and captivating poses of the dancer.
Apart from these relatively modern items, there are more ancient items such as Kautuvam, Koothu, Shlokam, Swarajathi, Krithi etc. The performance concludes with the chanting of a few religious verses as a form of benediction. Certain styles include more advanced items, such as Tharanga Nritham and Suddha Nritham. When a dancer has mastered all the elements of dance, as a coming out performance, he or she generally performs an Arangetram (debut).
Angikam - This is a devotional song on Lord Shiva and an item dance in bharatnatyam. It can also be performed in byapti slow motion.

Other aspects of the dance form
Costume - From the ancient texts and sculptures, one can see that the original costume did not cover most of the dancers' bodies. The medieval times, with the puritanistic drive, caused the devadasis to wear a special, heavy saree that severely restricted the dance movements. There are several varieties of Bharatanatyam costumes, some of which do not restrict the dancer's movements, while the others do. The modern costumes are deeply symbolic, as their purpose is to project the dancer's sukshma sharira , in the material world.

Music - The accompanying music is in the Carnatic style of South India.

Ensemble - Mostly, South Indian instruments are used in the ensemble. These include, the mridangam (drum), nagaswaram (long pipe horn made from a black wood), the flute, violin and veena (stringed instrument traditionally associated with Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of the arts and learning).

Languages - Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu and Kannada are traditionally used in Bharatanatyam.

A classical dance posture of Bharatnatyam