Rohit Pillai Yoga

The Above shloka is an excerpt from Mahabharata, Vana Parva . It is a conversation between Narada & Yudhishthir, wherein Narada tells Yudhishthir of a conversation that happened between Bhishma & Pulatsya Rishi in the past, where Pulatsya Rishi mentioned to Bheeshma about the several Teerthasthals in Bharat. Of the several Teerthasthals that Pulatsya Rishi mentions , one particularly caught my attention. It's a place called Shwavillomapah.  In essence while describing the importance of this place , Pulatsya muni says , that many expert  yogis who perform intense pranayama at this place, shed their body hair and achieve purification of their chitta.  Now to a lay person, shedding of body hair by the performance of pranayama might sound weird & non-sensical. But, there actually might be some factual basis for the same. You see, HathaYoga pradipika states that 'a practitioner must train himself/herself to hold kumbhaka until the prana can permeate to ...

Kathopanishad Shloka 14 commentary.  The word fire over here has multiple connotations & meanings. And here fire is one of the metaphors used to denote Awareness. One of the main qualities of fire is the light that it provides thus Bringing clarity amidst darkness. So too. Awareness / Consciousness is the fire which brings about the clarity of perception beyond the veil of Maya. Dhyana in its core is the ability to see things as they are. Awareness is the key to realising the true nature of the Self (Eternal Heaven). And this very Consciousness/Awareness is Life itself (Support & Strength of the Universe). As one sits in silence & observes the Self as a witness, one finds the life manifesting in the body via Prana in the form of electrical impulses of the heart beat (Cardiac Conduction System). Observing the heartbeat , having made His/Her awareness subtle, the yogi eventually enters the state of Samadhi. *-----An article by Rohit Pillai---*  (The above...

 One of the most peculiar things which I am seeing currently in the yoga community is certain individuals who are themselves in the field of yoga denigrating the asanas aspect of yoga calling them trivial or limiting their usage & benefits simply to physical level. And this includes certain older schools of Yoga too.  Now , i understand not everyone might have an interest in the cultural asanas aspect of yoga. And that is absolutely understandable. But just because one isn't interested in something doesn't mean that it doesn't hold potential and value for others.  Asanas , both meditative & cultural are vehicles for pranayama. Yes. Even cultural asanas can be infused with prana by the means of kumbhakas and bandhas. These sahita kumbhakas become the foundations for Kevala kumbhaka, a state which is equated to samadhi. When one learns to effectively use the dynamic & Isometric aspects of a cultural asana efficiently in combination with  kumbhakas & ban...