Shreyas, an Inner Challenges initiative, is a retreat for discerning guests to step away from the hectic demands of modern life and spend time in unwinding, reflection, rejuvenation and rediscovering the simple pleasures of life.

Spread over 25 acres of landscaped gardens, the architecture and interiors are a seamless confluence of traditional and the modern styles.

Extract from Guests’ comments:

Each time I come to Bangalore for business I opt to stay at Shreyas for the weekend. It’s a lovely place run by very professional and polite staff. All facilities and services including Yoga classes and swimming pool are good. Meals are served three times a day. Light, healthy and just delicious. Great place for vacation.
Asher Sterkin (Jerusalem) May 2008

The food was first class, in particular, I feel a visit to the orphanage is a must - it would be nice to think that perhaps every guest may make a small contribution

The yoga was lifesaver + the candle meditation was both enlightening and beneficial, whilst the chanting was just excellent, and a great inclusion to the overall programme. The massages were first class… Thank you again to everyone
With very best wishes
Nicola Shepherd
African & Indian Explorations
Oxfordshire, UK,
May 2008

This urge to live is the urge just to be, to exist. In Sanskrit, the word for existence is “Sat” (pronounced “sut”). We all always want to exist or to be. However this is not all that we want, for if existence alone was the goal, then we could aspire to become like the million year old rock.

Next is the urge to know, to be aware; to be conscious. Our need to know is the driving force behind new discoveries, learning new skills, grabbing the newspapers or watching the news, craning our neck to see when we hear the screeching of car brakes, feeling restless unless we ferret out a secret which a friend is trying to keep, and so on.

The need to know is a facet of our awareness; it arises because consciousness is basic to us. The Sanskrit word for consciousness is “Chit”

The last primary urge is the urge to be happy, or really, to be unlimited. The Sanskrit word for happiness is “Ananda”. We can have Sat and Chit but it matters little without Ananda. A terminally ill person may choose to have life ended if the prospect of continuous pain permanently excludes Ananda or the infatuated lover may commit suicide if they see no prospect of happiness without their beloved.

Ananda is not restricted to laughter or to a “high”. It has a meaning close to a sense of fullness where we are basically at peace and with all and everything around us. It is a state where we are quite content to let things, events and people to be as they are – we might try to bring some changes, but …

(To be continued….)

Pawan

An introduction to the traditional Yogic Kriyas

In the present series, we would focus on Shatkarmas, the six purification processes as prescribed by Swatmarama in ‘Hatha Yoga Pradipika’. Shatkarmas are as important as Asanas and Pranayama as they cleanse our psychophysical energy system which leads to perfection in Yoga.

In fact, by cleansing, Shatkarmas prepare our internal organs as well as our mind for strenuous and advanced Yoga practices leading to Samadhi. Though generally these practices are referred to as ‘kriya’ i.e. cleansing processes, the word ‘Karma’ indicates that shatkarmas need to be done periodically as a duty.

This article series is based on Swatmarama’s Hatha Yoga Pradipika, which is the oldest available manual on classical Hatha Yoga. It comprises of four chapters: (1) Asanas, (2) Shatkarma and Pranayama, (3) Mudras and Bandas and (4) Samadhi. The 22nd verse of the 2nd chapter of Hatha Yoga Pradipika mentions six types of cleansing processes: Dhauti, Basti, Neti, Trataka, Nauli and Kapalabhati.

1. Dhauti - Cleansing of digestive tract. It includes danda dhauti and vastra dhauti.
2. Basti - Colon cleansing
3. Neti - Nasal cleansing. It includes jala neti and sutra neti
4. Trataka - Effortless gazing at a chosen object until one’s eyes well with tears. For example, gazing at a steady flame. Traditionally an oil lamp was used for this practice but candle is being used now.
5. Nauli - Forceful movement of abdomen region resulting and resembling an abdominal massage
6. Kapalabhati - Purification and vitalization of the frontal lobes through forceful inhalation and exhalation.