The most basic and traditional form of yoga is known as Hatha Yoga. Hatha is loosely translated as “ha” meaning “sun” and “tha” meaning “moon” and its focus is in uniting opposites in harmony and creating balance. The masculine and feminine aspects reside within us all, and they are often represented by the sun and the moon.

Strength and flexibility are desirable qualities for a healthy body – strength implies muscle strength and stamina, while flexibility refers to our ability to bend without breaking. But not only. They are also desirable characteristics in our ability to deal with other people or situations in life.

Ganesha is a well known deity. He is easily recognisable due to his elephant head. There are several stories about how Ganesha came to have the head of an elephant, but symbolically it represents wisdom. However, Ganesha is best known as the remover of obstacles and as the one who brings new beginnings.

If you would like to know how you are doing in your yoga practice, take a look at your life. If you do not bring your practice into your daily life for self development, then yoga will be of no great value.

When we hear the words “letting go”, the attachments that may spring to mind may be people or things, but they can also be habits or beliefs.

During the practice of yoga asanas, when we listen and respect our body, and also trust it a little bit deeper each time, we learn humility in accepting our limitations. This humility and intimacy with ourselves prepares us to move into intimacy with others.

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”

“Just like the seasons turn, characterised with their changes, we also change. However, unfortunately because of the various external factors surrounding us, these changes which we experience, may sometimes put us off balance.

In Ayurveda, how you eat is just as important as what you eat. Eating while stressed or multitasking, or when your attention is not focused on the food, can lead to indigestion due to inadequate chewing. Mindful eating, on the other hand, helps support proper digestion, allowing you to absorb the necessary nutrients from the food for both the body and the mind, while eliminating toxins. Here are some tips for practicing mindful eating:

Shivaratri is on the dark night before every new moon. Shiva, a high-ranking demigod in Hindu mythology and yoga, wears a moon on his head because of his role in the story associated with the waning and waxing of the moon. He was unable to dismiss a curse that Chandra, the moon god, will fade, but he was able to make him wax again, and so the cycle.

The power of meditation is often underestimated. We have a remarkable inner potential for self healing our body, mind and emotions by utilising the breath and stillness of meditation. Self healing through meditation happens as meditation offers direct access to our healing wisdom.

A beautiful poem translated by Swami Abhyayananda

I offer obeisance to the God and Goddess,
The limitless primal parents of the universe.

They are not entirely the same,
Nor are they not the same.