As if on a mission to draw people away from
the modern, gimmicky ways that yoga is being taught in to the masses, Swami Niranjan
very clearly and simply explained the importance of tradition and the
effectiveness of seemingly simple practices, once done regularly. Many
practitioners of yoga seem to think that the longer and harder they practice,
the more evolved they and their practice are. But Swamiji stripped people off various pretensions.
He also elucidated that a rigorous physical practice is just that – a physical
exercise!
Over the course of four days he guided us
very clearly in simple practices to adopt daily. “A practice focused only on
asana and pranayama is incomplete,” he said. He thus left us with a dinacharaya
(daily routine) starting with mantra sadhana comprising Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra,
Gayatri Mantra and 32 names of Goddess Durga first thing in the morning to
activate the vijnanamaya kosha; then five asanas (including Tadasana,
Triyaktadasana, Katichakrasana, Utthanasana, and any inversion such as
Sirshasana or Sarvangasana) and Surya Namaskar to benefit the annamaya kosha;
followed by Sheetali, Shitkari, Brahmari and Nadi Shodhana techniques of
pranayama to cleanse the pranamaya kosha; yoga nidra to be done in the evening
after work to remove tension and reactivate the manomaya kosha; and finally the
Omkara or Om chanting before sleeping to reach the anandamaya kosha.
It’s been about two months since I attended the
Yogotsav and I feel a world of a difference in my own practice, despite cutting
down on the complicated asanas that I was doing earlier. My day starts with Mantra
Sadhana, followed with a simple asana sequence. This really sets a very happy and
positive note to my day, and I feel a general sense of well-being. And all this
despite cutting down on the time I used to spend on asana practice. The
holistic routine really permeates the deeper levels of my being and I almost
feel my practice touching the different koshas/sheaths.