Radiant Living Institute w/ Dr. Sheetal
  • Home
  • About
  • Shop
  • Blog
  • Contact Me
  • Home
  • About
  • Shop
  • Blog
  • Contact Me

Spring is in the Air :-)

3/29/2018

0 Comments

 
Spring is here and love is in the air!  At least that’s how it feels, doesn’t it?  When the days start getting longer, the birds are singing their sweet song, and the flowers are starting to show their beauty to us.  It all makes me just want to slow down and allow my senses to sip in every bit of it!  And so, these past couple of weeks, I have been doing just that - honoring Nature’s signals to slow down as She transitions from the cold, dry winter to the cool, moist Spring.  

We were lucky to get snow in Virginia last week as Nature’s reminder of this beautiful, and seemingly slow, transition of seasons.  As I watched the snow soften and melt last week, I was reminded of the popular metaphor in Ayurveda of Spring having the qualities of snow melting on a mountaintop.  As the snow melts, the sweet water flows down the mountain nourishing the earth below and allowing for new growth of plants and lifeforms.  Similarly, in the Spring, we are called to slow down and flow softly through our days.  We are invited to stretch and bring easeful movement into our body and lifestyle.  We begin the transition out of our winter hibernation that can often leave us feeling restless due to the Winter qualities of Vata dosha (air and ether).  We enter into the Spring season, which is governed by Kapha dosha.

Kapha, composed of Earth and Water elements, brings a feeling of softness and slowing down.  It brings moisture, which leads to a dampness and heaviness in the air.  It is the dosha of growth and structure; interestingly, it is also the dosha that predominates in childhood, the period of time that our body undergoes the most rapid growth.  No wonder then that Spring is a time of growth, fresh beginnings, and the blossoming of new ideas and experiences!

Depending on your individual dosha (your unique Ayurvedic body-mind constitution), the Spring can have varying effects on your body, mind, and emotions.  As a predominantly Vata-Pitta individual, I love the Spring!  The water and earth elements naturally ground my mobile and light energy.  I enjoy the call to slow down and soften.  On the other hand, for a Kapha-predominant individual, the season’s heavy and damp qualities can lead to imbalance of excessive sluggishness, nasal and chest congestion, and emotional attachment.  Perhaps one of the most effective and fast-acting antidotes is to simply exercise.  Vigorous movement such as vinyasa yoga, running, or other forms of intense exercise is generally quite balancing for excess Kapha.  

As we are just beginning the transition of seasons, I invite you to observe the qualities that arise in your life.  No matter how the season affects you, it is Nature’s way of reminding us to simply pay attention.  Nature reminds us, if we allow ourselves to listen, that we are most in balance when we align ourselves with Her Universal rhythms.  

Happy Spring, my friends!

Read More…
Ayurveda Self-Care Practices for the Spring
Spark Joy your Spring Cleaning!

0 Comments

The Power of Decision

3/22/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
​Hello, loves!

Today, I want to explore the power of our decisions. Tony Robbins says that it's in the moment of our decision, that our destiny is created.  Swami Sarvapriyananda, of the Vedic Yoga tradition, describes “decision” as the first of three great powers of the mind.  I recently listened to his lecture on this topic, and he explains that the root of the word “decision” means “to cut off.”   He goes on to describe that when we make a decision we are actually cutting something off; in other words, we are saying “no” to something.  By default, when we say “no” to one thing, we are saying “yes” to something else.  In his lecture, Swami Sarvapriyananda goes on to quote the Bhagavad-Gita, one of the ancient texts of yoga philosophy, where Krishna says, “The path of yoga is the path of awakening into conscious action.”  

We make decisions all day long, right?  How many of those decisions are conscious though?  How many of those decisions come from a place of intention and conscious awareness?  Yoga helps us cultivate this conscious awareness.  A recent event in my own life has led me to this topic and to recognizing just how large of an impact our decisions can have.  

This past weekend, I ran a half marathon. Completing this race was especially exciting for me because it has been 10 years since I last run a half marathon!  When I was in my mid-20s, I ran four half marathons in four years; I ran a half marathon once a year for four years in a row from 2005 to 2008.  During the very last race in 2008, I experienced excruciating knee pain. It was so bad that I pretty much walked the last three miles of the race.  I was dedicated and committed to finishing the race, but after that painful experience I made a decision.  I decided that I was not going to run a half marathon again. I decided that running long distance no longer suited my body.  For the past 10 years since I made that decision, I would only go out for runs about 20 to 30 minutes long.  I was so afraid of the knee pain coming back.  So basically in a moment, I cut off the possibility of running longer than 20 to 30 minutes ever again.  By saying “no” to running long distance, I did also say “yes” to something else though.  I ended up devoting more of my time and energy into my yoga and meditation practices.  So, I do not judge the decision – it was neither a good or bad decision, but simply a decision made in a moment.  As a result of that decision though, for the last 10 years, I have not allowed myself to engage in this activity that had previously been such a large part of my life! 

That is, until this past winter when I made a new decision.  I was inspired by my brother who decided that he was going to run a full marathon on his next birthday. I was so inspired by him that I decided that I was going to run the half marathon on the same day.  In that moment, I made a new decision and created a new outcome.  In that moment, I allowed myself to open  back up into my passion of running.  Because of my yoga and mindfulness practices, I was able to enter into running again in a completely new way.  By honoring my body through my mindful awareness practices while training, I did not experience the same sort of pain that I did in the past.  Rather, the race was fun and exciting!  I was in such a flow state as allowed myself to experience the joy of every step.

My question to you this week is to consider some of your decisions, without judgment, because every decision teaches us something.  But, just consider: Are we making these decisions from a place of pain and fear as I did ten years ago?  Or, are the decisions coming from a place of conscious awareness?  From that place of inner strength and power that we all have, simply because we are alive.  If there was a decision that was made out of pain or fear, is there a way to step back into our power now?  Can we allow our decisions to now be made from a place of love and conscious awareness, instead of pain and fear?  

Please let me know your thoughts on this topic by leaving a comment below!  

Watch Swami Sarvapriyananda’s lecture here 

Read my blog on Living a Life of Passion here

0 Comments

Happy Feet! :-)

3/15/2018

0 Comments

 
​Today’s blog is brought to you by special request!  I was requested to create a video blog on happy feet and ankles 😊  I am thrilled to bring this blog to you because our feet are so important.  They are our foundation, literally the base supporting our body as we move throughout the day.  We hardly ever think about our feet, yet they do so much for us.  A few years ago, I jammed my pinky toe on a piece of furniture.  I never thought much about my pinky toe until I jammed it on that piece of furniture, because after that it hurt like heck with every step I took for six weeks straight!  All of a sudden, I was paying a lot more attention to my feet!

Our feet have 26 bones and 4 layers of muscle.  This is just amazing to me!  A long, long time ago, when we used to spend much of our days walking barefoot on the earth, we needed all four layers of those muscles to be engaged to support us on the uneven terrain of the earth.  These days, we are so accustomed to walking in shoes with firm soles so that all of those muscles are no longer engaged.  Since our feet are our foundation, any weakness in the feet or ankles can radiate upwards to affect our knees, hips, and lower back.  This is where yoga and Ayurveda can help!  Watch this week’s video to learn some simple self-care techniques to give your feet the tender love and care that they so deserve!
0 Comments

Gratitude and Celebration

3/9/2018

0 Comments

 
​Hello amazing friends! First, I want to express my deep heartfelt thank you to all of you for tuning in this week as I've offered you bonus blogs and videos throughout the week of our official launch of online classes! I also want to thank all of you who participated in our classes. Your presence, energy and feedback has been so amazing and tremendous!

Today, I want to talk to you about gratitude and celebration.  I will start with sharing my journey with these two practices, and then we will explore ways that you can begin to incorporate these concepts into your daily life.  I have been intentionally engaging in gratitude practice for the past few years.  It started out with me just saying “thank you.”  I would take just a few minutes each day to find things in my life that I could feel grateful for, and I found so many beautiful things!  As it turns out, once we start finding things in our life to feel grateful for, we start finding even more things and the practice becomes really fun!

This gratitude practice and the idea of celebration jumped to another level for me over the past few months since attending some Tony Robbins’ events. If you're not familiar with Tony Robbins, he is a personal development life coach, philanthropist, strategist, and entrepreneur. He wears many hats, and one is that he leads seminars for thousands people all over the world.  I attended a few of his seminars over the past few months, and they’ve been a really interesting complement to my yoga and meditation practices.  One of the concepts that he describes is that there are two master skills of life:

1. The science of achievement, and 
2. The art of fulfillment 

Many of us are well-versed in the science of achievement.  In my case, I have spent much of my life working towards degrees and certifications, excelling in my profession, and competing in athletics.  When I was younger, I also spent a good amount of time in the art of fulfillment.  I am blessed with an amazing family and we would often celebrate various achievements by going out to dinner and spending time together to really honor various aspects of our lives.  Throughout college and graduate school, my friends and I definitely had the “work hard, play hard” philosophy, and so we took time to celebrate after major exams and other milestones.  Somehow, as I entered my 30s, this art of fulfillment and celebration started to slip away.  I am the type of person who can just go through my day constantly finding things to do!  My yoga and meditation practices have certainly helped me to slow down, pause, and savor the moment.  But this idea of “celebrating” was not something I was doing much of anymore, until it was really brought to light for me at these recent Tony Robbins’ events.  I have now started to incorporate more celebration practices into my daily life, and it is amazing how good it feels!  

If you are interested in starting a gratitude and celebration practice, here are a few ideas to help get you started.  These are practices that I have been doing for the past few years, and more so over the past few months:

1. Simple daily gratitude practice
I do this every morning before I even get out of bed.  My first thought every morning is “thank you” -  thank you for this day, thank you for my life, thank you to the birds that are chirping outside of my windows singing their song as I wake up.  It literally takes only seconds!  As you're laying in bed, just saying thank you. 

2. Magic Moments
Every week, I spend five to ten minutes to sit down with my gratitude journal.  I think back to my past week and recall any moments that made me smile really big, laugh out loud, or brought tears of joy to my face.  Tony Robbins calls these types of memories “magic moments.” I jot down these magic moments in my journal and allow myself to relive those moments.  This practice creates a stacking effect of super positive emotions in my body and mind.  

​3. Dance
Most everyday, I turn on music and dance in my apartment!  I know it may sound so silly, but it is so much fun!  And, I cannot think about anything else when I am dancing.

Those are just a few ideas based on my own practices.  You can choose any practice that speaks to your heart so long as it cultivates feelings of gratitude and celebration.  These have been incredibly powerful tools in my life and I would love to hear how this works out for you!  If you decide to incorporate some of these tools into your daily life, please leave a comment below or send me a message to let me know how it's working out for you!

​Sending you love and positive vibes!!
0 Comments

What is Ayurveda?

3/8/2018

0 Comments

 
​Perhaps one of my favorite subjects, Ayurveda encompasses yoga, meditation, breathwork, life style, daily routines, diet, and more!  Ayurveda literally translates to “the study of life.”  It is just so amazing!  Unlike the other topics I covered this week, Ayurveda is not one of the steps on Hatha Yoga’s eight limbed path.  But, Ayurveda originated from the Vedas, which is same source as yoga.  Ayurveda is the oldest medical system of India.  It is a holistic system that is all about connecting ourselves with nature - our own true nature and the Nature within which we live.

Ayurveda says that, as individuals, we are simply a microcosm of the macrocosm that is the Universe.  Ayurveda goes on to describe that all things in the Universe are comprised of five basic elements – ether, air, fire, water, and earth. Since we are simply a microcosm of the Universe, we are also comprised of these same five elements. The different proportions of these elements within each of us determines our individual body-mind constitution.  Once we understand what our specific body-mind constitution is, then we are able to gain greater understanding into our nature.  Ayurveda explains why we are drawn to certain interests, hobbies, and foods; it explains why we prefer a certain climate or season; it describes why it is easier for us to work or exercise during certain times of the day.  

You see, the elements govern all things, including the weather, season, food, and time of day.  As an example, one of the primary aspects of my constitution is “Vata,” which is characterized by  the elements air and ether.  Autumn is the season governed by air and ether.  The combination of Vata in my constitution and Vata in the Autumn season has often led me to feel qualities of air and ether – dry skin, restless mind, feeling ungrounded. I have always noticed that I feel a bit unsettled and ungrounded as I transitioned into the Fall season, but I never knew why until I discovered Ayurveda!  Now that I understand this dynamic of excess air/ether in the climate exacerbating those same qualities within myself, I have specific tools from Ayurveda that I can implement every Fall to help ease my transition into the season.  These tools include self-care practices of massage, diet, yoga practices, and daily routines.

This is a huge topic, and one that I am very passionate about!  I wanted to offer you a brief introduction today.  If you would like to dive deeper into this topic through a live webinar or personal consultation, then let me know by liking this video, leaving a comment, or sending me a message! 

Sending you so much love!!
0 Comments
<<Previous
    Subscribe

    Categories

    All
    Ayurveda
    Coping With Covid
    Living With Intention
    Meditation
    Yoga
    Yoga Philosophy

    Archives

    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    August 2017
    December 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

Join My Mailing List

Please select all the ways you would like to hear from me:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of my emails. For information about my privacy practices, please visit my website.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.

Privacy Policy 
Terms and Conditions 
Disclaimer
© COPYRIGHT 2022 SHAKTI VIDYA YOGA ,LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.