Raj's Yoga Blog

International Yoga Day, Vancouver, BC, Canada Join the Yoga movement and celebrate International Day of Yoga this year in Vancouver, BC. India Cultural Association (ICA) Vancouver created a central website to list all events being organized to celebrate International Day of Yoga in Metro Vancouver. ICA Vancouver is inviting Yoga Teachers, Yoga Studios to organize events to celebrate International Day of Yoga and we will be happy to list them on our site. International Day of Yoga was declared by the United Nations with the support of 175 countries. The intention of the resolution is to promote harmony and peace for humanity, which is also the essence of Yoga. Visit www.YogaDayVancouver.ca to find a location celebrating International Day of Yoga near you. We are expecting at least Yoga Studio/Teacher in every city of Metro Vancouver participate and offer Free Yoga class which creates more awareness about Yoga in the process.    You should be able to find yoga classes

Lots of people have tea or coffee with their meals which I heard is not a good mix. I decided to google it and thought to post what I found: Some chemicals in tea, tannates, absorb the iron in your stomach and steal it before your body has a chance to absorb it. You should wait at least an hour after a meal before you drink tea. That allows your body time to absorb as much iron as possible before the chemicals in tea can steal it from you. You can also drink tea at least an hour before your meal as well. Source: http://blog.doctoroz.com/you-wanted-to-know/the-truth-on-tea-debunking-myths Another reason for not having tea with meals: Tea leaves contain a high content of acid. This substance will cause the Protein content in the food we consume to be hardened thus difficult to digest. Source: http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/8646/is-drinking-tea-after-a-meal-unhealthy  Another source that recommends avoiding tea with meals: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyd

If you are looking for International Yoga Day events taking place in Metro Vancouver on June 21, 2015, here are some resources. I tried searching yoga day events around Vancouver and it took some time finding them. Thought to share it here for others. Please comment on this page if you know more events are taking place in Metro Vanocuver. Vancouver: Plaza of Nations 750 Pacific Blvd Vancouver, BC V6Z 2R8 Time: 09:00AM - 4:00PM Web: http://www.unidycanada.com/vancouver_bc Burnaby: Hindu Temple Burnaby 3885 Albert street, Burnaby, Bc Time: 6:00PM - 8:00PM Web: http://hindutempleburnabybc.com YogAbility by Kiran Yoga Class near Burnaby Hospital Cell: 604-754-2996 Time: 07:30AM - 08:AM Web: https://www.facebook.com/yogabilities Surrey: Guildford Recreation Centre 15105 - 105 Avenue Surrey, BC V3R 7G8 Phone: 604-502-6360 Time: 10:00AM - 7:00PM Web: http://www.surrey.ca/culture-recreation/17187.aspx?startDate=Jun-14-2015 Hindu Mandir Surrey  8321

The following is a letter that Sri Apa Pant wrote to his daughter on November 14, 1968: Those who should know, speak of mediation as "mindfulness", Krishnamurthy calls it "choiceless awareness".    Of meditation it is also said that it is "no-meditation". When you reach the normal, natural state of consciousness within yourself, you are in meditation. It is further said that when you are functioning in the day-to-day world with your senses in contact with sense-objects like seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling etc. your consciousness should be all the time within you.    When I was talking to a high lama from Tibet, the most reverend Khentse Rinpoche in Gangtok, he once said that to meditate is to rest your mind between two thoughts. When a thought has vanished and another thought is yet to arise, in that interval you can realize the supreme consciousness, or Samadhi. The longer  the period of silence between one thought and another, the more you can b

Find out if you breathe correctly: Sit on a chair/stool, preferably cross-legged on floor. If you have to do this standing up, that’s fine too. Close your eyes and keep them closed throughout the process. But close your eyes after reading rest of the instructions. Gently place your hands – one over the other – over your abdomen. Now take a few deep breaths. Gently inhale and exhale. Keep your mouth closed. Find your breath – your breathing should be deep but gentle and through the nose. Now observe your inhalation – does your abdomen go in or come out? If you can’t feel it, press your abdomen a little harder with your hands. If with every inhalation, your abdomen is going inwards (falling in) you are breathing incorrectly. The correct way to breathe is: with every inhalation, your abdomen should come out (rise) and with every exhalation, it should go in (fall). How to correct your breathing: Don’t be disheartened if you just found out you breathe incorrectly. With c

The universal mantra which can be used by everybody is the mantra Om, comprised of the sounds 'A', 'U' and 'M'. It is the cosmic vibration of both the manifest and unmanifest realities. 'A' represents the conscious world and creation, 'U' represents the intermediate realms and subconscious, and 'M' represents the unmanifest and unconscious . The three sounds together represent the existence of the supreme consciousness and manifestation. Everything in creation has its own particular vibrational frequency and mantra, but the combination of the whole universal and vibrational frequencies pulsates to the rhythm of Om. There is no greater mantra to repeat. Hari Om Tat Sat! Taken from Hatha Yoga Pradipika