Prakrti - The mother nature
A remedy for joint health and the duty of a teacher to connect with nature.
A yearly treatment for joints involves a specific food preparation. Combine roasted fenugreek and whole wheat flour with ghee, almonds, jaggery, and spices to form laddūs. Consume one each morning for about a month during the cold season, avoiding other oils and specific foods like tomatoes, yogurt, and sour fruits. This regimen strengthens knees, back, and joints, and is beneficial post-childbirth. Nature provides incomparable peace and is essential for practice. A teacher must guide students into natural settings for silent retreats, fostering harmony and equal vision. Avoid gossip and personal complaints; create an atmosphere where all feel respected and leave happy. Like a tree, offer shelter and sustenance without retaliation, serving selflessly.
"Eat one laddū every morning... do not consume any other kind of oil."
"Oh my mind, be like a tree... I endure their nastiness. I give them my fruit instead of a stone."
Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic
Up next
Calming down the vrittis
Yoga is the stilling of the mind's modifications. Discipline in all aspects of life is the foundation. The mind's thoughts are like waves in a pond; a single ripple obscures clarity. As long as thoughts are unpeaceful, meditation is not present. To calm the vṛttis, one must practice and seek solitude. A retreat to a peaceful natural place allows the system to recharge and quiet. The practice of Brahmari Pranayama specifically calms the brain and sharpens the senses through sound vibration. This sound connects to the primordial Om, the formless source of all creation. Everything visible and invisible arises from this sound.
"Yogaḥ citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ: through the practice of yoga, you can calm down all your thoughts, your vṛttis."
"Everything—all that is visible, invisible, hearing, tasting, feeling—all this is only from one source: from the Aum, the sound."
Peace Tree planting in Debrecen
The blessing of Riddhi and Siddhi is bestowed through two trees. One tree grants peace, and the other grants the fulfillment of wishes. Performing parikramā around the tree of peace brings peace to the heart, family, and nature, which itself is the fulfillment of a wish for universal harmony. The tree of Siddhi represents prosperity. A blessing is offered for all to have peace, harmony, and a happy life. Participants are to offer a drop of water.
"Touch this tree and walk around it, performing parikramā, you will attain peace in your heart, peace in your family, peace in nature, and peace everywhere."
"Siddhi means prosperity."
Around The World - Vegetarianism and top sport, Part 2
Vegetarian athletes discuss overcoming cultural skepticism to achieve high performance through plant-based diets. Initial motivations differ, with one citing yoga's ethical principle of non-violence and the other seeking a competitive edge in sports. Both faced doubt, especially regarding protein for muscle development or endurance. They explain that plant foods provide all necessary nutrients, but require specific knowledge to combine ingredients like legumes and grains for complete proteins. The environment presents a mental barrier, with a prevailing belief that meat is essential for strength, which they counter with personal results. Diet is highly tailored to their sports: bodybuilding focuses on muscle mass, while endurance sports like triathlon prioritize efficient energy use and recovery. They emphasize mindful eating, noting how food affects acidity, energy, and digestion during training. Discipline and listening to the body are crucial, as is the mindset that transforms training into a joyful, inspired practice beyond mere competition.
"Vegetarian nutrition was simply a continuation. That ethical aspect of vegetarianism, non-violence, developed later."
"People have a kind of sneer, like, 'No, well, look, after all, if you are vegetarian, then you won’t be able to reach that level.'"
Filming location: Zagreb, Croatia
Be the tool
The spiritual path requires surrendering the ego's claim of being the doer to become a tool of divine grace. A dog pulling a chariot mistakenly believes it carries the entire load itself. Similarly, Hanuman once thought his great deeds were his own doing. Rama then sent him on a difficult journey to deliver a ring to a sage. The sage threw the ring into a vessel filled with identical rings from every divine incarnation, revealing that countless servants have come before. The practitioner must pray to be an instrument, allowing divine energy to flow through selfless service. All actions, like leading a yoga class, become energized when performed with the attitude of "I am not the doer." Spiritual work must be done invisibly, without seeking recognition, as showing off one's fasting or prayers feeds the ego. The guru's guidance acts as medicine that may stir up inner impurities, which is necessary for purification. Life is like entering a cold, testing ground; the aim is to emerge with one's inner purity intact. By focusing on personal cleansing through practice, one naturally illuminates the surroundings.
"Only what is important for us is to understand and to pray to be the tool."
"Always be aware of Hanumānjī when he realized that a lot, and so many, was before him and so much will be after him, and only pray for grace, for great luck, to get the opportunity to be the tool."
Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic
