today I am gonna write some about the yogic diet as I know it and some facts and tales about it..

so basicly it is a lacto-vego diet, it is called or compared to a Sattvic diet.
one thing is that it is easy digestive food, unlike meat for example.
so for me when I swithced over to a vegitarian life one of the first things I realized was that I got more subtle energy and did more of the small things we often want to "do later" ike washing the dishes etc..
and especially after eating I was not as tired as you can be after a heavy meal.

if we look at the tradition a "goal" for a yogi is YOGA = union with cosmos [atman in union with brahman etc] wich is often done by practicing  meditation ["dhyana" the 7th limb in Patanjalis 8 limbs from YogaSutras] until you reach the 8th state = Samadhi and becomes one with the universal energy / cosmos.
some say this is Nirvana, but it is actually not true, in yoga and hinduism we refer to Moksha [liberation] to be the same as Nirvana in Buddhism.

so to be able to sit for long and collect you mind we dont want to have stimulants within us that disturbs this of course.
we want to feel light and pure.
so things as coffe is a No No in traditional yogic diet, and onion & garlic aswell. garlic & onion is said to induce the sexual energy in us and that is giving us urges.. and they live in celebacy [brahmacharya].
I read the other day that some say that acually garlic is a bigger no no then coffe he he.

interesting though is that for exmple Kundalini yoga use garlic to enhance that energy for certain chakra activities..

of course drugs, tobacco & alcohol is huge NO NO's..

also mushrooms [fungus] actaully re not allowed.. this is something tht many dont know.

the meat thing is the of course a big part, and there are alot of things you can hear when yogis when they talk about why the dont eat meat..
here are a few:
1. not to eat something that have been killed. [ahimsa - non violence]
2. our intestines are much more like when comparing to animals that dont eat meat, both in structure and in length.
3. if we had for example soya-bean plants on the same area as we have cows, we could feed ceveral houndred percents more people with that food [or somethig similar, I dont remember exactly the percentage they talk about]
4. stress, when someone is threaten to death they produce stress hormones [cortisol] and adrenaline and come to a "fight or flight" mood to be able to either fight for their survival or to be able to run away from the threat. in that state they get killed and all these hormones stays of course in their muscle & organ tissues that we later on eat, and they are same so we actually increase our stress hormone level, wich is not a positive thing as you might understand..
5. some say it is to lie to eat meat, that we lie to ourselves becasue we feel ashame by giving it another name, instead of pig we say pork, or instead of eat a cow we say beef etc. and to lie is a bad thing & something that is avoided both in word and in thoughts..
6. toxins, the higher up in the chain the more concentrated will the poison from for example chemical spraying on vegetables be. a mouse eats a sprayed vegetable and processes the toxins in the kidneys maybe, then a beaver eat the mouse and process the poison again to a stronger more concentrated version, and then a larger animal eats the beaver and then we eat that large animal. [that is just an example I made up now, just to understand.]

needless to say I guess is htat fresh food is the thing, not to eat artificial & processed food.

also the yogic way is to eat without disturbance and not eat to fast.
in the yogic ashram I visited in december we allways ate in silence for example.

fasting is also a part of this, to fast is to give the bowels a rest, and to clean out our inner system, so o drink a lot of water during this period is a good idea, and water is not consithered to stumulate our apetite and needs no diggestion.
another thing with fasting is that when we dont have the energy vibration from taking care of what we put into our body, we get more inner energy to use in our spiritual practice, less disturbance also within ourselves.

AUM shanti, shanti, shantíi

just want to spread out the word/info about this:
on friday the 12th Mattias [Gopala] who runs Gävle Yogaskola and teaches within the Satyananda tradition, he will have a nice Kirtan with some friends Mahima & Ove in Stockholm, Södermalm

so if you like mantra signing, enjoy sound vibration of sancrits mantras and the spiritual feeling this can give you and just the joy of singing along with others in a friendly inspiring way..
maybe you should go there and experience it with them & others who will come.

see the flyer here for more information:

so incredibly in one week o less we have had a 24 degress temperature change..
from relly winter white & cold to now in the last 2 days melting snow, darker streets grey sky & a fog-like air in many places

so now you hear all over people complaining about how wet it is, how dull & grey everthing is and so on, are we ever satisfied when it comes to different kinds/states of winter weather

for me this is great, sure it means that it will be a boring and heavy period
but.. it leads to sunshine & spring in the end of it.
so I rather have this grey & wet state as soon as possible to get closer to sunshine & a warmer temperature ha ha.

so when everyone look sad  depressed I feel a inner glow knowing that it might have turned now and are going towards my more favoured times of the year here in north europe.

friday was the 25'th and payday for most people, of course not me ha ha, I havent had a sallary for a looooong time!
but the payday weekend are allways less people comming to the classes he he, and this time also a national school holiday starts and it is a week long. this is the week that SO many goes skiing etc, so I expect a bit less yoga practitioners this week.
but also sometimes new one comes because they have time if they are off etc

yesterday I had 7 persons attending the friday afteroon class,
and the fun part of this class was that it was more men then female attending, I am not sure if that has ever happened to me before..
I have had more then 4 guys at the same class but then it has been in larger classes, but by percentage I am not sure if it has ever been more men then women..?
interesting, and also fun that most of the guys where new to yoga

so it was quit a blend of people really, when two were totally new and some were quit much more experienced and all in the same class.
wich is totally fine since I dont teach yoga that is importnet how advanced asanas you can make, rather to challenge your physical body with a humble attitude and not straining and looking after a "performance".
to find your mental calmnes during this challenge by breathing and when more collected mentally being able to consiously open up the body with details instead og getting your mind stressed up with your body and find yourself at the serfice almost fghting your body instead of working with it and helping it to open up

anyway... it is clearly that more & more men get interested in this "yogic world"..
and that they also are looking to find a more fuller experience with the sorrounding etc in a yoga studio instead of a loud fitness facility for example..

today saturday morning class was a very calm & focused group, all with earlier knowledge so then the class gets a bit smoother and they can more easily find their focus in savasana and so.

now I am sitting in my studio since we are open between 12-16 after my class every saturday. it is relaxed and someone is in the treatment room getting a SPAmassage form my collegue "A" and the visitors mum who had a 30min treatment earlier is relaxing in our lounge part drinking our "buddha kashmir" herbal tea

I have to remind myself manytimes over & over again that this is actually my place ha ha..
wonderful!

started the day with getting up in the dark early morning 05.45
then off to teach thursday morning class.
today finally the subway worked again, but instead there was smoke/fire in one of the tunnels so we got stuck again.. so I came to my studi 5 mnutes after class was suppose to start..
poor few students who stayed there in the morning coldness..

I really like teaching this class, it is a small group and they have all experience from me as a teacher, so this gives the class a bit extra feeling f deeper focus & inner awarness.
also a chance for me to in same asanas give them other details to think of or inspire them to be calmer but still maintan the physicall challenge.

also now since this time of year more new people come to try yoga or joing for more yogaclasses it is for me mentally easier when having a class like this in between. for someone who doenst teach or even some teachers aswell it is hard to understand, but for me teaching gives me a lot. I am not talking about getting my own exercize [since I just do a few surya namaskar then guide the rest of the class with my voice, so ok maybe my jaw muscles get some training ha ha],
but... some classes I feel really tired afterwards,
and some classes sometime you feel a difference while teaching comparing to other classes.
I can suddenly feel stressed in the middle of a class without knowing why and I am usually not very stressed out by teaching yoga since I have quit a long expereince with over 1000h of teaching.
but it is the energies from people somehow that affects me.

these "energi feelings" I also use a lot while teaching, I say to myself tha I use my gutfeeling what to do during class, so I very selldom plan my classes before I actaually start.
..but the gut feeling has to come form somewhere, so.. "energy feelings" : )
often during class I suddenly feel like I have to say something, a detail in the asana or just a short sudden "remember to breath", I think somehow I just feel when something is needed depending on the group that are practicing yoga at that moment. 
but, I do talk a lot when teaching, probably a bit to much ha ha.
that is a phase that might change, you never know..

..some classes I can afterwords feel soooo calm and mentally relaxed,
and I have even had a few classes [I think I have written about this earlier] when I during class just suddenly felt like getting more time for me to sink in to a meditation just because I feel such a spiritual calmness within..

it is quit interesting and I love it!

one more thing I have thought off lately, I have been feeling mentally more relaxed in a spirituall way somehow, not sure what exactly because I cant really pinpoint it.
think it is a combination of mainly two things.

1. the stay in the ashram where I realized how much I like the satsang/kirtan mantra singne feeling. wich have led to that I have been listening more to mantra music again, and also listening to the Sivananda chants and singing along [in my head mostly though ha ha]

2. the new touch in my yogastudio, since my compagnion "A" surprised me with re-doing the yogastudio and especially getting me my altar I have felt a difference when teching and also in general.
I now have made some small changes and switched some pictures to get it more personal etc.
and I just love it, just having it next to me when sitting on my yoga mat in front during class..
sometimes I find my self looking at it for no special reason.
and also when teaching the few sun-salutations that I do in the start of each class [after relaxation & pranayama] I switch side some times so everyone can see me/the surya namaskar [sunsalutation], and when I face the altar for the first time in that part of the class it feels respectful to do it facing the gurus.. [and ganesh of course].

aah I just realized, it might be also a third thing including,

3. the new Ganapati [ganesh] statue I bought..

anyway before I wright to much as usual,
just wanna say that yoga is great for many reasons..
if you do it for a longer period you are [have been for me anyway] sure to come into different phases all the time, for me right now the actual asana part, the physical positions are not getting to much focus for me personally, they are there but not the main thing.
sometimes the asanas will get almost all focus for a period and so on.
it is constantly changing, but irregular.. so a period/phase can be very long or very short, and you never know when a change comes.
usually for me I dont realize until I have been in a new period for a while..

AUM

today after final relaxation we went direct into a short guided seated "meditation".
just trying to keep that inner calmness and the relaxed physical body to go further into a seated meditation can feel very nice.

usually I dont do this since:
1. there is no time after class,
2. the final relaxation is already kind of deep, almost like a yoga nidra.
3 and peole are tired and drouse away
4. some get restless when thinking class was over after final relaxation, so they snap out of focus.

..so when got them seated with errect spine and hands in chin mudra, I asked them to remember the relaxed state they were just in, and that they should imagine the spine being able to slowly grow in length since less resitance of their physical body.
then they got to focus on their calm slightly active breath in the lower stomach regions, and follow each and every breath and let themselves come further & further inside themselves.
then a shorter collection of the mind on ajna chakra/"third eye".

I remember that during my stay at the yoga ashram this winter suddenly during meditation at one of our satsangs the former swamiji telling us to feel & focus the empty space within our body, the quiet dark space within. and when finding it trying to be one with the inner darkness or inner empty space.
I realy like it and it helps me to sometimes get a rest form the energietic surface, and you get that lovely feeling when loosing reality and not being to aware really of time & space.
to be in this deeper state is wonders for our mental stress in our minds..

so I asked them to do this and then let them sit there for a short while, then I told them to take a slow full inhale, and on the exhale I started the final mantra with 3 AUM..
  

for me it was a really focused and energetic feeling when all this was joint together from final relaxation to seated meditation without opening their eyes trying to maintain their inner calmness, and then go on to a deeper inner state, bringing back their awarness to reality with a big slow inhale to then enjoy the sound vibrations of the final mantra..

then we ended class with a namasté

it might sound a bit tamasic & negative to focus on the inner empty darkness, but for me it has never felt like that.
just felt like a great place to get away from the allways buzzing world around us, and to have that calm & quiet place within yourself is perfect, you can go there whenever you like ha ha..

lovely!!

since in the last blog I mentioned the chakras [or the fact that AUM was i bija mantra wich is linked to a certain chakra] and also that someone at my lecture the other day asked about the chakras since I didn't go thru that.

each chakra have a colour, a vehicle, a mantra, it connects with nerve centers, glands, male & female energies, have a certain amount of lotus petals and so on...
there is so much info about the chakras, and also it might vary a bit depending on tradition..

so this is some general "facts" the way I have learned for the ones that are interested

we have 7 main chakras wihin our body, and they are lying along the spine up to the top of the head.
the word chakra means "wheel", and underneath the lowest chakra lies the kundalini"snake" coild up.
to get our kundalini energy to raise thru our largest nadi Sushumna [nadis is the subtle channel/vessles for our vital energy prana/apana] wich goes within our spinal cord, we have to open up the blockages in the chakras so the energy can flow free thru the "wheels" and reach all the way up to the top chakra and then we can connect with brahman [cosmos, universal energy, God etc].

to open up our chakras we use yoga, or parts of yoga philosophy.
mainly we actually do pranayama to "clean" and vitialize our nadis.
we also then get more free prana flow into the 2 second to main nadis "ida & pingala" [sushumna is the biggest, then these 2].
ida & pingala runs alternatively thru the chackras like a slalom alpine skiing course.
when are open and free also that means the chakras are open for the kundalini to araise.
sometimes we can also discover both mental & physical problems if not having balance in the chakras. or the opposit way, if we are not mentally balanced we might not be ready open certain chakras.
today there is a lot of talking abot each of the main chakras are at the same point as a main nerve center [plexus]..

the chakras from the bottom:

1. muladhara chakra
- bija: LAM
- perineum area/ coccygeal plexus
- earth element

2. swadistana chakra
- bija: VAM
- tailbone behind genitals/ prostate plexus
- water element

3. manipura chakra
- bija: RAM
- stomach/ solar plexus
- fire element

4. anahata chakra
- bija: YAM
- heart/ cardiac plexus
- air element

5. vishuddi chakra
- bija: HAM
- throat/ laryngeal plexus
- ether element

6. ajna chakra [third eye]
- bija: AUM
- between eyebrows/ cavernous plexus
- mind [manas]
this is where ida & pingala stops, not going furhter to next chakra, just opens the way to it..

7. sahasrara chakra
- head crown/ choroid plexus
no bija or element, most subtle chakra and when kundalini reaches here we submerge with universe [samadhi]

I quickly arranged a picture of my buddha partner "A" from when we were at angkor wat in cambodia with a simple [and far from exact] chakra "map" just for you to understand and get an over view of it...

lately I have goten some questions about the mantras I do sometimes to start & end my hathayoga classes.
some wonder what it means, some also seams a bit worried it might be a worship thing that they dont agree with

but Sweden is and this I have heard more then once; one of the most un-religious contries in the world, so for many here it dosnt feel natural to chant mantras about dieties.
..what is importnet to know is that a mantra is alot about the vibration, so to just enjoy the sound vibration is spiritual so that can be your focus instead when chanting.
I use only peace mantras in my classes so there is no hindu gods names ther like "hare rama" or "AUM gam ganapate namaha" etc.

the famous AUM "ॐ" is the universal mantra, AUM is the infininte, the sound of creation.. and it is a mantra on its own.
AUM is also the bija mantra for ajna chakra/the third eye [bija mantras are also called seed mantras, and are the mantras that harmonizes with the chakras].
so AUM is an easy and great mantra to chant, it also makes you tune into the vibration of the universe, cosmos

..so, the sound vibrations from chanting mantras has a healing effect of your physical, mental body, and it is said to open up our hearts. sound is used in many spiritual traditions of the world

a mantra can be done out loud, it can be done wispering but you can also use it quietly in your mind. it still has its vibrating effect.
that is also why mantra during meditation is common.
some say the most powerful mantras are done in silence and stimulating our inner seeds, the main thing is to repeat it over & over again, so a mantra should not be to long.. [108 times is a sacred number to use in your mantra repitiion, you can use a mala to help you keep count, they should have 108 beeds if they are quality ones]

the mantra I use at the end my yoga classes is this one:

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते
पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते
ॐ शान्तिः, शान्तिः, शान्तिः

AUM poornamadah poornamidam poornaat
poornamudachyate,  poornasya poornamaadaaya
poornamevaa-vasishyate
AUM shanti shanti shantíi

one of the translations/ interpretations is:

Aum, That is infinite, This is infinite.
The infinite evolves from the infinite.
Even if you take the infinite away from the infinite,
the infinite still remains!
AUM peace peace peace [universal peace]

oooh my god! just looked at the outdoor thermometer..
minus 17 celcsius... for me who doesnt consider myself being a winter person this is to much ha ha. although to be honest it has it charm, it is really beautiful and it feels so fresh in the air.
but then you are quikly reminded by feeling almost pain in your hands a fingers, this of course since I dont have any gloves and was carying some small packages with products from my yoga web shop, I was on my way to the post office and to buy some breakfast.
another thing wich also gives a weird feeling, it is like I have moist somehow in my beard & mustach, maybe it is from the breath or so, because rather quick you get like ice-crystals in the moustach etc, and you can really feel the difference, it feels like your beard is growing wider and bigger.
I mean for most of the time I dont reflect on having a beard it is just there, but now over & over again I have to put my hand or arm to my face and get rid of the ice crystals feeling.

my poor little angels [my dogs] they also have problems now, it is to cold for them and the crytaly snow is not feeling nice. so quit quickly they start to step on the snow and lift one paw up for a while then another one, and they look like they are limping or making "funny walks", so for them this weather is not a hit.

on my way to the store & post office I saw a 2-3person wide line of maybe 60-70meters!?!?!? of people by the buss stop, so it became clear to me that the public transport is not workng today either, today even worse since it is a working day and much more people uses the public transport.
on the internet later when I checked the company running the public transport in stockholm actually themselves asked people to either walk, take a taxi or stay at home ha ha.
sounds promissing...
I have a yoga class today, so probably I am gonna spend 2,5-3 hours travelling to & from the studio [instead of the usual 40minutes] to teach a 90min yogaclass.

really sometimes I wonder if I have ended up in the wrong part of the world? I am made to be in this climate?
not sure actually, and allways in my daydreams and so I see my self in a asian warm country in a few years he he.

I think today will be a final home fixing day and tomorrow will slowly getting back into my practice, my shouder is feeling better but a bit stiff, so the coldness is not making that part better of course.
I am really looking forward to this week teaching classes, not it is all starting to settle down and yo start to see a tendency of wich participants are gonna continue to come to my classes and then easier to guide them along this term.
just hoping this public transport problem is gonna make my mood get lower, sadly it makes you feel completely helpless since from where I live there is realy no alternative, so you just have to stay there in the -17 and hope for a bus to finally come, and when it comes hope that you are one of the lucky ones that will get a space in the bus before it gets full and has to leave.

anyway, positive thinking will be my challenge this week I guess for this issue, and try not to give it to much of my focus.

winterly peace from me..