Anuradha Sridharan

  Who is the founder of Yoga? How did Yoga evolve? How did the different forms of Yoga come into existence? How are they interlinked with each other? The answers to these questions can be found in this book. The author takes us on a journey to help the reader understand how Yoga evolved into what it is today through three important periods. The key revelation for me is the fact that Sage Patanjali is not the founder or creator of Yoga. References to Yoga date back to Satya Yuga, which predates the times of Lord Rama and Krishna. The three periods, the key contributors and the role of Yoga in each period are well explained. The purpose of Yoga in the early period was to help people alleviate suffering. The middle period is the time of Patanjali, Gheranda and Swatmarama when hatha yoga and raja yoga were codified. The objective of Yoga during this period was to balance the pranic and mental behavior. It was quite insightful to learn the difference in the interpretation of asana in ha...

 This happened a couple of months back. We (K, D and myself) had gone out shopping. D spotted a cafe (not CCD!) and insisted that we go and have some snacks. Though this cafe has multiple branches and  is creating waves in Bengaluru, we hadn't been there before. It was a super hot afternoon and the place was crowded. D and I picked a table and sat down, while K went to the bill counter and placed the order. I was in no mood for a hot beverage and decided to have passion fruit iced tea. D and K ordered a mango milkshake and a slice of an apple pie. When our order arrived, I took a sip of the tea. It tasted neither passion fruit nor tea. D took a sip and said, "Mummy, this tastes like ice water". Yes, exactly! The milkshakes were made with mango-flavored essence, and loads of sugar and didn't have a taste of any real mango (although mangoes are in season!). The apple pie tasted okayish. Overall, we weren't so happy with the quality of the food. The bill arrived and ...

 Having been a cat parent for the last 8 years, I have had the chance to observe how cats are curious by nature. A new object, a new sound, or even a new smell is all it takes for them to raise their ears and start to wonder what it is. Curiosity is what keeps humans alive.  We may have lost connection to our inherent curiosity due to childhood conditioning, the nature of our education system, or even our environment, but it is within our reach. Yes, curiosity is a skill that can be developed over time. Elizabeth Gilbert in her book "Big Magic" states that one needs to invest in curiosity rather than passion. "Curiosity is the truth and the way of creative living......Curiosity is accessible to everyone". She urges her readers to go on a scavenger hunt of curiosity. I couldn't agree more on this. A simple question - " Is there anything you're interested in now? " can break the spell of boredom and lack of inspiration. When I look back on the past 1...

  I asked myself, "When was the last time you started and finished a book as soon as it arrived? When was the last time you couldn't contain your excitement that you had to read a book cover to cover immediately?". The answer I got was "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" back in 2007. After 16 years, I felt a similar excitement when this book " Raja Yoga Yatra I: Understanding Asana and Pratyahara " arrived a couple of days back. As I wrote in a book review earlier, I'm curious to learn more about Pratyahara, the 5th limb of Raja Yoga. While searching for books that cover this topic, I stumbled upon this title on Amazon, a booklet of 80 pages. The author starts by explaining the wheel of yoga called the Yoga chakra with the six spokes. Hatha yoga, raja yoga and kriya yoga represent the experiential aspect of Yoga, whereas karma yoga, bhakti yoga and jnana yoga represent the expressive aspect of Yoga. We  experience  internal change and transform...

 Last year, I read " The Courage to be Disliked " - a powerful book that left a lasting impact. The same authors have come up with a sequel of sorts with the title " The Courage to be Happy ".  As I read through it, I can't help but wonder how it draws on the conversations that the philosopher and the youth engaged in the first book. Highly recommend that you read both books in the same sequence to gain maximum benefit. Coming to the sequel, the philosopher and the youth meet after 3 years. The youth seems frustrated with the challenges he faced in applying Adlerian psychology and is looking for answers. The conversation begins with really harsh questions (to the point it gets nasty sometimes) by the youth and patient, assertive answers by the philosopher. Their ensuing long conversation shares nuggets of wisdom and new perspectives, especially for people who play the role of educators or parents. The book is divided into 5 sections, each having 2-3 key takeaway...

 I'm currently reading "The subtle art of not giving a F**k" for the second time and I'm amazed by the sheer volume of takeaways from this book. I'm struggling to pick and mindmap the key points to discuss for this week's book discussion hour :-)  The chapter on the tyranny of Exceptionalism hits the nail right on the head. The author Mark Manson says, "It's a statistical improbability that any single person will be an extraordinary performer in all areas of life, or even in many areas of their life" His reasoning on why extreme ideologies grab hold of our attention is so true! Given the enormous amount of information that comes our way every single day AND the fact that our attention span is limited, only the extreme and exceptional catches our eye. It's not surprising that the vlogs with the following headlines get the max views. "I did 108 Suryanamaskars for 30 days and here's what happened" "I lost 30 kgs in 8 months fo...

  "Two topics impact everyone, whether you are interested in them or not: health and money", says Morgan Housel in the Introduction chapter of his book "The Psychology of Money". It takes conscious, deliberate efforts to invest and grow in both these aspects. Pursuing one and ignoring the other is no longer an option in today's times. This applies to individuals as well as families. Taking charge of the health of the family is a shared responsibility. It starts with taking responsibility for one's own health first. Once this gets rolling, other requirements start to fall in place. Being a role model Having a common understanding of health and wellness Participating in activities that help maintain or improve overall family health - cooking, going for a walk together, planning outdoor weekend activities Setting common rules and boundaries that are applicable for all - bedtime, screen time, allowed limit of junk food Maintaining a consensus when it comes to he...

  The human digestive system has fascinated me since 12th grade and I constantly explore new avenues to learn more about it. This book " Yoga for the digestive system " was recommended to me by an Insta follower. An extremely insightful one, filled with multiple revelations. The author starts by setting context on the digestive system - the various organs, processes involved, the timing of food in each stage and nutrients. What made this book a page-turner for me was the importance given to mind-gut connection and reiterating how many digestive issues (indigestion, ulcer, constipation, IBS etc) are indeed psychosomatic. These two statements sum this up so well: "No other organ system is as susceptible to psychological disturbances as the human gastrointestinal tract" "Behind poor digestion is an inability of the mind to digest the situations of life and to metabolize the problems correctly" There is enough coverage about the Ayurvedic interpretation of dig...

 In Apr 2019, I made a list of my favorite books. It is time to get this list updated, given that so many fantastic books came to my attention space in the past 4 years. Instead of calling this list - "My Favorite Books", I'm gonna call it - " 30 Most impactful books ". These books are from multiple genres - habits, health, philosophy, productivity etc. Along with the titles and authors, I have also given their prices (as of 11th May on Amazon). As you would notice, these 30 books put together would cost around 9000 rupees. With a reading speed of 2-3 books per month, you can plan and finish reading them in a year. For this investment of 1 year and Rs.9000 , you will benefit from a wealth of knowledge and perspectives from multiple authors who are experts in their fields. I strongly believe that one has to diversify and seek opinions and learnings from multiple people. No one person in this world can claim themselves as an expert and have answers to all areas o...

 "How was the day today?", I ask myself this simple question every night before sleep. The realization is that there isn't a simple answer. Each day comes with a mixed bag of emotions and can't be narrowed down to a single word. It was Election Day yesterday. After my usual morning routine, we stepped out to cast our votes. We took D along with us, so she gets a slice of the experience. Waited for around 45 min before we could finish the process. Didn't plan anything for breakfast and we were all hungry by then. Decided to go to a nearby South Indian restaurant. The roads were empty. As we went inside and took our seats, we noticed a line-up of Swiggy and Zomato delivery personnel waiting to pick up their orders. We sat for a couple of minutes, noticing how there were very few waiters in the service area. A gentleman sitting behind our table, along with his wife and his son started to yell so badly at a waiter. They had been waiting for 45 minutes and the service ...

  Self-care has become a priority in today's times. Gone are the days when self-care was equated with vacations, massages, spa sessions, afternoons at a beauty salon or expensive makeup products with an aggrandizing claim "You're worth it!". Self-care isn't something we do once in a while to catch a break from life. Self-care is intertwined with life - those daily habits that boost our physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Self-care is caring for one's body, mind and soul. When we start compromising on our self-care, it impacts the quality of our life on multiple levels. For eg, Let's say, I jot down the list of my self-care activities and this list comes up to 10 items. As days and weeks pass by, I'm unable to meet these 10 items every day. Because of conflicting priorities and other reasons, I end up checking off barely 2-3 items per day. The  self-care debt  starts to build up slowly. Once it reaches a certain threshold, this debt affects our b...

 I recently happened to learn about the morning routine of a famous male motivational speaker. It went like this: "I wake up at 4:30 AM, drink a glass of warm water, meditate for 30 minutes, read for 30 minutes, step out for my tennis practice for the next 1 hour, come home and get ready, have breakfast, read newspapers and hit my home office at 9:30 AM" It would certainly be a different version of a morning routine if it were told from the voice of a woman, more so by a mother. The first thing most mothers do as soon as they wake up is to directly step into the kitchen and prepare breakfast and lunch, along with tea/coffee or other morning drinks as needed. As the family size increases, more work gets added to meet the varied food demands of everyone. For some (like me), we can't just hit the pedal as soon as we wake up. We prefer to have a few minutes for ourselves and then get started with our daily responsibilities. If there are young kids who go to school, it is also...

 This book is rather a booklet of 60 pages that consists of discourses given by the author. He talks about how a Yogic journey focuses on enhancing the abilities of the mind, opening up the heart and bringing creativity to the hands. Not much depth, given the size of the book. But it gives a preview that kindles the interest of the reader to go deeper. The first chapter focuses mainly on spiritual awareness. In simple terms, it is a personal effort to improve the quality of life. The author emphasizes the importance of observation and modification of normal behavioral patterns of life. "Spiritual awareness comes not with meditation, but with cultivation of understanding" - I was wowed by this simple and profound thought. Transformation is possible when we transcend our samsaras - our default patterns. Association with sense objects and the material world makes us feel attached and comes in the way of such transcendence. In the second chapter, the author focuses on the two o...

 As creators, we share certain bold statements with the outside world (social media, workshops, courses). For eg, I have been repeating these statements on multiple occasions: "books are life-changing", "a book arrives to you at the right time", "books provide multiple perspectives" etc. Someone else might say, "reading books is a productive waste of time", "reading books boosts one's ego", "books share a limited perspective" etc. These statements are our beliefs. These beliefs are formed through repeated, life experiences. As these beliefs get imbibed, they become our Truths. Please note, Truths are not necessarily Facts. What is true to me may not be true to you. This is something that each of us needs to discover for ourselves. In social media, we often hear tall claims that sound like Facts. Be it in nutrition, health, exercise routines, habits, wellness, parenting, spirituality, or life choices, you'll notice thes...