Anuradha Sridharan

  As 2024 draws to a close, it is time to reflect, introspect, and pay gratitude to key moments of this year. This has been my regular year-end activity since 2005, as I love to document the highlights of each year in my blog. After completing my Yoga Instructor Course (YIC) at SVYASA last year, it was a natural progression to sign up for M.Sc Yoga (Distance program). Back-to-school mode from Jan'24. As someone who loves the role of a student, I find it an enriching learning experience so far. The syllabus gives good exposure to a range of subjects - Anatomy and physiology, basic Sanskrit, Vedas and Upanishads, Yoga philosophy, Bhagavad Gita, Patanjali Yoga Sutras and Hatha Yoga Pradipika, and many more. Our faculty have been amazing , and they provide the required orientation for each subject at the beginning of every semester. It is then up to the motivation and efforts of the students to pursue the learning in the depth they want to.  Though the course is distance mode, w...

 The last 10 days have been an enriching learning experience as I completed the credits required for Yoga therapy field training at Arogyadhama, SVYASA. There were certain patterns that I observed: => More young people in the psychiatry dept with anxiety, depression, insomnia, restlessness, and overthinking.  => More women in the 50s and 60s in the rheumatology dept with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.  => More young and middle-aged men and women with spine-related issues - herniated disc, bulged disc, cervical spondylitis. During their 1- or 2-week stay at the campus, the participants undergo various therapies and treatments from Yoga, Ayurveda, naturopathy, and acupuncture, along with counseling and lectures. They feel better during discharge and also experience a positive change in some of the parameters due to proper diet, physical movement, being amidst nature, interaction with more people, and learning about their ailments and solutions for the sam...

  Why do projects/ideas that begin with good intentions, service, and a contribution mindset turn into profit-focused businesses with selfish motives?  What is the tipping point that triggers this change? What is that milestone when greed takes over? What are the factors that influence this change? Is it the admiration and validation? Is it the ego boost? Is it that point when one realizes they have found ways to earn quick bucks with minimal effort? Is it due to the pressure from investors or competition? Is it due to the relentless pursuit of growth? In Bhagavad Gita, Shri Krishna classifies action (karma) into three types based on the spiritual influence and growth: (1) Sattvika Karma - Selfless actions. Actions to help others, actions performed without ego or attachment, and actions where there are plenty of beneficiaries. (2) Rajasika Karma - Selfish actions. Actions performed for the fulfillment of personal desires and gains. Actions where the beneficiary is oneself or...

 Do desires inherently result in sorrow? In a discourse, I learned about the qualities of desire and there was one particular thought that gave so much clarity. Desires are considered good if they meet the following three criteria: 1. They must be legitimate and dharmic. We don't intentionally hurt others to fulfill our desires 2. They must be moderate. Even if it is a dharmic desire, we might indulge too much in its pursuit that we forget to take time to work on our inner self 3. Most importantly, they must be non-binding.  This third point struck a chord when I heard the example given by the speaker. Suppose, you like to have a cup of coffee every morning as soon as you wake up. This is a desire, but it becomes binding when you get irritated/upset/angry on those mornings when you cannot get that cup of coffee. You might be traveling in a remote location or your milk delivery person might be delayed. You are bound to that desire to have coffee so much that it dictates your em...

 I spent more than an hour this morning, cleaning and organizing a multi-utility wardrobe. This is a long-pending task that I have been procrastinating on for months. After a light breakfast, I got started with the work. The much-needed companion is my favorite 7+ hour Illayaraaja playlist on Spotify. Most of the songs are Raaja classics from the 80s. The seemingly boring task suddenly turned into a refreshing activity, thanks to Raaja's magical tunes and SPB/Chitra/Mano's evergreen voice. To be honest, in the last 2-3 years, I haven't come across a single soul-stirring tune that I repeatedly listened to. Vendhu Thanindadhu Kaadu (VTK) by ARR was the last album that I enjoyed. Post that, most of the songs are so jarring, unbearable, and migraine-triggering. Sometimes I wonder if the music industry itself has undergone a drastic change or is it that my ability to appreciate new music has gone down. Nevertheless, thanks to 80s Raaja, 90s/2000s/2010s ARR, 2000s Harris, 2000s Y...

One extreme used to say, " Others' feelings are more important than mine ",while the other extreme is now loudly declaring, " My feelings are the most important. I don't care about how others feel ". As always, extremes are the reason behind many problems today. Parents are misguided by the so-called parenting Insta experts to be on their guard and keep track of every single feeling and emotion of their child. " So how does that make you feel? " - a therapist-sounding question has now become common parlance among young parents, thanks to "gentle parenting" forums and workshops. " Bad Therapy - Why the Kids aren't Growing Up " by Abigail Shrier is a much-needed book that gives an important perspective on modern-day parenting. She reiterates multiple times throughout the book that there are certain conditions (bipolar, schizophrenia, chronic depression, etc), where therapy is required and she doesn't deny the value it brin...

  In a discourse that I attended recently, the speaker shared about five main factors that disturb the state of our mind: Giving high importance to oneself (in other words, egoistic) Jealousy Too many desires Dwelling in the past or future that leads to regret, grudges, or worry Focusing only on the negatives in the past, present or future Humility is the antidote to overcoming the feeling of high self-importance. Feeling a sense of love and genuine happiness for the other person's successes/victories is the antidote to overcoming jealousy that we might feel towards him/her . Contentment and gratitude are the antidotes to reducing our desires. Acceptance, letting go, and forgiveness are the antidotes to avoid dwelling in the past. Having unshakeable trust in the Divine plans and a strong belief that everything will turn out for the good, with a sense of surrender are the antidotes to avoid worrying about the future. The mind is habituated to tune itself to the negatives that might...

 In the past 10 days, I had the opportunity to observe and participate in the Yoga therapy-specific techniques offered to the participants of SVYASA Arogyadhama - an integrative medicine hospital, as part of my MSc Yoga Internship.  Firstly, it was heartening to note that those who come for treatment procedures are referred to as "participants" and not as "patients". The experience was eye-opening in many ways.  As I was reading through various case files and summaries, stress and disturbed sleep emerged as a common pattern among many participants with ailments such as obesity, hypertension, GERD, urticaria, etc. They were neither smoking nor drinking alcohol.  We often hear about how the quality of life deteriorates with non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, asthma, high BP, etc. It was also devastating to see participants diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and the inability to do basic movements by the participant (and the impact on his/her caretaker). W...

  As I read the letter from the grieving mom of Anna (EY Pune), it feels so sad and devastating that the life of a girl with high ambitions and hard work is all lost due to the toxic work culture. Workplace stress is not only due to long work hours. Toxic work culture shows up in many subtle ways too. It not only pushes the junior-level employees but also expects mid-senior level employees to get work done from the team and meet unrealistic targets. A few incidents from the past left a deep mark and made me question if it was worth the mental anxiety and stress, although I loved my role in product management. When I was asked to push a designer and force a tight deadline on him to get the designs ready When I was questioned as a manager how I granted work-from-home permission for many days to a subordinate recovering from surgery When I remembered the false promises made during hiring - "We are very flexible, our employees are distributed all over the world and we encourage work f...

 Maharishi Patanjali's Yoga Sutras (PYS) dive into the psychology of the human mind. It is one of the most important texts for a Yoga Sadhaka / practitioner. Many have written translations and commentaries on this text. I bought the book " Yoga Sutras Simplified " by Vasudev Murthy in May 2023 (before I signed up for my Yoga instructor course and MSc Yoga), but never got around to reading it.  In the past year, I got the opportunity to learn the essence of Yoga Sutras from various sources. Given that PYS is one of the subjects in my current semester, I picked up this book recently.  The author says in the Introduction - " The Yoga Sutras analyse the fickle mind in extraordinary detail and ought to be required reading for psychologists! ". I couldn't agree more. He has provided the gist of all 4 chapters, covering the key takeaways. The author has approached this book neither as a translation nor a typical commentary. He has given a refreshing take by interwe...