Anuradha Sridharan

  In a world where attention is constantly under attack, perhaps the greatest superpowers are no longer speed, strength, or intelligence — but self-control, presence, and discernment. Score yourself: 1 point for every “Yes.” Total your score at the end. How many of these modern-day superpowers do you possess? Can you climb 3 flights of stairs without gasping for breath? Can you sit on the floor and get back up — with or without using your hands? Can you disconnect from work, entertainment, and gadgets by 10 PM and go to sleep? Do you pick up your phone consciously, instead of reflexively every few minutes? Can you read a book uninterrupted for at least 30 minutes? Can you watch a podcast or long-form video without simultaneously scrolling, texting, or multitasking? Can you read a full-length article without asking AI for a summary? Can you stand in a queue and simply be bored… without reaching for your phone? Can you distinguish truth from noise, fake news, and manufactured narrati...

One of my most favorite books is " Value of Values " by Swami Dayananda Saraswati. In the first 25 pages, the importance of values and how they impact our everyday life are so beautifully explained.   Our actions, emotions, decisions, and life priorities all trace back to our values. Understanding values brings clarity, reduces confusion, and supports better decision‑making. Why Values Matter Values shape behavior: What we do is determined by what we value. Awareness of values brings clarity: Knowing your values helps resolve confusion and align decisions. Values must be chosen, not imposed: Only self‑chosen values can be truly assimilated into one’s life. Values are universal in content but context‑dependent in application. How We Relate to Values 1. We apply values more strictly to others than to ourselves Example: We demand refunds when we receive less than we paid for, but rarely report when we receive more than we paid for. 2. Going against our own values crea...

  Certain Modern Feminists view of today's  “Empowered Woman”  – A woman who’s told that empowerment means peppering every sentence with swear words. – One who’s encouraged to smoke because it supposedly symbolizes rebellion. – One who’s expected to drink alcohol as a badge of liberation. – One who’s taught to blame “patriarchy” for every minor inconvenience — from bad weather to traffic jams. – One who embraces batch-cooking and frozen meals as the only “progressive” lifestyle. – One who’s pushed to look down upon women who prefer freshly prepared food, as if choosing tradition automatically makes them lesser. – A woman who is expected to stay perpetually angry at society, wearing victimhood like a proud badge of honour. – One who must reject anything tied to culture or tradition, automatically labeling it “patriarchal” without a second thought. – One who is encouraged to fight endlessly for her rights while treating any mention of duty or responsibility as an out...

In June 2023, I felt completely lost—physically drained, mentally exhausted, and worn down by ego-driven attitudes that blocked progress. It was painful to watch health being marketed through fear, supported by the vocabulary of modern psychiatry. The only thing that kept me grounded during that phase was my practice of Yoga. On an impulse, I signed up for a Yoga Instructor Course (YIC), eager to change direction as quickly as possible. I was even a little annoyed to learn that the batch would begin only a month later, in August. Those two months of the instructor course opened my eyes to a much wider world—Vedas, Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, yoga texts, chanting, Indian culture, history, and so much more. Completing YIC felt like catching the first glimpse of the vast streams of Yoga and our Shastras. Wanting to go deeper, I enrolled in the MSc Yoga program.  January 2024:  Back to student life once more—only now, my motivation was entirely different from what drove me du...

  As a practitioner and a Yoga teacher, I believe that there are three factors that are important to stay consistent at Yoga asana practice: 1. Be comfortable with repetitive movements Our minds seek novelty and people who are new to Asana practice tend to get bored after a few days. When someone goes for jogging or gymming, though the physical movement seems repetitive, novelty is brought in either by listening to new podcasts, audiobooks, music or other forms of entertainment to keep the restless mind occupied. Yoga is all about awareness and staying mindful during the practice. Similar movements done consistently and slowly yield amazing results in terms of strength and flexibility. 2. Stay there for the long run Because of initial enthusiasm, we tend to push ourselves more and strive to do challenging asanas earlier without giving enough time for the body to open up. This increases chances of injury and strain. It is better to take it slow and continue our practice in the lon...

  It's the exam season for children across various schools in India. I just wrapped up my 2nd sem exams (MSc Yoga Therapy) last week. At SVYASA (my Yoga University), we are asked to enter the exam hall 30 min before the exam start time. We settle down on the floor by rolling a mat with an independent small desk in front of us. (Those who are unable to sit on the floor are allowed to sit on the chair). We close our eyes and take deep breaths for 5 minutes. We chant OM 3 times, followed by "Om Sahana Vavatu" Shanti Mantra. We then do 9 rounds of Nadi Shuddhi Pranayama (alternate nostril breathing). The answer sheets are then distributed, followed by the question papers. This routine made us feel calm and peaceful (switch from stressful sympathetic nervous system to relaxed parasympathetic nervous system). The nerves settle down and we then start writing the exam. As I wrapped up the exam schedule, the memories of my 10th/12th board exams and Engineering degree semester ex...

 In Yoga asana practice, we generally do complementary poses together. For example, Ushtrasana (back bend) + Shashankasana (forward bend),  Hasta Uttanasana (back bend) + Padahastasana (forward bend). We also ensure that whenever we do a posture on the right side, we immediately do the same on the left side. These are designed in such a way as to bring balance and harmony and prevent untoward, extreme stretching on one side or one group of muscles. The same principle applies to our daily choices as well. But most of us seem to be ignoring or unaware of this principle.  After a long, hard day of work with back-to-back meetings, highly stimulating conversations, and battling stress in the form of traffic, work pressure, and deadlines (sympathetic nervous system going on an overdrive), what do we do with the few hours that we get for relaxation and reset?  We watch movies and OTT series with violent/gory action scenes. We continuously swipe through Reels/Shorts before g...

 In a recent podcast, I heard this statement from a neurologist - "Today, sleeping on time is an act of rebellion. The whole society is designed to keep you up late in the night - the entertainment industry, work demands, social interactions, food & beverage industry etc. You have to be a rebel to sleep on time". There is so much truth in this statement. Let's focus on the work demands angle. In the 2000s while I used to work for an MNC, we did have night calls with our US counterparts but they would get over at a reasonable time of 10:30PM. Fast forward to 2025, based on my discussions with friends in the industry, I learned that calls are scheduled at 11 PM and some go on till 1AM.  Is it because we don't give importance to sleep? Is it because the Western counterparts don't care about the sleep timings of their colleagues in India? Is it because of our lack of ability to say NO/decline such meetings at odd times? Apart from conference calls, various deliver...

 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...

 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...

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...

  Consider this scenario - while walking on an uneven road, you twisted your right leg all of a sudden and ended up with a ligament tear. For the next few days, you found it difficult to walk as you underwent treatments and took medications. You slowly recover and get back to walking comfortably. It feels so good to keep both your feet firmly on the ground. You feel happy and grateful that you can walk fine without any issues. Strangely, we don't feel the same gratitude when our body functions well and stays healthy. We take it for granted and abuse it in all possible ways - overeating, eating at the wrong time, lack of movement, compromising sleep and binge-watching TV series late in the night, etc. Many of us feel that exercise (in any form) is something we HAVE to do. It is a chore to complete, an item on the to-do list to check first thing in the morning. What is needed is a shift in perspective - being grateful that our body is flexible and has stamina and strength, thanking...

 Movies, web series, podcasts, videos by social media influencers, interviews, books, tweets - any form of mass media of today comes with its motive or agenda. Gone are the times when we watch a movie or a series for the sheer entertainment value. Whenever I see a post of an influencer on social media, I find myself asking - "What is this person's motive? What is the narrative he is trying to convey? Is he part of a  toolkit?" A movement promoting a raw vegan lifestyle in the name of "satvic" has an agenda. Someone who concocts masala in a lab also has an agenda when he says - Without processed foods, human life will perish from the planet. Narratives peddled on social media are deliberately coercing ordinary people to turn their attention toward the direction the peddler(s) want them to.  Which piece of content / news should one read / hear about? How long should it stay in one's mind?  What is the reaction one's mind should have? What is the belief sys...

  Bullying happens not only in high school corridors but also in corporate offices and meeting rooms. One can notice various direct and subtle forms of bullying: overriding someone's decisions canceling meetings at the last minute or showing up late on purpose interrupting when someone is talking Not coming prepared for a key meeting called by a peer, not going through the relevant documents that were shared before the meeting - done intentionally to assert a certain "attitude" and not due to lack of time Power struggle with peers by executing deliberate tactics to derail the efforts of others Why does a bully behave a certain way? Feeling of insecurity or worry that a peer might take on a more influential role than him Marking territory - A well-entrenched person in the organization might want to claim authority over a new peer who might have more relevant experience than him Grabbing important decisions by intruding into another's role - especially happens when ...