Inner Guidance: Recent Episodes
Surya
This podcast has been designed for people like you and me who feel stuck. The conditioning that we have undergone from society and "our people" feels suffocating and we feel smothered. We want to break free but don't know how. The fear of push back, isolation, judgments and being shunned by our loved ones can be scary. I know one thing- we have a choice. We can either choose to live according to "that" or rise up, show up and breathe, speak and live our truth. In this podcast, I will share my own struggles and how I overcame them. My hope is that I can inspire you to feel connected, find your own inner strength and live your highest purpose.
Before passing judgments, it is time to pause and ask- what's their story?
Food, smoking, alcohol, porn, makeup, exercise are all various forms of addictions. Behind the scenes is pain and suffering.
Listen to this week's episode to understand how we have been conditioned into belief systems that are far from truth. The real truth is not out there in books or encyclopedias or in the words of "educated " or "learned" people. The real truth is the voice within that defies every belief system out there. I chose to live authentically when I was a teenager. Many times I felt alone and felt judged and laughed at. Many times I felt like going with the tribe but then I felt claustrophobic and knew right away that I was not living my truth.
I was fat because I felt pain. Food was a bandaid that made me feel better. Not anymore. Because I know I am worthy and I am beautiful and I am healthy and I am happy. I don't need external validation. I am enough and am completely in alignment with my authentic inner Self. That, for me, is enough.
The day we find this deep connection, all addictions will come to an eend and so will outer judgments.
This week's episode covers the last three limbs of Yoga- Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation) and Samadhi (bliss).
These limbs cannot be taught. Past the Pranayama (4th limb), the last four limbs are a by-product. One can find an object for concentration once the senses have been quieteneed from the practice of the first four limbs but eventually, the concentration translates in meditation and prolonged state of meditation culminates into samadhi. But, what is the purpose of all of this? Listen to the concluding episode to understand what this means for humanity.
This episode explains the 5th limb of Yoga- Pratyahara. This limb is all about withdrawal of sense organs. Take a listen as to how to practice Pratyahara and why it is important for liberation.
This episode goes further into the 4th limb of Yoga- Pranayama.
Prolonging the life force and quieting the mind as a preparation for the last four limbs of Yoga is the goal of Pranayama.
In Yoga and in TCM, there is a mention of Prana or Chi also known as life force. This is the energy field that is within and without, inside and outside this body.
We derive prana from the Universe when we inhale the oxygen and this life force is necessary for our cellular system. Pranayama consists of breathing practices to enhance the life force in order to enhance life/ longevity.
Listen to this week's episode to learn more.
This episode is a recording from Thanksgiving day. Here I discuss the 3rd limb of Yoga- Asanas or Physical Postures.
Doing Physical Postures is the next step in the gateway to Yoga- union. Take a listen and get a yogi's perspective on this.
2nd limb of yoga- Niyamas
As we continue to understand the path of Yoga, today's episode is all about the 2nd limb of this ancient science-actions towards self.
There are namely 5 Niyamas- Saucha (Purity), Santosha (Contentment), Tapas (Zeal/Discipline), Svadhyaya (Self-study) and Ishvara Pranidhana (Surrender to Higher power).
Listen to this week's episode to understand these Niyamas in more depth.
Yoga has been outlined as an eight-fold path. It is like a road map to get to the final destination- Moksha- liberation from the cycles of birth and death.
Today's episode in this series on Yoga covers the first of the eight branches- Yamas (social conduct).
Take a listen and feel free to share your thoughts.
➡️All the information that I have been sharing is my own understanding of Yoga. It is completely original except the names of different topics.
Yoga is a mindful approach to bringing the mind and body in union with the eternal spirit.
Yoga is not a workout. It is a work in.
Starting this week, you will learn everything that you ever wanted to know about Yoga. We will uncover myths and answer FAQs as well get a detailed understanding of what Yoga practice is all about. Listen to this week's episode about what Yoga is and IS NOT.
Why I ditched hours of cardio and embraced strength training, HIIT and 30 miutes of low intensity cardio.
I was skeptical for man years but perimenopausal stage of life forced me to rethink and change course. Listen to this week's episode to understand why everyone should lift.
Words spoken in ou tender years stick with us. Whether words are positive or negative, they do impact us and affect our lives deeply.
Listen to this week's episode to hear my own story of Body Dysmorphia how it affected me for four decades.
Gratitude.
Gratitude is an emotion that originates in the heart. It is a "state of being"- regardless of outer circumstances.
Listen to this week's episode on what gratitude means and how simple daily stuff or routines can become a source of cultivating this deep humbling feeling.
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the unlimited and unending to-do lists every day? I do.
When we are young, we have faster brains and bodies and keeping up is no problem but as we get older, the mind might want to do it all but the body, unfortunately, cannot keep up. This's a sad reality. But, instead of complaining about it, we have to learn to embrace the life cycle we are in. This is important because if we don't, which most of us are guilty of, our bodies break down. Insomnia, heart disease, chronic illnesses, adrenal fatigue are some of the ways that our bodies are resisting the overload. Listen to this week's episode to understand the delicate balance between Sympathetic and Parasympathetic nervous system and how if one goes out of balance creates a whole host of health problems.
Anger- a strong emotion!
Have you ever felt like you are losing control? Ever feel lack of patience with people or situations? Ever felt so much pain and hurt that you just had to protect yourself?
How does it express for you?
Some people get fearful and choose avoidance, some accept the defeat and surrender and some resort to anger and fight it. But, is it worth it?
I have been there. I resorted to anger to protect myself from getting hurt. I got labeled as an angry person but no one really understood, including myself (at the time), where anger was coming from.
It took years of self-reflection for me to recognize it, accept it and let it go.
Avoidance cripples us. Defeat causes sadness and loneliness. Anger causes resentment and grudges.
Listen to this week's episode as to how anger affected my health, relationships and general peace of mind. And, how I overcame it with acceptance and forgiveness.
Ever feel stuck? In life, in relationships, in career or in general. I hear you. I have been there.
There will always be situations in life that will feel scary. We have been conditione to feel comfortable in familiar circumstances and whenever life puts us in a situation where we are needed to get outside our comfort zone, we get scared or uncomfortable or angry. We try everything in our power to avoid such situations but - life is all about evolution. There is change all around us. Nature doesn't resist change but we do.
We have to embrace change. It not only can serve as an opportunity for something better but also shapes our character. We become resilient. Listen to this episode and see if this resonates..
No one is immune to challenges in life. From the time we are born until we take our last breath, we all have and will continue to face challenges/ obstacles throughout our lives. Our usual reaction to challenges is complaining or irritability or anger. We can even try to avoid the challenges for sometime but I know that they will find their way back into our lives and maybe, even bigger than before.
Or, we can choose to accept challenges.
I know from my own personal experience that challenges have been meticulously placed in our lives. Challenges are opportunities for us to evolve and become better versions of ourselves.
Listen to the podcast to hear my own awareness around challenges and how I learned to embrace them to gain wisdom and evolve into what Universe intends for me.
Is this real? Is there something called Perfectionism?
I call it a trap, a mask to hide our dark side. Nobody wants to feel pain but, inadvertently, we all experience some form of pain at some point in our lives. This is the path of evolution. Unless we fall, we cannot get up and become stronger. Unless we fail, we cannot experience success. Unless we address the trauma and pain we have avoided that has prevented us to be authentic, we cannot live a fulfilling life. The light within is covered with cobwebs. Unless we slowly remove the cobwebs, we cannot see clearly.
Why did I pick Inner Guidance? What is that voice that is constantly speaking to me? Should I be listenin to that voice to navigate through my life? Can you hear the voice talking to you?
Let's explore this together...
This episode is the final one of the four part series to culminate my life thus far from my origins to now as a yoga teacher.
This episode is about my journey leaving my humble beginnings in India to begin a new life of unlimited possibilities in America.
This episode gives you a slight glimpse into my early childhood and teenage years back in India.
We all are introduced to the world through different circumstances of cultures and beliefs. I call it conditioning based on the society we are born into. But, the baseline of each upbringing is the same. We all are the same. Our psyche as human beings is the same as infants, toddlers, young children, and teenagers. We have the same innocence all across humanity during the most important years of our lives which is "conditioned" according to the belief system of the culture and society we are born and raised in.
I shared this background to give you a brief glimpse into the culture that I was raised in. Maybe you might take a moment to reflect on your early childhood and your culture that shaped you and maybe your current belief system. Is it working for you? It certainly didn't work for me and I nipped it in the bud way back. I will share more about that in the next episode.
Namaste!
Welcome to the podcast, Inner Guidance.
My name is Surya. I welcome you to join me on this journey of self-reflection, shedding unhealthy layers of thoughts, habits and beliefs and embracing the new YOU that is deep within and waiting to shine forth.
In the upcoming episodes, I will talk about myself, my personal story of pain and resilience and will continue with all the tools in my bag that helped me to get to this point that I am ready to share it with all of you. Take what you need and leave the rest behind.
Remember- I see you. I feel you. I resonate with you. My hope is that you will resonate with me and others on this journey and find the courage to tap into your highest potential to live your best life ever.
Let's do this! Let's not waste another moment feeling smothered by our current circumstances. Let's rise together! Let's show up! Let's do it! Let's live the life that Universe created for us not what the society conditioned us to.