Exam experiences

 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 exams came up where the stakes were high. I remember we would enter the exam hall at the very last minute and within 5-10 minutes, we would start writing on our answer sheets.

Exam stress is real and many of us have exam-related nightmares even in our 30s and 40s. Reaching late for exams, forgetting answers, feeling blank, pens not writing properly - these dreams still haunt us! :-)

Not sure how the experience of board exams is for the children of today. But a few minutes to ground oneself - deep breathing, Pranayama and connecting with the divinity of one's faith - will help alleviate stress to a large extent. And children won't carry the exam samskaras (impressions in the subconscious) into their 30s and 40s!

Human Evolution and its Foundations

 Human evolution is a transition in our mental refinement. Our scriptures talk about this transition in two stages:

• Prakrta Purusha - unrefined person
• Samskrta Purusha - refined person

Prakrta purusha is a stage driven by our likes/dislikes. We lead our lives according to our whims and fancies. Young children (infants and toddlers) act according to what they feel like doing. They do what they want to do without any hesitation or guilt.

We then slowly transition to refining our personality and decide our actions based on what is proper. This transition coincides with the manifestation of our intellect at the subtle level and the growth of the cerebrum and nerve cells in our forebrain at the gross level.

Intellect helps us to reason, analyze, and think about the consequences of our actions before acting impulsively.

This transition from Prakrta purusha to Samskrta purusha is influenced by multiple factors - parenting, family values, childhood environment, right role models, value-based education, habits and routines, exposure to the right content, friends, community, etc.

In today's scenario, we see that this transition has slowed down. And in many cases, we notice that it is shifting backward.

Movies and social media influence youngsters to pursue actions based purely on likes/dislikes. Value education gets the least importance across the board - in family, schools, society, or access to role models. 

Herd mentality without questioning, YOLO mindset, peer pressure, instant gratification, and ignoring the calls of conscience are some of the repercussions we are noticing due to the lack of importance given to values.

Swami Dayananda Saraswati, in his book "Value of Values" states:

"A value is a value for me only when I see the value of the value as valuable to me".

Refinement of personality and character is built on the foundation of values.

There is no point blaming Gen-Z and Alpha kids unless we (the previous generations) establish the right foundation for them by setting the right example. 

Balance in our daily choices

 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 going to bed.

We play action-oriented video games - racing, fights, chases, etc.

We watch the news on politics and other world updates, where the discussions are anything but productive, where everyone shouts at the top of their voices.

We intentionally go to bed late by spending time on these activities. There is a term for this choice, aptly titled "revenge sleep procrastination".

The sympathetic system (fight/flight) is constantly activated. We don't prioritize those tasks that activate the vagus nerve and switch on the parasympathetic system (rest/digest mode). 

Sleeping on time, deep breathing, meditation, basic Pranayamas, gentle stretches, Yoga asanas, chanting, and listening to soft music - these are some of the activities to bring back balance in our daily lives. But sadly, only a few seem to value or incorporate these slow, winding-down activities in their routines. 

Why wait until the diagnosis of hypertension, diabetes, or hormonal disorders, before making changes? Let's prioritize our night-time routine to bring balance in our nervous system, breath and mind.

Sleeping on time - an act of rebellion

 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 deliverables and deadlines force us to stay awake and compromise our sleep. 

Unnecessary pressures (as though the world is about to collapse if the build isn't pushed), 

Unrealistic targets (Set by investors that percolate down to founders, down to middle management, down to developers), 

Unplanned projects and upcoming meetings (to meet the sudden demand from existing clients or to pitch for a new client)

Rarely, anyone questions these UN-necessary/UN-realistic/UN-planned stuff. We presume that's how things roll and we put undue pressure on ourselves and the team. As days pass by, compromising on sleep and health leads to various psychosomatic ailments.

We might have a choice to say NO when it comes to watching OTT series or movies, or social engagements late at night. There may not be any consequences if we say NO.

In the case of work-related demands, do we feel comfortable declining an 11 PM meeting? 

Is it acceptable to say NO even if the meeting request comes from a higher authority?

Are we empowered to say NO without having to bear any negative consequences? Irrespective of our rank/position in the organization hierarchy?

2024 - Review

 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, we have in-person sessions (PCPs) and 18-day mandatory Yoga therapy field training, where I had to stay at our university campus in Bangalore.

It was a completely new experience for me, as I had never stayed in school/college hostels earlier. This was also the first time I was away from my daughter for many days. With lots of planning, pre-preparation, and coordination with K, we managed those days when I was away from home.

The first year is almost complete, and the second semester exams are coming up in a month. I hope to continue the same rigor and efforts in 2025 and complete this course with God's grace.

As I invested more of my time towards my academics, I had to reduce the time commitment to my other activities like reading non-fiction books and blogging as compared to 2023.

Textbooks and study material from university took priority, but along with them, I also managed to finish reading 12 new non-fiction books this year. There are also many books that are in progress.

1. Stolen Focus by Johann Hari
2. Timeless Gita, Endless Bliss - Vol 1 by B Mahadevan
3. Being Love by BK Shivani
4. The way to Women's freedom according to Vivekananda by Anjana Gangopadhyay (BL)
5. Spiritual life of the householder by Swami Ranganathananda (BL)
6. Creative use of emotion by Swami Rama
7. Maturity by Osho
8. Ishvara in one's life by Swami Dayananda Saraswati
9. The fall of the human intellect by A Parthasarathy
10. Yoga Sutras simplified by Vasudev Murthy
11. The Paths of Pravritti and Nivritti by Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati (BL)
12. Bad Therapy by Abigail Shrier

*BL - booklet (less than 100 pages)

I also didn't blog as frequently as last year. Among the articles I wrote this year, here are my favorite five:

Identities are like shirts that we wear

Is your success yours?

Perspectives on homeschooling

Can we change our opinions?

The Ferris wheel of Life

I had set an intention for 2024 that I would like to go deeper into our scriptures. The avenues opened up in multiple ways.

I completed the course "Introduction to Vedanta" conducted by Smt. Rama Sivaraman on Vyoma. This was a perfect foundation course to understand the basic concepts and philosophy of Vedanta.

I got blessed with the opportunity to collaborate with Prof. B. Mahadevan and we worked together in translating his Tamil book on "Sanatana Dharma" into the English version. We also published a new book - "The Joy of Oneness", a commentary on Adi Shankaracharya's Manisha Panchakam. There is so much profound wisdom in our Shastras that one lifetime isn't sufficient to read, digest, and assimilate the learnings.

The most special gift I received this year was the blessings of Bhagavan Krishna to step into the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. I sincerely believe that Gita comes to us when we are ready to receive the knowledge. In March, I enrolled for the Gita chanting classes, conducted by Gita Parivar. I have completed 3 levels and am currently in Level 4 (13 chapters done, 5 more to go). Learning the right pronunciation and chanting the shlokas is the first step before we dive deeper into the meaning and wisdom that's presented in Gita. I'm also reading the translation and commentary slowly to imbibe the teachings.

Along with learning Yoga as part of my M.Sc course, I also completed two Yoga programs conducted by Nirvana Academy - a 21-day Yoga challenge in Jan/Feb and a 21-day Women's Health challenge in Aug/Sep. Both were beautifully conducted by Vijaya ji. I love her style of teaching Asanas and her clarity in presenting knowledge.

In my quest towards learning Vedanta, I stumbled upon the book "Fall of the Human Intellect" by Shri.A Parthasarathy. This further led me to listen to Bhaskar ji's weekly lectures on the same book. He also conducted weekly sessions on Kaivalya Upanishad. As these lectures were available only for a week on YouTube, I diligently followed them by listening and taking notes.

As part of 2nd semester, we are learning Patanjali Yoga Sutras (PYS). This led me to get introduced to Balamurali sir's classes. Attended his 10-hour course on PYS and a course on Evolution Theory. He explains complex (and abstract) concepts in relatable ways using anecdotes and perfect imagery in his PPTs.

This year was indeed packed with loads of new learnings on various topics.

Shloka chanting classes for kids that I started last year continued this year too. It feels so satisfying to teach young kids Hanuman Chalisa, various short Shlokas/Bhajans, share stories and answer their inquisitive questions on spirituality, culture, and values.

An interesting and unexpected request for a class came up early this year from a family who asked me if I could teach them how to read and write Tamil. Though we could only do a few classes due to mismatch in our schedules, I felt happy to help them read and write Tamil alphabets and simple words.

Bhoomi College invited me this year to conduct a 1-day workshop on packaged foods and traditional food wisdom for the participants of "Teach for Nature" fellowship program. It was a memorable talk, connecting with like-minded individuals. Also presented an online webinar on Packaged foods for the group members of "My Bharat My Culture".

Though the book club wasn't as active as last year, we had a couple of online sessions - "Reclaim your focus" workshop, book summaries of "Stolen focus" and "Bad therapy" (two impactful books that I read this year).

Travel this year was something special. We had planned to visit Mussoorie in Apr and booked a hotel in the main market locality. But due to some reasons, the hotel booking got cancelled in the last minute and we had to make an alternate booking in Landour (at a higher altitude than Mussoorie and away from main town center). It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Landour was so tranquil, quiet and beautiful. We did the infinity walk of around 3 kms multiple times during our stay. Though I couldn't meet Ruskin Bond, as a fan of his books, I felt so thrilled to see his home and the bookstore that he used to visit often.

We also did a few long weekend trips to Coimbatore, Ooty, Yelagiri and Pondicherry. I also got the opportunity this year to seek blessings of Bhagavan Shiva by visiting Thiruvannamalai for the very first time.

Celebrating D's birthday at Wonderla was special as this was our first visit to a water theme park. Meeting my soul friend and her family, spending a day at her home in Coimbatore was memorable.

This year also marks the important occasion of me having quit social media! I came out of Instagram, the platform where I was actively creating content for nearly 10 years. The reels trends, fake gurus and influencers, algorithm pushing certain agenda and determining where our eyes should be, poor reach for static content - considering these factors, I decided to stop using the platform. I feel a lot relieved and am now more focused without getting distracted by social media. 

Ofcourse, there were other distractions that took away my focus for some time :-) 

During the Loksabha elections, I somehow got interested in geopolitics and current affairs. I created a X (Twitter) account for consuming content. I later realized the kind of negativity, stereotyping, biases and unnecessary arguments over small issues that was seeping from this platform into my thoughts, causing restlessness and anger. After a few months, I deactivated the account to retain my mental peace. But this little exposure to geopolitics opened my eyes to the various agenda and narratives being propagated and distortion of historical facts. 

Similar to last few years, I have no resolutions, goals or plans for 2025. Embracing my curiosity to learn, going with the flow, sticking to my habits and routines, and contributing to family and society in as many ways as possible - I hope to continue on these lines with the Divine blessings.

Wishing you a very happy, healthy and joyous New Year 2025!