At Hillori one of the strays started coming and hanging out with us whenever we go. She is very friendly and very intelligent.
We named her Mike. But I think we should name her Jones.
Why?
So I can introduce her to others by saying –
“She is a Indie Aana Jones”
for my non-tamil friends – Aana means but. This is an Indie but she is Jones.!
Btw this is the photo I massacred. My cartooning has gone to the dogs – as they say.
Is this fiction or reality?
Donald Trump is shot during the campaign.
The bullet misses him but does draw blood at the tip of the ear.
And a photographer is right there to capture the shot with a pump fist and an American flag at the background.
No – I am not saying any conspiracy theory here.
But I am awe struck by the amount of luck / good stars Donal Trump has.
It is not over.
He has numerous cases against him. The documents case, the New York tax evasion case, and not to forget the rioting he caused on Jan 6th, 2020 – nothing touched him.
And he won the 2nd term.
I am just appalled.
Like how Adnan Sami sang in his song – Lift Karadae song – divert some luck to us too! I am asking ooper wallah – look at us too a bit!
How can one man – Donald Trump – win once again against all odds stacked against him.
And it does not stop. A totally rational, engineer, scientific tempered man like Elon Musk – sides with Trump. But doesn’t stop there. Uses Twitter and all the power he has – to get Trump elected.
What is going on God! What message are you telling us? Life is unfair – suck it up and get on with our life?
So it is ok for some to have all the luck?
Poda God I am disappointed in you. How much good Karma should Trump done in his past lives – for having this amazing run in this life time!
Anyway – I hope Trump changes the world for the better.
Brings an end to the wars going on.
Finds ever lasting peace in Middle East.
Elon Musk manipulates Trump to accelerate clean energy and EVs in US and brings down the Global Warming temperature by a few degrees
And NASA partners with Elon Musk and focusses on sending humans to Mars and starts a civilisation there.
Sunday morning, Aug 4th I woke up at 4:30 AM and had a big task in hand.
Rewind back to Saturday afternoon. I was having some free time, and as the saying goes in Tamil – the jobless barber will tonsure his wife if he has nothing else to do – I decided to clean my MT Helmet.
On the previous ride a bird had decided to do its job on my helmet which I had wiped with a leaf. Some of the white stuff was still left behind and it had dried.
After making the outside Chaka chak, I pried out the 3 cushions from the inside of the helmet – and soaked them in a bucket. I have this helmet for 8 years and thats 8 years of sweat that came out. Yes I was yukked out too.
It was around 4pm now. Cloudy and no sign of sun. I squeezed as much water as possible – and left it to dry.
5pm. Still lot of dampness. I borrowed San’s hair dryer – her priced possession – a Dyson hair dryer – which comes in a jewellery box! I was admiring the Engineering of Dyson while drying the 3 cushions.
ps : If you guys want to get permission for a Ladakh trip – first get this hair dryer and bring up the subject.- might work!
It helped a bit but still there was dampness. Then night I kept the cushions on a shelf top – closer to the fan – hoping the draft will dry it completely.
Sunday morning first thing I did was to check the cushions. It had worked – they were dry!
Now this is the first time I am assembling these back. Took a good 20 minutes before I could fit them smug.
Job done, I got ready and armoured up and hit the road by 5:30 AM towards Indira Nagar Big wing.
At HAL Junction I saw another guy armoured up in a Highness. I waved at him but he just road past me. Huh – what a rude HBC guy I thought.
But he did not take left to Jeevan Bhima Nagar into Indira Nagar – but rode straight towards CV Raman Nagar. Not a HBC guy. He would be wondering who was that crazy guy who waved at me!
This time I reached within time and the usual chit chat was going on. There were many new faces – for me – more veterans of the group had come this time.
We started around 6AM and hit old Madras Road. When we came down the KR Puram bridge we were greeted with a nice fragrance. There was almost a kilometer stretch of flower vendors on the left side of the road. One of the perks of biking – typically which we will miss cocooned in an AC car.
At 6:30 AM there was so much traffic at KR Puram and lucky none of us got lost. But after a few minutes the traffic eased and it we left the city behind.
Stopped for breakfast at Aaradhya Grand at Kolar – and had a sumptuous breakfast. Their star item was Mulbagal Dosa.
This hotel attracts lot of bikers. Here is a Who’s Who of Elite bikes on this planet. Towards the end you can see a Highness had sneaked into this Elite list! The Red one with a Sofa for pillion is the Honda Gold Wing. First time I am seeing one in Bangalore.
We then resumed our journey and entered Andhra.
“Welcome to Sunrise State” the board said. Did some R&D on your behalf. This was the term coined by Chandra Babu Naidu in Feb 2015. Technically it is Arunachal Pradesh which sees the Sun rise first.
And immediately felt my innards heating up.
Whenever your friends joke about Bangalore’s Traffic and your retort on but the weather is better – holds good. Just 2 hours away from Bangalore and here I am getting cooked inside. We can fix the traffic, but weather – it is God’s gift to us.
We took a break closer to Horsley hills – after riding for almost 2 hours.
I recorded the climb up the hill – had my Gopro on my chest – so this is the view a kid would have got sitting on the petrol tank. I have to yet figure a way to fix the Gopro to my helmet.
Have to say this – there is something riding a bike on a hill. Very addictive.
We road almost 150 kms one way from Bangalore just for these twisties.
It was a rocky plateau and the view was amazing.
On the summit we had a bit of introduction and handing over badges to newbies.
The oldest rider in the group – Mr.Pratap – a core member of HBC- is turning 60 next month and retiring from a 32 year stint at Tata. He had lot of stories to tell.
The youngest rider in the group – was a Super woman – just 19, in her 1st year of College! She was riding a CB 300F – and was riding super confidently throughout. Hats off to her Dad for letting the biking gene flourish! He had presented this bike on Woman’s day.
That evening I promised Prithvi – I will get your learners license in 11th summer break – 2025, and a proper license in his 12th summer break – 2026.
One newbie in his introduction said he recently added Highness to his garage. Someone asked how many do you have. He has 8 bikes and a Hayabusa was one of them. He complimented the group for being disciplined and riding with full gear!
Around 1pm we started back, stopped at a random Dhaba around 2:30 PM – who was a bit overwhelmed to see 21 hungry bikers. Yet they managed to feed us all.
We pushed off around 4:30 PM and after a brief stop and bye-byes at Hoskote toll reached home around 6PM.
Mission statistics 😉
A 12 hour outing. 320 Kms. Around 1300Rs expense.
Breakfast : Rs.270
Entrance to Horsley Hills : Rs.30
Lunch : Rs. 190 ( was a hand scribbled bill – no GST! )
Petrol : Rs. 800 ( got an average of 41kmpl )
Here are the SM handles for HBC
Insta : Honda_beer_club_bengaluru
Finally I am back to a routine.
Routine feels good.
The entire household ( except Sufi who sleeps till 7:00 AM ) wakes up at 5:00 AM.
P goes running to the lake. It opens by 5:30 AM.
San does her yoga – Bhutta Shuddi and Shambhavi and joins Amma in the kitchen for packing Prithvi’s school lunch box.
Yoga Routine – Almost 25/31 days.
I do my yoga routines – all except Anga Mardhana – and wind up by 6:30 AM. Just in time to catch Prithvi come to the table to have his milk and some small breakfast.
On the dining table – I read one Thirukkural verse a day and we decode them. One of the Chennai trips I had got a 6 in 1 version. G U Pope’s version – the first guy to translate Thirukural in English – decided to skip – it is in old English and he has tried hard to rhyme and the essence gets lost – Only the Tamil meaning by Keerthi is good.
We have read 44 so far. At this pace will take 4 – 5 years to finish all the Kurals.
Boy leaves for his bus at 6:55 AM. San makes black coffee and we read the news – I read the digital edition of NewIndianExpress and San reads digital edition of Economic Times – and we ponder over the world. Just when she finishes the physical paper will get delivered.
7:30 AM – Amma feeds Sufi breakfast and I take her for walk and she gets done with her potty.
Then I hit the lake for a run.
And boy-oh-boy I am back to my good old running days.
Runs – 9 / 31 days. 5kms each.
The first few runs I did not worry too much about my heart beat. It hovered around 160bpm and could do 5k in under 40 minutes.
Later I consciously tried to keep it less than 150bpm and the time stretched to beyond 45 minutes.
Even 150 bpm is too fast for my age – I think ideal bpm should be 135 for my age. 150 bpm might be in Zone 3 range.. but I cannot run any slower. Sorry.
Here is a nice article on zone 2 training.
https://www.artofmanliness.com/health-fitness/fitness/zone-2-training/
Strength Training – 7/31 days.
I just hung from a bar. Trying to increase my hang time. It is less than 30 seconds now before I give up. For my age I should hang for atleast 2 minutes. Daily I will think I will lift some weights but I will reach home and forget and directly head to take shower.
Fasting – 1 Ekadesi – 22 hours.
On day 1, I had dinner at 8PM and told the world I will do a 36 hour water fast. That means on day 3 morning 8AM I will break fast.
On day 2 – the Ekadesi day – I could work like normal as I was sipping water through out and around 6PM got bored and also a mild headache was starting. Didn’t want to have a fitful night sleep. Broke fast around 7:30 PM.
But felt good. Fasting after a long time. I think I will stick to 24 hour fasts – once every 2 weeks. Doable.
Bike Rides – 2
One was a group ride to the old cement factory. Second was to Hillori – to take a photo of Teesta next to the green house!
Books – Yet to complete
Reading 2 books.
1. Living untethered – re-reading it actually.
2. Blackholes by Brian Cox and Jeff Foreshaw.
Audio book – The quantum series – a SciFi novel by Douglas Phillips.
My vitals at end of July 2024.
VO2 Max : 28.3. As per Apple Health, this is Low. Next tier is Below average 31-38. Above average is 38-47. The more consistent I become with my fitness routines, this should go up. The highest I ever had was 37.2 in Mar 2018. I have fallen way below.
Resting heart rate : 73 BPM
Goal for August 24
1. Runs. 15/30. Either bring my running to 5km under 40 minutes with 150 BPM or run 6-7km runs under 1 hour within 150BPM
2. Fartleks. Once a week. This is a high intensity interval training. Once a week I have to squeeze one in. Improves my VO2 Max.
3 Strength Training. Lift dumbbells. Do Push-ups. Do Planks.
4. Yoga. Add Anga Mardhana to my routine atleast once a week
5. Meditation. Not doing. Should start doing Isha Kriya or Heartfulness in the evenings.
5. Fasting. Do 2 Ekadesi’s
6. Books. Finish the 3 and start on 2 more.
7. Bike – Horsley hills ride coming up this first sunday. Will squeeze in another Hillori trip hopefully.
8. Medium. Read the daily digest links medium sends. Lot of good articles on my chosen areas.
9. Reduce Doomscrolling to 30 minutes a day.
10. Start Amma’s culinary encyclopedia
I saw this post in the Honda Whatsapp group created by the dealer.
“Honda Beer Club” logo had gone to Umling La! I immediately asked how do I join this club.
Someone messaged me the criteria. They want to know how good a petrol head you are. My blog links helped and I was let in.
That very weekend they were going on a group ride to an old Cement factory near Bangalore.
I being an introvert did not want to do a group ride at first. But the wife had banned all solo rides ( after she spotted me opening a package I had ordered with a dog tag with my name and her phone number – this spooked her ) – I thought let me try out a group ride for once.
So I signed up for this one.
Also My bike had just run only 120 kms since the day of purchase and the first service was coming up. It is always good to run the bike as much as possible as the new engine’s rough edges will get shaved off and the minute shivvings will get removed with the first engine oil change – and the engine will be all set for the long haul.
This might be a myth – as the new engine manufacturing technologies have improved and the engine and its parts are precise to the nano meter.
The ride was on a Sunday July 14th. I booked the first service appointment on Monday July 15th – the day Teesta completes 1 month.
Saturday I dug out my riding jacket, knee guard and riding shoe and let them air out in the sun. The last ride I had was around 2 years back I guess. Evening I went and filled petrol and air.
Sunday morning the reporting time was 5:30 AM at North Bangalore Honda Big Wing. I woke up at 4:30 AM and bathed in half a bucket of cold water – I had missed filling the bucket – our Apartment Complex still rations water – and finally left home around 5:20 AM.
Later I was speaking to one Anil, another newbie like me – he came from Athibele and had to wake up at 3:30 AM and left home at 4:30 AM. I kept quiet after that and did not crib about waking up so early!
Reached the Bellary Road Big Wing around 5:56 AM. They were just getting ready to depart. I introduced myself as a newbie and they repeated the instructions for my sake. We immediately left after that around 6:05 I think. These guys are so punctual.
There were 4 key people in this group.
A leader – Rajesh.
2 Marshalls – Siva and Pratik
A Sweep – Harsha
We riders are not supposed to over take the leader. And not fall behind the sweep.
Also we riders should not unnecessarily over take our fellow riders – unless it becomes necessary.
Marshalls will keep moving up and down and regulating the flow.
First I felt odd. Even for a bump or a small pothole the rider before me will point. And I was to relay the actions – which was optional for newbies.
This was so useful. Lot many places I either missed a pot hole, or a hazard like a dog waiting to cross the road on the side – and the rider ahead of me alerted me with his actions.
The signs that were shared in the group.
Our first stop was around 7:30 AM at a breakfast place just off the highway. They had arranged a party hall and a sumptuous spread. It was too early for me so I skipped the Masala dosa and had just idly and vada.
Big mistake. The lunch stop was much later around 2:30 PM.
Post breakfast we got off the NH highway and into State highways. Lot of speed breakers.
Then we got off the highway and onto a broken road – the approach to the old Cement factory and now abandoned limestone quarry.
We reached the limestone quarry – which is quite deep and filled with clear blue water. No algae no fish.
Here there was an impromptu session and the newbies were inducted into the club.
I got a HBC badge and a sticker for the bike from Rajesh, he was the Leader for this group ride.
He is Valerian Fernandes – founder of HBC. The Beer in HBC stands for – Bangalore Expedition Exotic Rides.
After some photo ops on the beautiful ( dead ) lake we headed over to a temple – Teertha Rameshwaram Temple. There is a natural spring here which never dries out. The teertham the priest gave was very sweet!
Interesting fact – for this ride there only Honda Highnesses. No other CB 350s or CB 300s came along.
Post temple stop – the ride was through some beautiful curving roads. I could lean the bike pretty confidently in the curves – I was following others and was learning how much I can lean.
There were no other stops. The Bangalore Tumkur Highway would have lot of truck traffic, so a little longer road was chosen through state roads and we reached Empire restaurant for lunch – around 2:30 PM.
It started raining moderately and I did not have any cover – but it was enjoyable nevertheless.
Starting from Empire Restaurant.
We made one final pit stop for tea just after a toll and all dispersed home. Bangalore greeted me with heavy traffic but heart was so full that I did not mind.
All my misgivings on group rides were gone. The group was fantastic. We spoke a lot about bikes and very less of work and they shared so many stories.
Also this group is not one of the racy types. We puttered around 80kmph most of the ride and occasionally hit 100kmph when the roads were fine. This was exactly my pace and not once I felt they were going fast or too slow.
The organizers also announced that there will be a ride on the first Sunday of every month. This is fantastic as I can plan for it.
The next ride is on August 4th to Horsley hills inside Andhra. I have signed up – hopefully will be able to make it.
Here are the SM handles
Insta : Honda_beer_club_bengaluru
FB : https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556726514899
Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/@hondabeerclubbengaluru
2 marks answer : My next bike is a Honda Highness. Named Teesta.
10 marks answer :
Last I left the story with me giving away the keys of my KTM Adventure 390.
Then the leaving the country did not happen. That is another story in itself!
And I was left without a bike. What sacrilege.
Now and then I tried riding San’s Vulcan but I was not happy. The cruiser riding position was not to my liking. Also being a super bike I have to take extra care to park and keep an eye where I park – what if it gets towed or something.
First Stop – Triumph
I started my YouTube research. And it was full of Triumph videos. “Speed” and just released “Scrambler 400”.
I liked the Scrambler specs. It was more closer to Adventure 390. However the height was still a bother. It was only 20mm less than my Adventure 390.
One Saturday morning we went to checkout the Scrambler at Mahadevpura, Whitefield Showroom. Morning I was riding San’s Vulcan for a few chores. I got the test ride vehicle and immediately felt deflated. It was similar to getting on the Adventure 390 – I had to tip toe a bit, and the bike had no soul. Shouldn’t have compared with Vulcan perhaps.
Next time on the road you watch these old 150cc bikes. There will be a zhzhzhzhh kind of sound made by the loose chain. I felt something similar.
Both bikes looked really nice. However the looks did not translate to the ride. Perhaps they should have maintained the test ride vehicle better.
Second Stop – Kawasaki, Whitefield
This is where San gets her Vulcan serviced. They did not have a single test ride vehicle – only the customer’s vehicles. I wanted to look at the Eliminator but they didn’t not have any.
San wanted me to sit on the Ninja 300. I did as per the Hukum but did not like the posture one bit.
Third – Non Stop – Royal Enfield Whitefield
I went back to YouTubing and Team BHP.
Looks like I was spoilt with the Power and Torque of Adventure 390. I should stick to higher CCs and twin cylinders. And San said you shouldn’t downgrade.
Super Meteor 650 CC was poking my eyes. It was less than 5L and looked gorgeous. The YouTube videos I saw did not give me confidence – has got lot of style and oomph but the brake pads getting worn off quickly, some loose bits here and there – etc. are still there with RE. Decided to overlook.
Though it had a cruiser stance – the feet were not as far ahead like Vulcan – I thought let me take a test ride and decide.
We both had gone for a mid-week vazhkai pirachanai chat at a coffee shop ( we sometimes take time out to specifically discuss our work life etc. keeps us sane ) – and return I wanted to stop at RE. However I overshot the shop and we had to take a mega U Turn – the Whitefield traffic flow is the 8th Wonder of the world. We dropped the idea saying let’s come back on weekend. And we never went.
Fourth Stop – Kawasaki Lavelle Road.
I thought – perhaps I should test ride a Ninja 300.
I have felt Kawasaki’s engine – via Vulcan – it is a lovely piece of engineering. It’s a joy to ride a well engineered machine.
Also Ninja 300 falls under Sports Tourer.
Something about my preference : I don’t do office commutes and I hate riding in City. I love the highways and long rides. I still nurse the ambition to do a solo cross country trip. I want the bike to support me there.
The only test ride vehicle they had was for the Ninja 300. It is a 8 year old design, manufactured only in India – for India market – so the price is kept around 3L – and was within my budget. But this bike was poorly maintained.
There was no soul, life, power – nothing. I had to twist the throttle so much to get the bike moving. And I didn’t like the race bike stance one bit.
We did some window shopping. Eliminator looked nice but I felt Vulcan is much better. Ninja 500 was just released – there was one on display. Looked bigger, seat height was ok – but it was touching 8Lakhs + and they didn’t have an Engine guard. Because they do not manufacture in India and it is imported. The accessories are expected by end of year. Imagine getting this and dropping the machine – or you have parked somewhere and some car hits your bike.
I knew I didn’t want any of these bikes.
Fifth and Final Stop – Honda Big Wing
At this point I was a tad bit disappointed. Just wish they made Adventure 390 a little less taller.
However, they cannot – for the purpose of off-roading the ground clearance has to be kept high.
I had read about Honda’s NX 500. Even though I was not planning to get one I thought let me at least get a test ride since we had come to Bangalore city.
They had NX 500 but it had gone for a test ride. Also the Sales rep said waiting time is till Feb 25!
The downer was this was fully imported. So it was north of 7Lakhs.
They had parked a bunch of CB 350s. Including Highness. I decided to give a shot at Highness.
The moment I sat on it I knew – this is it. I did not even had to ride it. The stance height everything was perfect.
The bike felt so light to straddle.
The horn and indicator switches were a bit off. But the speedometer was round and neat.
It was a perfect Bangalore day. Weather was hovering in the 24s, the test ride too me into Cubbon park – a nice long stretch and could touch 5th gear.
The bike was silky smooth. The clutch was very light. Gear changes were like clicking a mouse.
I had made up my mind.
But San wanted me to try the bigger CB 350. I took it for a spin but my mind was made up on the Highness.
Made the payment via UPI the next few days – to a total of 2.8 Lakhs including accessories. Next Saturday went and picked up the bike.
With me is Pavan. He was very knowledgeable and helpful. He explained how Slipper clutch worked.
That’s the story of Teesta!
Why Teesta. When we went to Sikkim we made a promise. We will be back with our bikes and ride them all the way to the source of Teesta.
Her Highness is Green. And so is Teesta.
Hence Teesta!
Some more photos of Teesta and us.
All green 🙂
This is one event which both San and I look forward to.
My first experience was in 2016, my sister said that you should do the midnight guided meditation of Sadhguru and it is telecasted in Youtube. So I was awake that night – was watching Chess on the side, and did the meditations.
2017 – my sister got a free pass for us and we went to Isha center. Took the bus at around 12 noon, and was sitting in the hot sun till Modi came on a chopper to inaugurate Adiyogi. First time did the midnight meditation and heard a few people scream! – felt weird!
Witnessed a miracle 2 years back [ https://kvrlogs.me/2022/07/17/alai-alai/ ]
This year San and I decided to go by ourselves – Prithvi has exams and anyway he does not enjoy it that much. Even though last year Neeladhiri demonstrated his prowess with Veena and P commented – oh he has swag!
We drove down to Coimbatore on Thursday. This is the Shiva temple opposite my Sister’s home in Coimbatore. They are gearing up for Shivratri the next day – Friday night.
Every Shiva temple across the length and breadth of the country observe Maha Shivratri night vigil. Your spine is supposed to be erect and not be horizontal according to Sadhguru ( in Q&A someone will challenge this – in which scripture is it written – you can google Sadhguru’s answer for this 🙂 )
Thursday evening we went to Race course to an interesting restaurant called IndChicoo – interesting one on the rooftop. Saw a beautiful painting in their lobby.
And since I was the designated driver, I drove my brother in law’s BMW for the first time in my life – the small milestone’s in my life!
Friday morning we were lazing around – watching Guna movie. Around 11AM some of my brother-in-laws relatives came and said they are going to Isha. 3 of them were visiting from US – exclusively for this.
We thought – oops – better let’s get started. Around 2PM we made the move towards Isha. Roads were relatively traffic free and by 4pm we had parked the car and started walking towards Adiyogi.
This photo is from Feb 2017. See how the position of sun has changed – this photo was taken from the Free ticket area.
Here are some photos from the trip we made on Feb 2017.
The helicopter is carrying Modiji!
Rest of the post will complete some day.
Well. It has been just 20 minutes since the bike changed hands.
Morning I removed the helmet box, side box ( got it when San got her side panniers for Vulcan, she wanted only one – both she said makes her look like a delivery agent ).
My last ride on Adventure 390 was from the basement parking to the outside car parking.
I had lot of dreams when I got this bike. Thought I will go all over the country.
Managed a few long rides. Bang to Coimbatore. Bang to Bheemeshwari. Multiple trips to Bettamugilaalam.
Had an insignificant fall once. The only time Krishanu sat on the bike, I was being extra nice and put the laptop bag in the front, and it slid down and got entangled in my hand and I could not turn the handle – and we both fell. After that he never got on my bike.
Had a serious fall another time – because of me riding still on jet lag. Had a microsleep moment and I found myself lying on the road. That kind of woke me up. [ https://kvrlogs.me/2022/09/08/i-fall-down/]
After that fall my drive for riding 390 reduced. My speed reduced. Earlier I would always look for any opportunity to take the bike out. But slowly unconsciously I started taking less and less of the bike.
Anyway.
I think I am just trying to justify and patting myself saying – that we were anyways drifting apart.
Noooo. I want to experience the thrill of going on 100+ with the confidence that I can come to a stop if needed ( KTM always gave me the confidence ).
I am having that teeny weeny regret of having let go of my bike. But I had to do it. Next few years I am going to be away from Homeland for extended periods of time. Don’t want such a fine machine to stay unused.
Here are the bikes I rode so far.
So what am I eyeing next?
I started liking the adventure 390’s posture. Next few years I am going to live more in US. First have to get a motor cycle license there. Which will be hard in my visa status.
Triumph tiger is one I am impressed.
Honda Gold Wing – even though it’s more like a car. I am curious how this will be.
Harleys have always fascinated me.
In US I can rent bikes. Will not purchase and will get my yearly quota of riding done. One has to feed the soul.
Once I am back in India – mostly it will be an electric one. I love the idea of riding the Ultraviolette bike.
It is hard to keep KVR and a bike apart.
This is my ideal morning routine. If time permits.
The first step of Bhuta Shuddhi, we hold a little water in the palm and tell a mantra 3 times. Then swallow it. I feel this consecrated water gets mixed up with my body’s existing water and also changes it for the better. We humans are 80% Water.
Then we swallow drumstick balls – in lieu of earth. First I thought these were sand from Vellingiri hills. When I had ordered these in US, they had revealed the ingredients. Sneaky 🙂
Then get to light the camphor and view it upclose. Great for the eyes at the beginning of the day.
Finally get to take deep breaths of the Camphor and finish it off with Ujjayi Breathe.
This is the ideal way to start a day.
When I am short of time I skip it. San when she is short of time does only this. She loves doing Bhuta Shuddhi.
How to learn : This is a course taught by Isha Hatha Yoga. Rs.2,100 – they give the Bhuta Shuddhi kit with this. 1.5 hours only.
2. Nadi Vibhajan
This is the preparatory Asana. Earlier I used to just rush through this, but I take my own sweet time to do each of the poses.
I tell myself, this is off-setting the 8-12 hours of sitting on the computer.
I have seen pilates videos – similar to these asanas – saying it’s good for spine, posture etc. Nadi Vibhajan poses are similar.
This is taught along with the Shambhavi course. I do it daily – since this is the first step before Shambhavi.
3. Eye Exercise
We were listening to the audio book of the biography of an American astronaut. He was bespectacled, but he went through some eye exercises to temporarily get 20/20 vision to qualify on some test.
After hearing that I thought – so my eye sight can be reversed or at least contained. I have short sight ( around 5 ) and long sight ( kicked in after I crossed 40 ). Now I wear expensive progressive lens and dread replacing them.
I came across this nice video from Vethanthri Maharishi – I stare into a computer and phone screen 14-16 hours a day – hoping this exercise should reverse it a bit or at least prevent my eye sight from deteriorating further.
Also I have read somewhere that when the eye sight shifts focus from left to right – the neurons do some kind of handshake between the 2 hemispheres – doing this daily is important – it keeps Alzheimers Dementia at bay apparently.
This one hardly takes 5 minutes. Have added this to my daily routine. Need not pay anything to learn this – the YouTube video below is enough.
4. Anga Mardhana
This was the most hardest yoga I had ever learnt. I would say this is like the Baap of all Yogas. Learning this is enough. No more yoga is needed.
The first time I did this I thought man – how will I ever remember it. There were so many steps to follow.
But Isha Hatha Yoga teachers have a way to drill it into your head. Even after 2-3 years since I learnt this I haven’t forgotten the sequence. And I do this occasionally. Last I did in September last year, then next in Feb 1st week this year.
I find it hard to pack this in every day – my goal is to do this once a week at least – on weekends.
The days I do it – I will feel as if my entire body has become extra flexible. Like rubber.
How to learn : Isha Hatha Yoga Rs.3,500 – it is a 4 day program, 3 hours each session.
5. Surya Kriya
This is the elder cousin to Surya Namaskar – slightly different, much slower but super powerful.
The first time I learnt I had loose motions! The body generates so much heat.
The teacher said please drink Tender Coconut, I was not paying attention and on the last day one of the participants said – oh you should have drank Tender Coconut.
I thought I had eaten something bad for the loose motion.
This is some powerful shit ( hehe ). Seriously.
I try to do this almost daily. It is not as demanding as Anga Mardhana – but it pumps your body with lot of energy for the day.
How to learn : Isha Hatha Yoga. Rs. 3,000. 4 days 2 hours each session.
5.5 Sushanti Meditation
At the end of Surya Kriya, I lie down in the best yoga pose of all – Shavasna – the corpse pose.
Then I do this Sushanti meditation where I take my focus to the energy points.
And I lose count and I restart from where I left out. Sometimes I do multiple times to resume the count.
The mind will keep drifting out and I have to bring it back – that’s how all meditation works.
It is very relaxing. Especially after the intensity which Surya Kriya brings.
6. Shambhavi Maha Mudhra – The Hero or rather Heroine of all!
Prior to Shambhavi I was following Art of Living’s Happiness Course – or Sudarshan Kriya. One problem I had was I needed the guidance for counts. Yes, I can do it myself without the aid but I would lose track and felt unsatisfied.
Luckily Shambhavi from beginning they encouraged to do without any guidance.
It is your preference – either Art of Living’s Happiness Course or Isha’s Inner Engineering – pick any one of them – both are super beneficial to your body and mind.
I had seen an old Chinese Chi Master teaches something similar to that in Shambhavi ( don’t recommend following instead learn Shambhavi from Isha itself ). These are powerful stuff, and if we do it the wrong way it might injure our spine etc.
Creating these vibrations in the body does something positive to the body and mind. Yep – I am not going to scientifically analyse, but I can feel the difference this does to my day.
Also I am reading a book called Pranayama – it talks about the triumvirate – Breathe,Mind and Body – have these 3 interchangeably become the Controller, Controlled and Controlling.
Pretty cool idea. Sometimes the Breathe is the controller, controlling the mind and the body gets controlled. Then the body can take over and control the breath and control the mind. Then the mind can take over and by controlling the body, control the breathe.
Shambhavi takes 20-25 minutes. I try not to miss Shambhavi – to me it is like brushing teeth daily. It takes years and years of practise to do this right and to reap its benefits.
Preparatory Asana, Anga Mardhana and Suriya Kriya – all these Yoga is to prepare the body and mind so one can do Shambhavi Perfectly.
The days I do Shambavi and the days I don’t do Shambavi – the difference is like day and night.
Thank you Sadhguru for teaching this to me / us. Ever grateful to you.
How to learn : Inner Engineering Rs.4,000. 7 online videos to watch before the day of initiation, then 2 days. 4 hours on day 1, 9.5 hours on day 2.
Worth every rupee of it.
My take on Shambavi : You might not believe in Sadhguru ( he is least bothered on what we mortals think of him 🙂 ) but learn this gift he has given us. Increasing the positive energy in the body and mind – automatically pushes out the negative stuff from our body and mind – and this allows us to do amazing things in life. And we can have a healthy successful life / career / relationship.
If Sadhguru is too “off-putting” then you can do Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Happiness course. Different set of Kriya – but similar effect.
Also the course fee- Rs.4,000. A Buffet in Whitefield will cost Rs.1,500 for one person. And in Buffets we are happy only for the first 15 minutes. After that we regret eating too much, regret paying the fat bill, regret rest of the day, regret the next day morning 🙂
I would say all the courses Isha charges are way too less.
6.5 Chakra Meditation
Shambhavi clears up the mind and makes it ready for meditation. The mind is nicely primed after Shambhavi – and now I have started doing Chakra meditation.
The point of yoga is to prepare one for meditation. Not long life or healthy living! That is the by-product.
I read a book – 5 Tibetans – he describes a routine like Surya Kriya – and he also spoke about meditation.
I have tried various meditations.
Had learnt TM – in college. Then learnt Shahaj Samadhi from Sri Sri’s Sister from Art of living. Last one I learnt was Heartfulness. I practise occasionally Sahaj – when I wake up in the middle of the night and try to go to sleep.
One problem with Sahaj is – I was given a bheeja mantra to bring back my mind after it starts wandering. And this Bheeja mantra that I got reminds me of a person who generates unpleasant feeling in me – and I have to fight it. Like they say – dont think of red apple and mind can’t just stop thinking of it.
Later I tried my hand at Heartfulness meditation. It is quite good – app is also there. And they ask you to use heartbeat for bringing back the mind.
Like Sushanti meditation – just need some node to come back to – otherwise let the mind freely wander. That’s all meditation is – from my learnings of so many techniques. It is quite simple.
I find Chakra meditation better as I get a sense of where I am during the meditation. Rest of them I do not get a sense of whether I just started meditation, or I am in the middle game or end game!
Here I know – ok, I have been in Manipura for quite sometime, let me move to the next one.
Chakra meditation asks you to focus on the 7 chakras.
Root Chakra – Muladhara
Sacral Chakra – Swadishtana
Solar Plexus Chakra – Manipura
Heart Chakra – Anahata
Throat Chakra – Visudha
Third Eye Chakra – Ajna
Crown Chakra – Sahasrara
Goal of meditation – according to me – is to give the mind a free run to do its thinking. Give it a full playing field – let it play its heart out. Good thoughts, Bad thoughts, Happy thoughts, Unhappy thoughts – all will come in full force. Hear them out. Then the mind will settle. Ok this guy is listening to me – and these thoughts will not be a burden anymore.
7. Shanmukhi Mudhra
I have been suffering from Tinnitus from my child hood. It’s a ringing in my ear that I hear constantly. It gets worse when I have cold – and I become partially deaf. I have got punishment in school because I did not hear the teacher’s instruction properly.
Shanmukhi Mudra is supposed to cure Tinnitus the marketing material said. I signed up. It hardly takes 5 minutes. This is to be done as the last routine. Also I should give a 7 day break after doing this every 21 days.
And I keep skipping this – sometimes I feel I am doing my morning routine way too long and skip. I am not consistent – Tinnitus is still there – perhaps it is kept at bay. Have to get consistent with this.
How to learn : Isha Hatha Yoga, Rs.1,000. 1.5 hours 1 session.
This is the order in which I learnt all these tools
2015 – Sudarshan Kriya ( but stopped practising )
2017 – Shambhavi MahaMudra
2019 – Bhuta Shuddhi and Shanmukhi Mudra
2020 – Anga Mardhana
2021 – Suriya Kriya
2023 – Eye Exercise
Without Anga Mardhana it takes an hour to do my routines.
With Anga Mardhana – She-bang as I call it – it takes 2 hours. This day – whatever problem I am working gets resolved. Guaranteed. Have seen it every time I have done a She-bang
Makes me super human 🙂
What Next?
I have almost learnt all the courses Isha has to offer in their satellite centres – in Whitefield.
I have been wanting to do Shunya for a very long time. But I have to go Ashram for this and be cut off from the world for 4 days. Once I even registered and paid but could not go. This gets filled up immediately in Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore. Perhaps I might do it in US, Tennessee centre this year.
Hillori is the village house we are setting up for the last 2 years.
The work on this house has ceased for some boring reasons. However we chose to still go stay for 2 nights.
Here is the idyllic video.
Time slowed down and a perfect end to one busy and happening 2023.
