Wani Yoga - Lesson 12 : Part 3

Wani Yoga – Lesson 12 Part 3

Asha Bhonsle

Today, I'll talk to you about another very important female playback singer I.e,. Asha Bhosle. The younger sister of Lata Mangeshker, Asha could not get any worthwhile opportunity for a long time. She had to settle for singing in B & C grade films. Music for these films was composed by lesser known music composers. So, there was no development so far her singing is concerned.

It was music director O.P. Nayar who gave h

O P Nayyar

er a big break. Besides, Nayar's music became very popular. So, she had plenty of opportunities to sing. Her voice was recognized to be aesthetically sensuous. Many films during 60s & 70s would have cabaret dance sequences. While Helen was the choice performer, Asha would invariably sing those songs. Therefore, the opportunities for her increased. It was during this time that rivalry between the two singing sisters started. Nayar once said that Lata and Asha stayed on the same floor of the building on Pedder Road and they had one common maid. Whenever the maid informed Asha that Lataji had a wonderful recording, it would be enough reason for Asha to lose the poise of her vocal chord.

Starting with extremely popular songs in CID in 1956, Asha's associations with OP Nayar continued till the middle of the 70's. During this period Asha sang many unforgettable numbers. Her duets with Mohamad Rafi like "Maang ke saath tumhara maine maang liya sansar", "Sathi hath barhana sathi re" created history in popularity.

Dilip Kumar & Vaijanti Mala singing Maang Ke Saath Tumara

Working constantly with music compare of substance results in great development of the singer. The music director is able to secure the best out of the singer and the process results in bringing excellence in the singing quality. Her association with Nayar lasted till the mid 70's. by then, she had established her name as an aesthetically sensuous and also versatile singer. Music composers like SD Burman, Ravi and R D Burman engaged her to sing their songs. During this period her songs - " aaja aaja tu hai payar mera, alha alha ikrar mera", "oh haseena zulfu wali jane jahan, dhonti hai kis ke nishan..., piya tu abh to aaja" brought her an immense popularity.

Shammi Kapoor Helen and Asha Parekh - Song: O hasina Zulfon wali

In spite of that she was stereotyped. It was music director Khayam who realized that if Asha could sing at a scale half a note lower she would do be able to sing Ghazals. He ensured that Asha reduced her scale by half a note.

Rekha in Umraon Jan : Ghazal Sung by Asha Bhonsle

With the reduction of the pitch by about half a note a new Asha the ghazal singer came to life. Ghazals comprise a totally different genre of singing. Now, Asha could sing these very well. The Rekha starrer Umrao Jaan is the best example.

Khayyam

What method Khayam adopted is not known. But in practice of 'Wani Yoga' we have various exercises and procedures by which we can achieve this objective of lowering the normal pitch on which a person speaks as well as that of singer. In the same manner some other exercises when carried out consistently can help in raising the normal pitch of a person.

Human voice is dynamic. Big changes can be brought about in it. You don't have to think that this is a God given gift and therefore you have to live with it. Often times we have executives complaining that their voice sounds that of a lady and vice a versa. These attributes of human voice can be all together altered with wani yoga.

Asha has sung more songs than any other singer in the world. She is featured in the Guineas book of work records. She has also received many awards - both from the music field and national recognition. She has earned Padma Vibhushan among others.

Thanks for your time.

Wani Yoga - Lesson 12 Part 2

Regarding Wani Yoga , in my last post, I talked about the talent and development of Lataji’s great singing. The other famous female singers of the same era are many. Today, we’ll go forward talk about Geeta Dutt. There Asha  Bhosle, Suraiya, Runa Laila and Anuradha Podwal. Each of them has her own voice personality. They have learnt classical Indian Music from well-Known Gurus. Some of these singers could have also achieved excellence on their own and working with great music composers like Naushad, op  Nayar, Shanker Jaikrishan, C. Ramchander, Madan Mohan and others. Their achievements have been are driven by the unsuitable hunger for some immortal songs. And all of them have worked real hard.
You might ask, if the singers have gone through structured or unstructured with rigorous training, then how does Wani Yoga come into the picture?

Any form of yoga requires consistent and constant. Riyaaz or ‘abhiyaas’.
 What is Abhiyaas?

Abhiyaas is practice with devotion with a passion to learn. Following any passion, be it concerning art or science needs years of ‘Abhiyaas’ to culminate to its full bloom. Only then it leaves an indelible mark in the society. And, Abhiyaas about singing is ‘Wani Yoga’. Your own active listening improves the quality of your voice. Your own passion for music creates unforgettable combinations of ‘Sur and Taal’ of songs that haunt millions of followers.

Geeta Dutt:
An enchanting singer – her songs put the listeners under a strange spell. Even prosaic messages of her simple songs keep on ringing in your ears:
Babuji dheer chalna, pyaar mein zara sambhalna…..or


Aayee Meherbaan, Bhaithiye jaane jana; Shauk se lijiyeji, Ishq ke inttiyaan……or



Mera Sunder Sapna beet gaya……or



Aye Dil mujhe bata de, tu kispe aa gaya hai, Who kaun he jo aakar, khabon mein cha gaya hai…

And list in endless.

What do you need?

Now a days, life is full of stress. Stress is the caused by multifarious reasons. Firstly, there is work pressure. This has increased due to the ever increasing competition. Life in the city is also becoming difficult due to distances and slow moving traffic. You take more time in travelling from home and to your work place than you ever did in earlier times.  Pollution is another major factor that saps your energy. On the one side you have less time for your productive work, with reduced energy level you tend to take more time in completing your daily tasks. So time-management becomes another issue.

So what should you do? You cannot change the environment, the way the society is moving forward, the social conflicts are increasing. But you can certainly do one thing. Change yourself. Bring about a change in your personality, your perspective, the way you look at things, and the way you solve your daily problems.
In order that you successfully do so you need to recognize what you needs are. Your own needs specifically! While overall our needs may be the same but these differ due to reasons like our personality, family background, requirements etc.

Needs have been classified by Maslow’s famous pyramid of needs theory.

Keeping these in your mind you may define your own needs. This need not be done in one sitting. But what you can do is to write a broad overview first, and then by contemplating on it on a daily basis you will be able to develop the clear chart of your personal needs. The biggest advantage of such an exercise is that the burden that one carries due to mental fog will be removed and you will start looking at things clearly.
Furthermore, it is only after clearly defining you own needs that you can chart out a plan of action to achieve these. It will also enable you to deal with the stress problems. Of course, this will be you first step. A lot more will need to be done. But then you must appreciate that this is for your own life. Your constant efforts to improve will undoubtedly be enjoyed by you. Besides, these will bring about better results. Further on this in my next blog.

Thank you.

Exploring a new route

Yesterday, I started from office around 5pm. The dark of the evening was still away. I thought, reaching home early, I will have to walk in the podium garden. Lots of children of the society play all kinds of outdoor games at that time. Many maids with the small babies in the prams which is an uncommon sight in Mumbai. Elders leisurely  walk on the walkway. I thought let me also join them and also witness the lively joy of the juniors and seniors in the garden.

While driving back home, I got another idea. Normally, we drive back through the BPT road paying a nominal toll of Rs. 30/-. A friend of mine had told me that there is another road which takes about half km more but there is no toll. I thought to myself “why not explore this new road”?

So, we found a road turning right. Thinking that eventually it will join our normal route, we ventured into this new found road to the right. We drove through their rather zigzag road with lots of turnings to left and right and vice versa. To our big surprise we reached a dead end. Unlike other road that end, this place was full of life.

We had reached Bhaucha Dhaka (Ferry Wharf). While driving to office or back home I had seen buses with sign “Bhaucha Dhaka” often. There was a bus terminus. On one side there were fisher men and women moving around in their large baskets on their heads. On the other side I saw lots of people rushing towards the small passenger boats. I knew that some people who stay in Karanja, an island across the sea daily travel in these small ferries to and fro coming to work in Mumbai. Today, looking at this boat station gave me an uncommon joyful experiences.
I took some pictures of the place and the colourful boats which I would like to share with you.

Self-confidence

Your confidence depends on how you have been influenced by people around you till now. Be it your parents, your teachers, your friends and others you have been meeting. Some of the influences have created positive impact. ‘Yes, you can do it and you must try’. This motivates you to act even if there is some risk. ‘No, you can’t do it’, ‘it is not for you’ ‘what will others say when you fail’- these are some of the negative thoughts, instilled by people around you, or due to your own brooding. These hold you back.

Faith, Fear and Action are three most important ingredients of your self confidence. Today, everyone realizes the importance of self-confidence. Your career, your relations with others, your progress in life or even your reputation- all depend on your self- confidence. Your ability to overcome fears and your determination to take action even in adverse circumstances give it a boost. Anyone who wants to grow in life must develop ability to take some risk. Of course, you must not be a dare-devil. No need to deliberately expose yourself to great risk just to show off. Nor is there a need to take risk without thinking about the results. But some calculated risk of taking action to move forward in life is necessary.

Life is not a straight line. Like the waves in the sea, it moves up and down. There is low tide and there is high tide. There could be storms like we have in the ocean. You have to accept the challenge and move forward. Your determined action further enhances your faith and allays your fears. Consider that your body is a ship. And your mind is the captain of your ship. Just as the captain of the ship has to take decisions and take action all the time- 24x7, you must do that too. This will generate the required self-confidence. And, you will start viewing the life differently. It will no longer be a burden that tires you. It will be an interesting journey that will keep you in good cheer.
Some other suggestions to build your confidence and conquer your fears are:

1. Belief in yourself
2. Associate with confidence people
3. Keep motivating yourself by dwelling on positive thoughts
4. Be the master of your ship of life.
5. Never remain idle.

Thank you.

Setting Goals

Setting Stretched Goals

Today I’ll talk to you about the importance of goals in life. Anything that we do in life, we spend our precious time and money must bring about desired results. But often it does not happen. Why? Do we always try to figure out the reasons? If not, then why not? Because our goals are not clear. Because our desire to achieve the results is not so strong.

So what should we do? Sit back and think that everything will be alright? Or, that our luck is bad? No!
We must clearly define what we want to achieve. Write these clearly on our diary/journal. Make it known to the friends, family members, peers wherever it is necessary. Particularly to our well wishers. When we make our goals known to others, we become more committed.

Then, we should create a strong desire within us to achieve our goals. We need to contemplate on these as often as possible. Further, we need to plan how to achieve our goals. Work out the plan and write it down. Spend some time, contribute something, however small, daily towards achievement of what you want to do in life. It is worth it. And, you will be surprised to find how effective this process is for achieving what you want.

What are stretched goals? Goals should be short-term, medium-term, and long-term. In other words, what you want to achieve in the current year, next five years, ten years, twenty years, etc. Never think about obscurity of the future and changing times. Instead think that I have the ‘right’ and possibility of modifying my goals as per the needs of the changing times.

Furthermore, you need to work about a practical plan to achieve each of your goals. This should be backed up with action, you genuine effort to follow the plan. Life will be a lot more meaningful when the goals are well-defined and the plan to achieve these is followed.

You must define your goals in all aspects of life. Work out your own priorities, but you goals must cover all the following areas:

1. Your Career Goals
2. Financial Goals.
3. Your Health Goals
4. You Family Goals
5. Social Goals
6. Your Hobby Goals
7. And, your Spiritual Goals.

Thanks for reading.

The Neutral No!

It is important to remain on the issue and not allow any digression. It is equally important not to allow your ego to come into the picture. Often times, even when there is a possibility of a solution, it does not materialize simply because of individual egos. By sticking to the issue and remaining neutral you leverage you strengths. There are certain does and don’ts that you must follow while negotiating with difficult people:

1. Your language should remain polite but firm.
2. You should listen actively to what the other person is saying.
3. You should try to assimilate the hidden meaning behind his/her words and strategize you arguments accordingly.
4. You have to be really quick witted during negotiations.
5. You should never say No using light-weight reasons. Preparation for an important negotiation is crucial. While doing your homework you should visualize what your opponent is likely to use as his/her negotiation weapons or arguments.
6. You should be prepared to meet these squarely.
7. You should remain alert and not be swayed by any emotional blackmail.

It is always good to have a nice image but not at cost of your personal interests. Managers must particularly use their discretion aptly during discussions with their higher ups.

Wani Yoga - Lesson 12

In the last lesson (11) I had described some exercises which are helpful for enhancing resonance in the voice. But resonance is primarily a quality the male voice. What about the female Voice? What are the types of female voices?

For western classical singers the female voice can be classified as:

1. Soprano: This voice type represents the highest vocal range ability
2.  Mezzo soprano or “half soprano”: vocal range that lies between soprano and the contralto voice type.
3. Contralto: the voice range which is the lowest female voice type.

 
Jane Eaglen, famous soprano singer

Patricia O’Callaghan well known for ‘half soprano’ singing

        Karneus Katarina – famed contralto singer

 However, when we look at the scene in India, famous female singers are known for their unique voice quality. The composers choose the singer as per the demand of the situation in the film. I am talking about female playback singers and not classical singers because they are better known to the people at large. Nevertheless, the importance and greatness of the classical female singers cannot be exaggerated.
 While there is no doubt each one of them was endowed with unmatched talent, the development of the voice varies remarkably. This happened due to their learning process and the way music composers worked with them to achieve the desired result in singing.

Lata Mangeshkar

It may be surprising, to many, to know that Lata Mangeshkar was rejected by many composers. They felt that her voice was very thin. In fact if we listen to her songs in very old movies, we will find that her voice was really thin. But it possessed a unique quality of a child’s innocence. However as the years passed, her voice matured. It is unrivaled even to this day. To me it appears that her singing grew as Lata Ji is seen in the following 2 pictures.
                                                                     Lata Manghesker in her younger days
                                                 Lata Mangeshkar- her voice matured retaining its malady till date

Her songs truly reflect her versatility. She sings any type of song with unique ease. Invariably, her songs please the listeners immensely. The range of her voice and the poise in her songs are remarkable indeed. Her voice is very sweet and very attractive. Besides it has stood the test of time. If anything it has grown better and better.

As I like to talk about a number of well known female singers, this lesson no 12 will have many parts.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Wani Yoga Lesson - 11

Wani Yoga Lesson 11
I will now describe some simple exercises which will bring resonation and make your voice rich. But these exercises must be done consistently. And, you must remain relaxed while doing these exercises.

Sit comfortably on a chair or on the ground with crossed legs. Breathe in deeply and vocalize the following:

Exercise 1
Oo, Oo, Oo, ( Use your speech organs in an exaggerated manner while speaking these vowel sound.
Aw, Aw, Aw,
Ah, Ah, Ah,
Ay, Ay, Ay,
Ee, Ee, Ee
Oh, oh, oh

Repeat 3 to 5 times as can be comfortably done.

Exercise 2 : Taking a deep breath vocalize the following:
oo, oo, oo……mmmmmmm
(while humming the m sound should keep your upper and lower teeth apart. Let the lips touch each other)
Next, repeat with other vowel sounds:
Oh, oh, oh        ………… mmmmmmmmm
Aw, Aw, Aw    …………mmmmmmmmm
Ah, Ah, Ah       ………….mmmmmmmm
Ay, Ay, Ay       …………. mmmmmmmm
Ee, Ee, Ee        ………….. mmmmmmmm

Exercise 3 :

Speak the following line on one note (do) or (sa)
Many military matters must not mount
Then, repeat the same in other notes of the octave
Sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni, sa
OR
Do, re me, far, so, la, te, do

Some of the other singers known for their resonant voices are:

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi

Bal Murli Krishna

Yeshudas

Paul McCartney

Some speakers with resonant voices are:

John F Kennedy

Al Gore

Jaswant Singh

Arun Jaitley

Disclaimer: The exercises recommended are harmless, however any person before undertaking my consult his / her physician. The blog owner will not accept any kind of direct or indirect responsibility.

Wani Yoga - Lesson 10

Resonance

Resonance in your voice is a quality that adds richness. Here, I must say that Resonance is gender specific. It is a quality which makes male voice ‘Rich’. So far as female voice is concerned, sweetness of the voice is a sought after quality. Needless to say that clarity, confidence and poise in the voice are important both for females and males.

What is resonance? It is the echo effect. Resonance can be added by the sound engineer. But that is inorganic resonance. It may create a good effect in a song or even in a speech but it is not the resonance in the voice.

How do we achieve Resonance?

Is it a quality of the voice the person brings with birth? Or, can it be cultivated? Both questions have the same answer- ‘affirmative’. Each person is endowed with a unique voice box. Here, voice box comprises vocal cord, cavities in the mouth and nose. These are formed by the shape and muscles of the mouth nose, face and even the skull. To this extent the ‘resonance’ in the voice is an inborn quality. But resonance can also be cultivated by activating the muscles in the mouth, throat and nose.

Among male singers the voices of K.L. Sehgal, C.H. Atma and Kishore Kumar are more resonant as compared to other singers. But we must remember that resonance is one of the many qualities of a good singer.

It adds richness to the voice. The singer is able to enthrall the audience with the ease of his singing. Though C.H Atma and K.L. Sehgal have now become obscure, Kishor kumar’s songs are still very popular. Many times you have the possibility of listening to these on your favorite FM radio channel. Next time, you listen to his song, observe the resonance and consider the unique quality it renders to his songs.

 

                                                                  K.L. Sehgal

                         C.H. Atma singing with his very resonant voice

                                 Kishore Kumar the evergreen versatile singer
Resonance is a great quality of voice not only for singers but also to public speakers. The quality is abundantly evident in the speeches of the following distinguished leaders:

                             Martin Luther King addressing his followers

                                           Bill Clinton former president of USA

                         Swami Vivekanand making his impact full speech  
The speeches of these great leaders are available on ‘You Tube’ Videos

Wani Yoga - Lesson 9

In our last lesson 8, we had done an exercise which enables us to speak longer phrases in one breath. In other words it enhances the span of breath. While speaking when we pause and we breathe, the deeper the breath, the more the ability to vocalize more number of syllables in one breath.

Our balanced Ajna chakra enables to create the sentence easily in mind and we vocalize the same with our speech organs. The fully energized Throat chakra allows the words to be spoken with ease and clarity. Together these two chakras bring about the efficacy of our speech. The effective clear voice, spoken with ease, delineates the exact idea that we wants to communicate, is impressively received by our listeners.
At the same time visualizing the spatial calm of the space makes our mind stable. We are able to concentrate on the idea we have in mind.

In the next exercise we will use the seven musical notes to make our voice more attractive. It is also aimed to achieve poise in your voice, a quality for which swami Vivekananda in revered. In the world congress of religion in Chicago in the year……., the congregation was enthralled not only by the contents of his speech but also by the quality of ‘Poise’ in his voice which is rare to find.

As we know the seven musical notes:
Do, re, me, far, so, la, te, do
Or
Sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni, sa,
can make great music in when use with discretion after working the right combinations. Here, our objective is to develop our ability to chant a simple mantra like ‘Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti’ on different notes. It is important to chant the entire mantra on one note and then move on to the next one (note)

Sit on a quiet place. Think of the temple on the mountain hill. Silence and space surround you from all sides and then you start.

(Sa/Do) Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
(Re/re) Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
(Ga/ma) Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
(ma/far) Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
(Pa/sa) Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
(dha/la) Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
(nee/te) Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
(Sa/Do) Om Shanti Shanti Shanti



A quiet place, calm in the mind and attentive listening to the sounds produced by  chanting the mantra daily will make your voice very appealing and bring about the rare ‘poise’ in your voice. Further it will help stabilizing your mind.

Thanks for reading.

Wani Yoga - Lesson 8

In the last lesson (7) I had described an exercise which is helpful in balancing 3^rd eye chakra. The 3^rd eye chakra which is the command centre for your body.

Today I will give details step by step exercise which is very helpful in balancing the vishudh chakra which is the seat of communication. Sit comfortably in a quiet place. Relax for an minute concentrating your mind only on your breath. Once your mind is relaxed then treat the following lines as if each line is a sentence. You must breath in before each line.


I
I am
I am able
I am able to
I am able to climb
I am able to climb steep
I am able to climb steep steps
I am able to climb steep steps to
I am able to climb steep steps to reach
I am able to climb steep steps to reach the
I am able to climb steep steps to reach the temple
I am able to climb steep steps to reach the temple of
I am able to climb steep steps to reach the temple of Peace


Now imagine you have reached the top. You find a Small Shiva temple in the midst of a round platform guarded by a small parapet around it. You look around. You find that on two sides, a little more than a semicircle, you can see mountain ranges which are far off. Hardly visible.

On another side you can see a huge reservoir of water. Possibly it’s a man made dam. But there is no sound of water due to the distance. The vastness of the site and the silence of the atmosphere fills your minds with wonders of the special greatness of our universe

Wani Yoga - Lesson 7

Wani Yoga Lesson 7

Wani Yoga Lesson 7

In the last lesson (Lesson 6), we had seen how WaniYoga encompasses the necessaity to balance the third eye chakra or the Ajna. Physcially, Wani (Speech) may be produced by the breath, vocal chord and speech organs. It is enhanced and made more effective by your talent to modulate your voice. However, its origin is in the mind. You have to have a desire to speak. Then, you organize your thoughts and the process of speech starts.
Crystallizing the idea, and translating it into the language can be easy and quick with the ‘balanced third eye chakra’ However, if the chakra is not activated you will not have the focus to translate your ideas into language and present it the way you want. The Ajna chakra, or the third eye chakra is in fact the seat of wisdom. This gives you the ability to create an effective desired communication. Since the Ajna is also the command centre for your body, it manages your five senses, as well as your conscious and sub-conscious mind. The body language created while you speak also depends upon the activity of the third eye chakra.
When we are communicating, this Ajna Chakra makes it possible to see the bigger picture. This enables us to put things in the right perspective and we can negotiate with empathy and without being judgemental. Balancing, the chakra also enables you to hear your ego speak. You heart and mind come closer. They no longer tend to take you in different directions, so you speak with conviction and you become more convincing.
Herein below is an exercises which will help you balance the third eye chakra for better communication:
1. Visualize that it is a full moon night
2. You are sitting on the banks of a lake
3. Water in the lake is calm and still
4. You can see the reflection of the moon in the still water of the lake.
5. Concentrate on the image of the moon
6. Visualize light in your mind as if it was the moon in the still water of the lake
7. Continue to meditate on the light in your mind in terms of moon in the lake for 5 minutes. Gradually the time can be increased as much you comfortably can.
8. The best time to do this exercise is early in the morning. However, it can be done at any quiet place at any time with practice.
Disclaimer: The exercises recommended are harmless, however any person before undertaking my consult his / her physician. The blog owner will not accept any kind of direct or indirect responsibility.

Kolhapur

On 21^st March, I was in Kolhapur. I wanted to visit Mahalaxmi Temple in Kolhapur. Believed to have been built in 700 AD, it continues to attract devotees and tourists from all over India and abroad.
I will relate three unconnected reflections about my visit. On 21^st March and 21^st September each year the rays of the setting sun adore the idol. The period is considered very auspicious. As cameras are not allowed inside the temple, all I could do was to take a couple of snaps of the entrance to the temple.

Kolhapur Mahalaxmi Temple

 My second reflection is about Kolhapur railway station. It is a Terminus. The station reminded me of the Railway Station in Rome, Italy. I happened to visit Italy once. It so happened that due to excessive fog (quite common for Milan in the month of October) flights from Milan to Rome were cancelled. I took a train from Milan to Rome. That’s how I saw the railway station. The common thing that I found in both these stations was that the height of the platform is very low. While getting down from the train with my baggage I had slipped and hurt myself. A similar incident took place at Kolhapur not with me but with my fellow passenger. In the footsteps of the person who had helped me to reach the airport, I helped the one who fell to reach his hotel which in any case was not far off my own.
Why do railway authorities both in India and Italy allow such avoidable hurts to their customers, I reflected in my mind and cursed the apathetic authorities.

Kolhapur Railway Station

Rome Railway Station

My third reflection is about the greatest singer of our country Lata Mangeshkar. She is from Kolhapur. I asked the driver of an auto rickshaw if I could see the place where she lived before moving to Mumbai. He told me that now there is now a Mangeshkar Nagar, an entire colony name after her. He could take me to Mangeshkar Nagar but he would not be able to identify the house where the singing queen once lived. Then he also told me that Lataji wants to take over the old Prabhat Studio in Kolhapur and re-develop it. But local people are against it. They feel it is a heritage structure and should be maintained as it is.
Suddenly I thought of the Pedder Road Flyover. Lataji stays in a building on Pedder Road. She has been all along opposing the development of the bridge as it would create noise and pollute the atmosphere for the people who stay on Pedder Road
I was not happy to think about the two controversies:
One: Lataji wants to develop the old studio but the heritage trust is against it;
Two: Authorities in Mumbai have been planning a Pedder Road flyover bridge for a long time but Lataji is against it.

Lata Mangeshkar

Wani Yoga - Lesson 6

In the Lesson – 5, we had discussed the ways and means to balance ‘Throat Chakra.’ The simple exercises described can be carried out at any time and place can help you become more articulate and focused.
The importance of the ‘Throat Chakra’ encompasses thinking also. Because if you think clearly, only then you can give suitable commands to your vocal chords and the speech organs. Needless to say that you breathing pattern when you speak is critical. And, Wani Yoga helps you to develop an appropriate and effective breathing pattern.

Primarily though, this sixth chakra, that is the Third Eye Chakra concerns itself with vision. It is both the physical vision and the mental vision. When you look at anything, certain impressions are created on your mind. A closer and attentive look will bring about clarity. But if you are casual, and inattentive, the impression will be hazy and unclear. A series of hazy and unclear impressions are bound to make you mind also hazy and unclear. In the process, you tend to become indecisive. Procrastination prevails thereafter. In such a situation, you are unable to speak clearly and express your thoughts precisely. How can you succeed in influencing others? We all know that the most important quality of a good leader is that he/she should be able to express clearly and should also be able to influence others.

When you are talking to people or addressing them in a group, it is also necessary to understand their response. How do we do that? When they communicate through their body language, it is necessary for the speaker to listen to them with his/her third eye.  You observe the body language through the physical eyes, but assimilating the information gathered, and using the same while speaking surely needs the adept ability of your ‘third eye.’ It is the third eye chakra which enables you to perceive things and simultaneously react accordingly. The intervention of your deeper vision through your third eye chakra takes you to a commanding position. Thus you influence people and develop your leadership quality.

In my next post I shall talk about the exercises the Wani Yoga exercises which balances and enhances this unique faculty that is ‘The Third Eye Chakra.’

Personal Productivity

A day well-spent is a day cherished. We always find some days in our life where we achieve much more; all that has been planned is easily taken care of. At the end of such a day, we actually feel refreshed. There is no sign of the fatigue that bogs us down on days where nothing much has been achieved. So what causes this seemingly strange paradox? The answer lies in our personal productivity. 

Personal productivity is the output an individual can achieve given the time he has and the tasks he is supposed to perform. Personal productivity is very satisfying for the inner consciousness. It is a primary source of self-confidence for an individual and boosts his or her moral and raises the self-esteem. It is  the very foundation of success. An individual who is highly productivity on a day-to-day basis achieves a lot at the end of the week, more in a month, much more in a year and so on. 

So why do people suffer from lack of personal productivity and remain busy in unproductive activities that keep a person occupied and waste his time? There are several reasons for this idle state of mind. These can be summarized as follows: 

1. Lack of Focus: Many people do not proceed with any kind of focus or direction. Without any clarity on what is to be achieved; such people waste away their time waiting for things to happen rather than making them possible. 
2. No personal goals: Every individual must have personal goals. These include family goals, financial goals, spiritual goals, career goals etc. People with no goals often find themselves being self-satisfied with little or no achievements at the end of the day. 
3. Too many distractions: Anyone who wishes to achieve good results must give up this habit of ‘multi-tasking’ or trying to do various things simultaneously. Rather he/she must focus on doing one thing at a time quickly and efficiently before more on to the next thing. 
4. Not preparing a To-do list: People who do not actively plan for the work day – preparing an agenda of things to be carried out during the day handicap themselves by relying completely on their memory and working on an ad-hoc basis. It is always better to have list of things ready before starting work and planning the available time accordingly. 
5. No review: Even the best of plans may not always produce results. What is important is a continuous review of tasks to be achieved. This will enable unfinished tasks of the previous day to be completed on the day. 
6. Staying happy and cheerful: Enthusiasm and confidence go together. People who are generally cheerful energetically move about the days and quite easily accomplish much more than those who remain serious and self-restrained.

In conclusion, whatever we achieve in the long term ultimately is a sum total off all the small actions we take on a day to day basis. In everything we do, we must strive to improve our personal productivity so that we can live fuller, happier, and more accomplished lives.

Wani Yoga Lesson 5

Wani (your speech) is an index of your physical and mental health. What you speak (content), quality of your voice and how you speak, truly reflect your attitude, your control over your speech organs, your breath control and the coordination between the mind and the language you use to express your thoughts.

These are seven vital energy centres in the body known as the Seven Chakras. Throat Chakra pertains to your expression and communication. If the Throat Chakra is unbalanced, the individual finds him/her unable to express. Often there is a feeling of stagnation. You hesitate to express yourself in a group. Your self-esteem is hurt. You hold on to your anger within yourself. Such a situation affects your mental health which in turn also spoils your physical health. Other symptoms of an unbalanced Throat Chakra which is also known as the fifth chakra are:- excessive talking, timidity ,inability to express yourself in a focused fashion, shyness and being judgmental.

Following are the indications of a balanced Throat Chakra:
• Ability to effectively communicate verbally, in writing or through body language.               
• Confidence in your beliefs and ability to express these.                                                              
• The capacity to listen to others and understand their viewpoint.                                             
• You start respecting the power of language and develop an ability to leverage this unique power.

In my next post, I shall describe the yogic exercises that bring about balance in the Throat Chakra.
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Wani Yoga - Lesson 4

Wani (your speech) is an index of your physical and mental health. What you speak (content), quality of your voice and how you speak, truly reflect your attitude, your control over your speech organs, your breath control and the coordination between the mind and the language you use to express your thoughts.

These are seven vital energy centres in the body known as the Seven Chakras. Throat Chakra pertains to your expression and communication. If the Throat Chakra is unbalanced, the individual finds him/her unable to express. Often there is a feeling of stagnation. You hesitate to express yourself in a group. Your self-esteem is hurt. You hold on to your anger within yourself. Such a situation affects your mental health which in turn also spoils your physical health. Other symptoms of an unbalanced Throat Chakra which is also known as the fifth chakra are:- excessive talking, timidity ,inability to express yourself in a focused fashion, shyness and being judgmental.

Following are the indications of a balanced Throat Chakra:
• Ability to effectively communicate verbally, in writing or through body language.
• Confidence in your beliefs and ability to express these.                                                              
• The capacity to listen to others and understand their viewpoint.                                             
• You start respecting the power of language and develop an ability to leverage this unique power.

In my next post, I shall describe the yogic exercises that bring about balance in the Throat Chakra.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Wani Yoga Lesson 3

In my last post, I had talked about importance of Jaw and Lips for speaking clearly. Since the words are created by the five speech organs i.e. Jaw, Lips, Tongue, Teeth and Palate, today, I will explain the importance of the last three.

Tongue:
Tongue plays the most important role in creating various sounds which are recognized as words. How does it do it? By making different movements and adopting different shapes. Sometimes it rests and against the upper teeth; sometimes it clips to the lower ones. It curls horizontally and then vertical for articulating different letters of the alphabet or syllabus of the words. One thing remarkable about the tongue is that it heals very fast should it be hurt due to any reason. Your teeth may bite it. You may suddenly take a very hot drink etc. though it is rarely damaged, but it heals fast indeed. Let the wounds it can create on the minds of people whenever ill used do not heal in a lifetime. It always needs to be reined and used carefully.

Teeth:
Teeth also play a very important role in creating certain words. You may notice that when young children loose their upper teeth they are not able to speak certain words clearly at all. Because tongue does not find the correct resting place for producing those sounds.

Palate:
It is the outer layer of the upper dome in our mouth.  It is importance in creating resonance in the voice and also is, instrumental in articulating certain sounds. You might have observed that whenever it is hurt due to talking very hot food or drink our voice is impaired and we are not able to speak certain words.
It is possible you may have found this post a bit too technical. Yet it extremely importance to recognize the role these speech organs play to make our ‘Wani’ sweet and attractive, so we must do all that we can to protect our speech organs and use them adeptly for making our speech effective.

Wani Yoga - Lesson 2

We have seen, in our earlier post, the functions of jaw. Today, we shall look at functions/ importance of other speech organs i.e. lips, tongue, teeth and palate.

Lips: Sound of consonants like b, P and M cannot he appropriately produced unless we use lips correctly. Wani yoga puts on the right path to create correct sound of each of these consonants. The exercises for the lips make the lips very flexible. The power of discipline (yoga) in this case also lies in making us active listeners to our own speech. When we listen to the words spoken by us and identify inadequacies, the repetitive process of these exercises reminds the mind of the inadequacies. In turn a revised stimulus (instruction) is sent by the brain to the lips which make the correct movements that result in producing the right sounds.

In order to practically observe the clarity of the words requiring effective movement of the lips, you may try to say the following sentence without touching your lips.
Please pack the pickles and post the parcel.

You will not be able to say the above sentence in an articulate manner unless you press your lips a little.
Similarly you may try to speak the following sentence clearly and observe. This will require slightly different overall formation of the lips to speak the same clearly:
Many moaning man were making music to the moon.

Tomorrow, we will discuss the, next speech organ. And, you must always keep in mind that practitioners of ‘Wani Yoga’ always ensure that they speak clearly.

Wani Yoga

Wani yoga is the most practical form of yoga. Its benefits are immense. Above all, Wani yoga does not require you to sit on the ground or lie on the mat. The practices and the exercises can be carried out at home in office or even while travelling. In fact, it teaches us that you can draw the benefits of meditation by practicing Wani yoga throughout the day.

What is Wani yoga?

It is the discipline that controls your psyche and improves your health constantly. We use ‘Wani’ i.e. ‘Speech’ right from the morning when we get up and until we sleep at night.

How do we speak? First, the thought comes in our mind. Then we translate the thought into the language; there after the brain sends a signal to our lungs. Some breath is released. That breath strikers the vocal cord.  Sound is produced. This sound travels in the cavities of mouth and the. Resonance is added to the sound and it becomes rich. But until then it is only sound and not the words.

So, how are the words created? The words are created by the speech organs. We have five immaculate speech organs. These are- jaw, tongue, teeth, lips and palate. Their functions as follows:

Jaw: It enables us to speak clearly by using the other four speech organs. Some people do not open their mouth i.e. they don’t use jaw adequately. Their speech can never be clear. So, we need to use our jaw adequately. Simple yogic exercises make our jaw nimble and flexible. Wani (Speech) can have a great power with the power of Wani Yoga which enables us to appreciate the need, and encourages us to use the speech organs. And, as we speak throughout the day our yogic exercise of the jaw continues throughout the day whenever we speak.

Tomorrow, I shall talk about how we use the other speech organs to derive the real power of the special yogic practice called ‘Wani Yoga’.

Self Esteem

What is Self Esteem? Self-esteem refers to the person’s self-belief. It embodies how a person rates himself. If you rate yourself high and respect yourself, people will also respect you. At the same time if you are casual about your personality, people will take you for granted. When people take you for granted and do not care for you, you self-esteem suffers further. You start considering that you are insignificant. It is necessary that you have to always ensure that people respect your opinions.

 If you do not know about something the best thing is that don’t give your opinion and accept that your knowledge on the subject is not enough to form an opinion. However if you know the subject and have an opinion and your opponent does agree, never argue. The best thing is to say that we agree to disagree. Let the matter rest there.

When you are attending a meeting or a conference, you must participate actively. 

Remaining a mute listener will affect your self-esteem. Before attending the meeting it is necessary to collect your thoughts on the subject so that you are well equipped to participate. In the meeting you should be an active listener. It is only when you listen to the speakers that you can express your own view.

You should not interrupt somebody’s argument. If you are alert you will find a space where you can intervene and try to express yourself in a fashion that nobody is offended. But the participants genuinely consider your views.  

However self-esteem is not only about communication. You taking care of your health, your clothes, the way you carry yourself all are important. In order to make a mark in the society and establish your place it is important to keep you self esteem high.