Wish you all a happy new year from Kerala! Today, is Vishu and according to the Malayalam calendar a new year starts. On this day, the most significant event is the sighting of the Vishukkani during dawn, which is believed to bring luck throughout the year. In Malayalam, the word ‘kani’ means ‘that which is […]
Do you know the mythological story about how the chipmunk got the three stripes on its’ back? This story dates back to the 7th – 5th century BCE, when the ancient epic of India, Rāmāyana, was written down. In one of the subplots, the demon Rāvana kidnapped Sīta, lord Rāma’s wife, and brought her to […]
I was inspired to write this article by a short chat with Sarka Vojackova. She posted a live video clip from behind the scenes of her online yoga class. Guess what? Microphone is not working, picture is not clear…. This sounds very familiar to my own class set up in India. Sometimes electricity doesn’t work […]
At some point in July last year or the year before (due to corona times I have lost the track of time), I felt the urge to start sharing THAT, what I have practiced and found useful for keeping or restoring my own balance as a wife of an Indian guru, mother, yogīnī, cow caretaker, […]
You can dance, sing, pray or chant om namah śivāya. Connect with the energy of śiva, who is the compassionate destroyer of old and dysfunctional. Śiva represents the male linear energy which exists in us women also. We need this energy to reach goals and to clearly set our limits. This is what Sadhguru of Isha Foundation says […]
Morning rāga alias newspaper reading. When I moved to Kerala, a small state in South India in 2009 – due to a huge cultural and religious diversity in India I feel entitled to write only about this state ( not mentioning the religious and caste differences) – I was amazed by the fact that even […]
Under normal circumstances, we have a cook at our ashram. When the lockdown in India started in March, from one day to another, our staff was not allowed to come including our cook. My worst nightmare came true. I had to cook local Kerala food which involves cooking from a scratch, cooking on fire and […]
Today, I am a proud foreigner residing in India. WHY? Because human values still prevail over materialism. Because children are loved. Because nature is worshipped as sacred. Because you will be fed in every household when you are hungry. Because as a guest you will be given the host’s bed to sleep in. Because old […]
For many, mantra sounds like a hex from Harry Potter. However, mantra is a scientific tool to literally cleanse our mind. How and from what? The Sanskrit word Mantra मन्त्र is a composition of two words: manas (mind) and trai (cleanse, liberate). Therefore, mantra is a tool to calm down the thoughts in our mind. […]
For years now, I have been moving between and living with two completely different cultures such as the traditional Indian and the modern Western. This made me think and rethink my own values, education and upbringing from many different perspectives. It becomes clearer to me, that the modern way of education and way of thinking […]