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Yoga

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For years, I suffered from debilitating neck, back and hip pain that caused a lot of difficulties. After trying different things (weightlifting, stretching, physiotherapy, massage, chiropractor) for a long time, I decided to give yoga a shot and joined a yoga studio last year. The studio was conveniently located near my house so it was easy to pop in there after work or in the mornings to get a good workout. The yoga studio, Yoga Wave  which unfortunately has closed down permanently because of Covid-19, offered a variety of classes. My favorites were Hot Yoga and Advanced Vinyasa Flow. I lost a ton of fat and improved both my strength and flexibility. My back pain also seemed to ease up quite a bit. I stopped my classes before Christmas break since I was going to be traveling. When I returned, I came down with a severe case of bronchitis and fever (even suspected corona on a couple of occasions) so my yoga classes became more infrequent. Then coronavirus hit, and my anxiety and stress
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Sonora Peak Hike

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On a whim, I decided to hike Sonora Peak from St. Mary's pass trailhead. The trailhead is not very fancy but you won't miss it. There's a small, unmarked parking area which should be adequate. There weren't very many cars when I arrived. An elderly couple had finished their hike and were leaving. There was a woman in another car whose husband had left on a hike just a few minutes before I started out.  When I started this hike, I had not had any food that day due to an upset stomach. I decided to eat when I got hungry and hike till I had energy. I had packed a couple of bananas and a jar (yes, a whole unopened jar) of peanut butter. I changed to my Timberlands for the hike and set out with the aforementioned edibles and a bottle of water. It was a great day for hiking. I caught up to the gentleman who had left just a few minutes before me though I was fairly behind him. Though he didn't look very fit, I could see that he was a strong hiker. He had his German Shepher
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Three powers of the mind

I was listening to this talk by Swami Sarvapriyananda about the three great powers of the mind. The one that stuck with me the most was the power of concentration. The mind is capable of intense concentration and focus but it's rarely trained to do so. I love his communication style. He seems to provide practical techniques that can be applied in daily life.  The example from Mahabharata resonated with me. Duryodhana, the evil cousin of Arjuna is asked by Lord Krishna to change. Duryodhana says, I know what's right and wrong but I'm not able to control my impulses. Arjuna, on the other hand, asks how he can change. This is what we need to do in our daily lives. Constantly find out how to do the right thing. Everyday life distracts us from these things. One need not become a saint to strive to do the right thing. In fact, Swami Vivekananda says, "What use are scriptures if they only help the monk and not the common man?". The enemy is the anger and passions within
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