Dance for Togetherness

 Hey reader! Welcome back. In today’s blog, I’d like to share my views about Navratri and Garba!

Sharad Navratri, the nine splendorous and colorful nights, is one of the most awaited Indian festivals. A melodious occasion full of reveling evenings, Navratri is celebrated for ten days, beginning with holy Navratri and ending with Dusshera, Sharad Navratri, a medley of dance, fun, festivities, bonhomie, and religious devotion.

Where the Navratri days have devotees across different cultures of India, its significance amplifies in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, where Navratri is not only an ode to the feminine divinity but also an occasion of enthusiastic merriment combined with revelry. The Navratri nights here are a colorful melange of religious rituals and endless rounds of cultural dance and music.

Garba, Raas, and Dandiya are popular folk dances that rule the revelry- with these energetic dance forms, Navratri has spread its innate charm to the world.

Garba – the Cultural Dance Form

The dance form most closely associated with Navratri is Garba; divinity (in the form of the Goddess or Devi) resides. Garba is danced around this symbol to honor the fact that all humans have the divine energy of Devi within them. Today, it is common to have images of Durga at the center of the circle in lieu of the garbha deep.

Garba is performed in a circle (concentric circles when there are many people). The circle represents the Hindu view of time. In Hinduism, time is cyclical. As the cycle of time revolves, from birth to life to death to rebirth, the only thing that is constant is the Goddess, an unmoving symbol in the midst of all of this unending and infinite movement. The dance symbolizes that God, represented in feminine form in this case, is the only thing that remains unchanging in a constantly changing universe (jagat).

As garba is part of a religious practice, as with other Hindu rituals and worship, it is done barefoot (and on all kinds of surfaces). Going barefoot signifies respect for the earth upon which people walk. The foot is the body part that touches the earth – the sacred mother of all. The earth is imbued with generative powers and the foot is thought of as the conduit through which the vital energy of the earth travels through humans. Dancing barefoot is another way to connect with Devi.

Now you know the meaning behind Garba. It is also the folk dance of Gujarat and a pious dedication to the feminine power of giving birth thus, keeping the cycle of life alive. The word Garba comes from the Gujarati colloquial usage – Garbo – which means ‘Garbh’ (in Sanskrit) – which means, Womb.

A Garbha Deep – a small earthen lamp –holds the center of the open ground of festivities – along with an idol of the Goddess. Garba executes in a circle formation by women and menfolk of the community around the holy Garbha lantern.

This beautiful symbolism signifies that the whole human civilization revolves around the central premise of fertility, the female ability to give birth, and thus running the entire life cycle.

For all nine nights, there are communal (community) feasts and dancing programs. After the evening pooja/ worship, people gather in open areas, their community areas/ plots, roads, etc., where they dance together to the foot-tapping beats of traditional Garba/ Dandiya music. Many formal evenings and Navratri events are organized all over the cities, where people go in hoards to participate and dance.

This is all for today, I hope you got some meaningful understanding from today’s blog. Thank you for your precious time, See you in the next blog 😊.

Aryan Veerwani (Team SYNC)

Japanese Secrets to a Long and Happy Life

 Japanese Secrets to a Long and Happy Life!

Every time we hear the word Century, our minds go straight ahead toward the Century score in a cricket match. A century represents a mere 3-digit number that holds a different meaning for various people in the situation. 

Here, I am going to share a different perspective considering the word Century. People who live for 100 years or more are referred to as Centenarians.

While talking about such extraordinary people, one thing that comes to my mind is the Centenarians of Japan, the people of Japan who live so long but remain active.

An obvious question that baffles us is what is the secret behind living a long but purposeful life. Many theories float around, and this topic can be read even when you look forward to living a healthy and purposeful life and not aspiring to be a centurion. The answer to this mystery is IKIGAI; in Japanese, it means the philosophy of Lifelong Happiness.

But what does Ikigai mean?

In the simplest term, Ikigai is "Your Purpose of Being." Having an Ikigai gives you the core reason to get up every day and start your day joyfully. 

I read the book written by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles named "IKIGAI" one may find this in different versions and languages. This book deals with your Ikigai by throwing light on your four elements, Passion, Mission, Profession, and Vocation of your Life. Somehow our career relies a lot on having a purpose to SETTLE in life and make it MEANINGFUL.  

What do you love to do? 

Is it tuned with what the world needs? 

What are you good at? 

What can you be paid for? 

It would help if you reflected on these questions while deciding on Your Ikigai (The Purpose) of Life.

Now that you know how to find your Ikigai let me reveal those Japanese Secrets to a Long and Happy Life.

Secret 1- Hara Hachi Bu

You wonder what these words mean. It is simply eating until you are 80% complete. Keep yourself a bit "still hungry state" in every meal. Easy tactics of eating will keep you healthy and fit. 

Some say that age is a number. Indeed I found many people around the world behave like young even when their biological age is mature enough to be called old. When I look back on my beliefs in my 20s, I feel 40 is old; oh God, don't push me to 40. When I crossed that age, I felt I needed to go a long way; this was just another chapter to begin in my life. 

 

 

Secret 2- Workouts for Mental Health 

We are hearing about mental health and wellness too often in a new normal scenario! It was never a topic for discussion before the pandemic. We had understood the importance of mental health lately when it started affecting our physical health. The secret of being mentally alert and levelling up our cognitive ability lies in simple mind games & workouts that keep our mind, body, and soul lively even when we are ageing.  

Stress is generally construed with a negative connotation, but it can greatly help you to make your brain remain more active and sustain improved mental activities. Even writing does it for me.

Secret 3- Morita Therapy

Morita therapy is a purpose centre therapy created by Shoma Morita, an ardent Buddhist and contemporary of Sigmund Freud. 

Morita addressed human feelings by building traction with nature. To discover the ultimate purpose of being is a complex and time-consuming process; many fail to connect even with the word called PURPOSE. 

He has shared a few simple steps to help an individual reach the ultimate purpose of being. 

a. Accept your feelings

The suppressed feelings are the killers; they transit you back to the negative zone whenever you try to be happy. 

b. Do what you should be doing 

Morita therapy allows people to analyse and comprehend their own actions instead of comparing them to other examples. 

c. Discover your life's purpose

We are responsible for our actions, with no one to blame. Moving forward is pivotal by aligning your purpose before you take the first step, according to Morita Therapy. 

d. Going with the flow

Imagine you went on trekking and successfully met the summit of a decent height. Morita therapy teaches you to be in the moment and live it thoroughly because that is what makes your life worthy.

Secret 4- Proper Diet and Exercise

Japanese people, especially those living on Okinawa Island, follow a particular diet. Their diet resembles "eating a rainbow," which includes peppers, carrots, spinach, cauliflower, and eggplant. 

Few other specialties are White Tea and Shikuwasa (a citrus fruit), which are highly effective against ageing. 

Once we are talking about diets and exercise, let me tell you, perhaps 98% of people will start with all energy but soon give up both. I advise people to follow a strict diet & workout regime as it could reverse my diabetes with these two habits. 

Japanese consider exercise a vital part of their everyday life. They use various forms of fitness methods like Radio Taiso, Yoga, Tai Chi, and Qigong, to name a few, which help them in fostering mental and physical health. You may google to check the real application of these typical methods. 

Well, I have given a very elaborative perspective of finding your Ikigai (purpose of life) through this blog. The message I would like to percolate here is that even if you follow some of these and be consistent, you will have a healthy life. Our physical and mental health are capable of playing sports whenever we recharge ourselves to attain a bigger goal if these are not nurtured well. 

Aspirations need an agile mind, a distinct purpose, and steady progress to realise your goals. And here the IKIGAI techniques work the best. 

Happy Reading!🤗

Vaishnavi Magar (Team SYNC)

Yoga for Teachers

 

Heyyyy guys wishing all the readers a very Happy Teacher's day! 🥰✨Now you all must be thinking why I am wishing happy teacher's day to you all. So the answer to this is, that every person serves as a teacher to one or the other person in many different ways, knowingly or unknowingly! 

Teachers are the most imporant person in everyone's life! Right from birth till the last breath we come through a lot of teachers. In the first stage our parents, family, and close relatives, then teachers and school friends enter the further phase of teachers in our lives. Sometimes, even strangers teach us a lot of things by some or other means ✨ 

What is the connection of yoga with a teacher? Our teachers also go through a daily routine, even though they have a lot of stress and they are also facing some or other issues for which yoga proves to be the best solution. Yoga helps them keep their mental health stable and meditation helps them to stabilize their emotions and patience to deal with all different sets of students.

Some of the poses that teachers should practice in general for good health are as follows:- 

1. Balasana 

How to do this pose:-

Sit on your heels and keep your knees together or wide apart as per convenience. Slowly exhale and bend forward and touch the floor with your forehead or rest it on some object at a normal height while keeping your arms alongside your body and palms facing up.

Benefits:-

This pose not only helps reduce stress but also anxiety and helps release the tension in the chest, back and shoulders. 

2. Vrikshasana (Tree pose):

How to do this pose:- 

Balance your body on one leg, with the other one folded and supported on the inner thigh and your hand above the head joined and pointing in an upward direction.

Benefits:-

This asana helps to bring balance to the mind and body. It also helps strengthen our thighs, calves, and ankles and helps improve focus.

3. Mindfulness of breath:

How to do this pose:-

Sit, stand or relax at a position for 5-30 mins or more and bring your whole concentration a spotlight, then later start inhaling and exhaling and concentrate on the breath and keep repeating this. Start with a smaller duration and then increase it slowly.

Benefits :

Helps relax or mind and brain and increases the power of concentration. Helps to relax the mind and stabilizes the brain.

So this was all on the part of yoga for teachers ❤✨

On this auspicious dayyyyyy, we wish our whole and sole who has always been there throughout and has been constantly supporting us and who is the pillar of the committee without whom we would have not been here, a very happyyyyyyy teacher's day. ❤❤✨✨

By Honey Shah(Team SYNC)