What is Yoga, and why does it matter?

What is Yoga, and why does it matter?

In our busy lifestyle of the modern day, efficiency and optimization are very important. Times have changed very quickly, and we find ourselves facing a world very different from the one we were born into, so rapid has been the pace of modernisation. Digital technology has brought us closer, made the world’s information available to us right in the device we can hold in the palm of our hands, and made us more productivity than ever. But, a crucial question is, are we gradually forgetting the most important resource/gadget that we have, aka, ourselves? 

The fastest computers can only do so much by themselves. The human brain still remains the greatest resource available to us. So, it is important, even more so nowadays, to find time for ourselves, and get ready to optimize our lifestyle. This can be achieved with what I call tools, and the ancient Indian philosophy of Yoga is one of them. This post is the first of a 2-part series, on the meaning, importance, relevance and benefits of Yoga. In this part, let us learn about the origin of Yoga, what it actually means, and why it is important.

What is Yoga?

Yoga is, mistakenly, regarded as a set of physical exercises, complete with stretching and weird poses, in the modern western culture. In India, the birthplace of Yogic culture, a different sort of misconception exists. An uninformed Indian might tell you, that Yoga is a spiritual process that grants us supernatural powers, such as floating 3 feet above the ground without technology, or getting to see the future. In both cultures, the understanding is shady, to say the least. Yoga is not only different, but much more than what people believe it is.

So, what is Yoga? Well, Yoga is a spiritually inspired way of life, a complete system of lifestyle that aims to make our lives on earth better than they were before. This is achieved through a flexible, yet comprehensive, set of 3 major components, which are:

• Guided physical activities such as Yogic poses, exercises, breath control etc. 
• Conscious mental processes, like meditation, relaxation etc. 
• A spiritual approach to life, through acceptance of our position, surroundings, status, living according to a simple philosophy of kindness, awareness and enlightenment, etc. 

I admit, this is a very broad generalisation of the long-term goals of Yoga, and our immediate needs might produce very different short-term goals. But to define Yoga in one sentence is almost impossible, so vast is the area covered by it.

Origin of Yoga

Lord Shiva statue in Bangalore, in Padmasana pose

Although similar systems evolved all around the world, like Tai Chi and Zen, Yoga itself is regarded as far more extensive and ambitious, thanks to its vast literature, centuries of active development and deep entanglement with the non-religious philosophy of the Upanishads. In fact, it has been argued that the Upanishads might be the primary stimuli, that gave rise to Yoga in the Indian mindset.

It is clear, however, that India is the birthplace of Yoga. The term Yoga is Sanskrit, the ancient Indo-European language, and it is derived from the Sanskrit root Yuj, to unite. Originally, it might have had referred to simple processes of conjoining things (the Rigveda mentions conjoining wheels and ropes), but gradually, by the 6th century BC, its meaning became much more extensive, referring to the unification of the individual soul, Atman, and the universal soul, the Brahman.

The most comprehensive early text on Yoga, is Maharishi Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, which date back to the 1st century AD. A book compiled almost 2 thousand years ago, and yet it continues to guide our understanding today. Even more interestingly, Maharishi Patanjali effectively compiled the existing Sutras of Yoga, which predated him and his works. This shows us just how universal and timeless Yoga is! In the Indian TV drama Upanishad Ganga, we find Narendra arguing with his father that Sanskrit has no relevance today. But like Gourishankar, we can only smile, and reply that Yoga is relevant to us, as it were to our ancestors, and will be so to our descendants, because it is timeless! It is applicable to people from all walks to life, no matter where (or when) you are.

OK, but how’s Yoga different from aerobic exercise?

Well, Yoga does involve exercise, but not vice versa. While exercise such as stretching, running, jogging etc. improve our health, their area of effect is limited most to the domain of physical health itself. Mental benefits might follow, but that will be an indirect, unintended happening.

Yoga, on the other hand, is aimed at improving our very way of life - ranging from (but not exclusive to) health benefits, mental well-being, healthier social life and spiritual prosperity. While you can rightly argue that this is a very broad scope, I assure you that Yoga has the resources - collected, compiled and fine-tuned over centuries - to reach that goal.

The three major pillars of Yoga, put in a very simplified manner, are:

• Physical well-being and good health
• Mental health and enrichment through improvement of thoughts and habits
• Spiritual prosperity, through a healthier approach to life itself

And you don’t have to be a believer to incorporate Yoga into your life. Atheists can practise it as well, because it’s all about take your pick. I view Yoga and its philosophy as something similar to a buffet dinner. You arrive, take whatever you like, customize your plate, and enjoy. Likewise, there’s no rigid set of rules that applies to how we should perform Yoga. We can easily tailor it to our tastes and lifestyle.

Yoga, in this sense, is quite similar to universally applicable practical philosophies of ancient Greece, like Epicureanism, Stoicism and Cynicism. However, unlike all of them, it’s much, much more extensive, thanks to its continuous, uninterrupted development.

The concept and philosophy of Yoga

To summarize the entire philosophy of Yoga, within the short area here, would be a daunting task. To put it broadly, Yoga is divided into 6 major branches, namely:

• Karma Yoga, which deals with how to work selflessly, optimize our work routines, and find joy and spiritual enlightenment through our work
• Bhakti Yoga, which is concerned with absolute, selfless devotion to God
• Jnana Yoga, which is aimed at liberating our minds from material entanglements and excessive attachments to fleeting bits of life, all the while focusing our minds on what is truly essential and intransient, aka our own selves
• Hatha Yoga, which is more focused at physical and mental prowess and health, through physiological control in the form of Asanas, Pranayama (breath control) etc. 
• Raja Yoga, or the 8-limbed Yoga, which deals with strict adherence to the Yogic principles, and mental enlightenment through meditation 
• Tantric Yoga, which is the Yoga of controlling our lower, base urges, and using them to improve our physical and spiritual lives. 

A number of other Yogas have been developed over time, with modern variants such as Bikram Yoga (Yogic exercises under the effect of heat), Power Yoga and Iyengar Yoga, for the global audience. This is due to the open and flexible nature of Yogic practices. As I mentioned before, you can just take your pick, and build a personalized Yoga course for yourself. However, doing so might require an intricate understanding of the Yogic philosophy, years of experience and a deep interest in the spiritual benefits that Yoga has to offer. In short, a lot of work! That’s why, it’s better to stick to more basic, introductory forms of Yoga practice in the beginning. There are plenty of resources for that, which I’ll mention in the second part of this series.

The Yogic physiology - Concepts of Prana, Kosha and Sharira

Yoga is all about fine-tuning our microcosm with the macrocosm, i.e the universe all around us. And this is achieved by orienting the Prana, or vital energy in our lives, with nature. In simplest explanation, this is done by living purposefully, using our physical and mental resources to optimize our earthly existence, suited to the material and spiritual goals we aim to achieve. It’s essentially a careful way of life, that attempts to tackle unnecessary wastage of life’s vital energy in useless pursuits of inconstant, fleeting moments of pleasure, and generating true sense of well-being and happiness from within. 

The seven Chakras in Yogaic physiology

Most of you are familiar with the term Sharira, we loosely use it to refer to our bodies, or that of other people. And Yoga, too, uses the term to refer to the 3 bodies that we possess, namely:

• Sthula Sharira, the gross material or physical body, which is essentially our biological body. This is composed of Annamaya Kosha, or material food items that fuel its activities and well-being, and provide it nutrition and sustenance. 
• Suksma Sharira, the subtle body. It is composed of Pranamaya Kosha (vital breath), Manomaya Kosha (the mind) and the Vigyanamaya Kosha (Intellect). This is where the prowess of Yoga begins to shine. Parallel to how the Sthula Sharira needs sustenance according to its composition, i.e material food for Annamaya Kosha, the Suksma Sharira (roughly speaking, a representation of our mental states) needs mental sustenance through discipline, practice and self-control. 
• Karan Sharira, or the causal body. This is the spiritual essence in us all, and it is composed of the Anandamaya Kosha (bliss). As such, it is sustained by the happiness and bliss that we generate in our lives, through purposeful living, being the part of something greater than us, and by accepting our roles in our lives. 

All these 3 bodies are linked to each other, and by improving one, we can easily make the benefits sweep into the next. Think of these are levels of excellence in Yoga. 

The physical body consists of 7 different Chakras or vital points, which regulate our physical and mental well being. These are, essentially, the points of convergence between the 3 Shariras or bodies, and once we focus our mind on improving each, our whole lives become revitalized. These 7 Chakras are:

1. Muladhara Chakra, located at the base of the backbone, near the rectum. It regulates the most basic urges, like hunger, survival instincts, sleep and sex drive. 
2. Svadhisthana Chakra, located at the gonads, forming the base of the genitourinary system. It regulates our reproductive prowess and fertility, the power to create new life. 
3. Manipura Chakra, located at the level of the navel. It is the centre for digestion, and acts as the generator of energy that is essential to our survival, nourishing the physical body. It deals with the energy of life, keeping us healthy and functioning. 
4. Anahata Chakra, located in the breast. It is concerned with acceptance, universal love, and compassion. When activated, it is said to liberate the mind from low cunning, pride, jealousy and self-interested selfishness. 
5. Visuddha Chakra, located in the throat. It acts as the centre for speech and intelligent expression, helping us communicate intelligently with others. 
6. Ajna (pronounced Aagyaa) Chakra, located at the base of the forehead, between the two eyes. The third-eye, depicted in images of God Shiva and Goddess Shakti, is the pictorial representation of this chakra. It channels the radiance of inner wisdom and spiritual intelligence, acting as a guiding voice of spiritual conscience
7. Sahashrar Chakra, which is located at the crown of the head, is the highest of all Chakras. When activated, it makes us feel truly one with the universe, making us realize that there’s more to life than this mere earthly existence. 

These Saptachakras, or seven points, also act as points of convergence between the Nadis, which are channels or pathways of the Prana or vital life-force in our bodies. Through breath exercises, strict adherence to the Yogic code, mental and physical control, we can channel our life energy through the Nadis and activate the Chakras.

Goals of Yoga

Vajrashana, one of the easiest Yogic poses
It is proved to aid digestion of heavy meals

Put very broadly, the main goal of Yoga is complete enlightenment, and that is something that takes time, understandably. For simplicity, these points illustrate the primary goals of Yoga, relevant to our modern lives:

1. Good physical health
2. Mental stability
3. A functional and positive approach to life
4. Building of discipline and personality
5. Getting ready to deal with stress and life’s challenges
6. Prosperity, through alignment with both our internal and external natures

Note the repeated use of the term ‘Nature’. We’ve to understand, that ‘Nature’ here is used in a different context, and isn’t just the greeneries and mountains around us. Nature here, refers to both our internal nature, personality, desires, strengths and weaknesses etc. and our external nature, the living, breathing, ever-changing world around us that we interact with. And when we fail to align ourselves properly with this world, we experience stress. This is what Yoga aims to remedy.

Why is Yoga important in our modern lives?

Now, you might ask me “What exactly is the relevance of Yoga you’re trumpeting about?”. Yes, there are other ways to achieve the health and fitness goals of our life, and we often don’t have time to ponder about ancient philosophies that seek to restructure our very view of life itself. So, let’s delve right into the realm of the practical reasons backing Yoga in our lives. 

1. Changing lifestyles

The only thing constant in this inconstant life, is change. Everyday, we have to deal with new challenges, unforeseen circumstances, strange new happenings and a rising demand for productivity. Yes, we have far more material benefits compared to what our ancestors did, but at least, they lived a simpler lifestyle. Ours is vastly more convoluted. That’s why, we need a sort of spiritual discipline that can comfort us at the time of need, help us cope with these changes, and make our seemingly unstructured lives more meaningful. This is what Yoga does. And not just Yoga, when you adhere to any practical philosophy in life, you get to experience the benefits pretty soon. Starting is the hard part, but once the stone gets rolling, it gathers no moss!

2. More exercise

Yes, our ancestors didn’t have all the transit options that we do. But that did have its own benefits. They walked all day long, and unwittingly did more exercise than the most health-conscious folks among us do, nowadays. I’m writing this article right in front of my workdesk, with my computer on it. A totally sedentary process! So, we need more exercise, and routinely so. Walking alone is a great exercise, so imagine what the entire discipline of Yoga has to offer! Prime Minister Modi has rightly called Yoga to be “the health insurance with zero budget”

3. Simplicity

There’s no hard and fast rules regarding Yoga. If you love the description of Yogic philosophy I wrote above, enjoy! If not, just forget it and focus on the material, visible benefits of Yoga, which I’ll mention in the article to follow. And the price you’ve to pay for harvesting those benefits is relatively cheap. Just 10-15 minutes of Yoga everyday can help you get rid of a wide range of ailments, and tackle the potential ones too. When we repeat Yoga, we’re effectively depositing money in the bank, in the hope of getting a gorgeous return someday. Only in this case, the deposit will be our effort and time, and the return will be a healthy, good, prosperous life!

4. Flexibility

Yoga lessons are simple to understand, and there’s a wealth of online resources at your disposal. And the best part, you don’t have to change your lifestyle to fit Yoga into it, because Yoga is very, very flexible! As the Nobel-laureate Umberto Eco put it brilliantly, we should make use of interstices or gaps in time, between chores, events and activities. Yoga can nicely fit into 5-10 minute gaps between your work schedules, and improve your mood by giving you some variety in your life.

5. Easy to learn

The only tool that you need to learn Yoga, is already at your disposal! Yes, it’s your body. Plus, a little bit of time, effort and some introductory resources, all of which could be easily procured online, for free. Thanks to PM Modi’s marvelous social campaigning, there has been an explosion in the amount of Yoga lessons available on media like YouTube, books, eBooks, online courses etc. Yes, it may be hard to master, but rest assured, it’s easy as a breeze to learn!

6. Want to explore more? There’s always room for improvement!

Yoga provides you with a wealth of lessons, materials and resources to learn from. It’s like unboxing a magic treasure-trove, that keeps on generating more treasure! Already, due to huge interest in the west, and here in our great nation, more content is being generated everywhere. This is where things get interesting. Once you master the basics, you can move on to greater, deeper secrets of Yoga. And after you assimilate them, you can share your knowledge with the rest of us! Thus, by benefitting yourself, you’re benefitting everyone, and most importantly, you’re improving Yoga itself! Participation leads to the evolution of Yoga.

Conclusion

So, after all this discussion about Yoga, I hope I’ve piqued your interest enough. If so, I’m delighted! If not, I hope the upcoming article, about the visible, medical benefits of Yoga might help you decide in Yoga’s favour. However, even if you don’t feel Yoga is for you, there’s no harm in exploring the teachings of Yoga, and what others have to say about it. And although I pride myself for not being overly nationalistic, Yoga is one of the things I consider India’s greatest gift to the larger world - a truly timeless treasure-trove of material and spiritual excellence.

Xiaomi MiBand: A user review

The MiBand in all its glory!

If you are, like me, an avid fan of ancient Greek culture, you might be familiar with the Delphic maxim "Know Thyself", or its Indian equivalent Atmanam Biddhih, which basically says the same thing. It is helpful, indeed, to understand oneself properly, because at the core, we're but clever constructs of nature that function with a certain degree of independence. And naturally, being the materialist Stoic that I am, I see the human body as nothing but a complex machine.

Well, enough about philosophy, but it is true that knowing ourself in this busy world means collecting enough data about, well, ourselves! And then, with cleverly constructed algorithms and proper processing power, we can harvest some useful information from that. And for this purpose, we need personal trackers. The Xiaomi MiBand is such a little, personal fitness tracker, that takes a quick and no-nonsense approach to doing the task.

What is the MiBand? 

By now, you've heard of Xiaomi, the Chinese company that's making headlines, both in mainland China and elsewhere. With competitively priced, but premium, devices such as the esteemed Mi3, Mi4, Redmi 1S, Redmi Note etc. Xiaomi is clearly stealing the show from Samsung and Apple in many areas of the world. And the best part, at least in my experience, is that, they don't compromise on quality (unlike most Indian smartphone makers, for instance). 

One of Xiaomi's latest offerings is the MiBand, a personal fitness tracker that lacks a screen and the sheer number of sensors sported by costlier alternatives, but packs in a huge battery life is >30 days, a savory price-tag and quality hardware. It's a step counter/pedometer at heart, with industrial grade aluminium alloy core and (as Xiaomi claims) military-grade exercise sensor. 

What does the MiBand do? 

Well, by now a whole array of better written and professional articles on the MiBand flood the web, so I won't be telling the same tale again. But, being the satisfied customer I am (and a passionate, hobbyist blogger), I guess I owe it to the readers to summarize the functions of the MiBand. 

Primary Functions

Step Counter/Pedometer

The MiBand counts (approximately) the number of steps you take each day, and estimates the number of calories burnt from that (coupling it with your weight, height etc). It also estimates the distance you've covered. 

It's quite accurate, but I must admit this is my first fitness tracker. So I don't know if JawboneUp or Fitbit devices provide even more accurate results. From my personal experience, the MiBand is about 90% accurate. 

Sleep tracker

Using a set of 6 proprietary algorithms that they're not planning to reveal, Xiaomi programmed the MiBand to track your sleep patterns automatically (no manual activation needed). It's a bit less accurate than the step counter, but still works nicely. It also recognizes the phases of light sleep and deep sleep respectively. 

I have the habit of reading long texts on my eReader before dozing off, and sometimes the band mistakes me to be asleep, but I can easily correct it on the next day using the mobile app. And there's another small issue. As of now, the band recognizes only one sleep session. So, your daytime naps aren't recorded automatically. 

Activity tracker 

Currently, the MiBand tracks a handful of activities such as jumping rope, situps and running, and soon new activities are going to be added. You can vote for the activities you'd like to see tracked, and future OTA updates to the band's firmware may get them added. 

From my experience, the situp tracker is decent, and I am not really into jumping ropes. The mobile app can track your routes with your handset's builtin GPS, quite accurately (much like MyTracks, but way simpler). 

Calorie counter 

This is essentially an extension of the pedometer functionality. Using your body weight and height (that you've to enter to create a personal profile) and some proprietary algorithms, MiBand's official app assesses the amount of energy you spend during the day. I can't vouch for its accuracy, but it's a nifty feature anyway. 

In addition, after long walking/exercising sessions, it shows how much fats (in grams) you may have burnt. 

Secondary functions

Vibration alarm 

The MiBand sports 3 alarms in total, and there's no way to raise/decrease the count as of now (but you can enable/disable them at will). During the alarm, the band vibrates strongly, and it feels like someone is tapping you on your wrist repeatedly. I use it to wake up everyday, but I also keep a secondary alarm ready on my phone, 15 minutes later (and I recommend that you do the same, especially if you've got an appointment). There's also an early bird alarm feature, that wakes you up around 30 minutes before the time, so that you can get up more easily at the required moment. 

How you may use the alarms is up to you, but I can say this for myself - 5:00 AM (waking up), 12:00 PM (time to eat something), 9:00 PM (dinner). The typical Indian lifestyle of a student, that's it. 

Notifications 

Using vibration, the band can notify you about WhatsApp messages, incoming calls etc. But for that, your phone's bluetooth will have to be enabled. As for the band, it utilizes BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) that's always ON, but it's only visible to the official app as a bluetooth device. 

It's a nifty feature, but not that useful for me since I am a battery saving freak, and I keep my bluetooth OFF most of the time. 

Smart unlocking feature 

If your device is Mi3 or Mi4, then the band can automatically unlock your phone for you, when you hold it with your band-wearing hand. Yes, that's it! It's quite nifty, and works like a charm. It's setup easily from inside the official app, and in a way, it's like your phone recognizing you. Anyone else would have to go through the pattern/lockcode/password feature first. 

But here again, you have to keep the bluetooth activated. Whether you use this feature or not, depends largely on your lifestyle. 

Design and Experience

To be honest, I was skeptical at first, regarding the device's supposed capabilities. The sensor is the size of my thumb, and the rest of the band is just the strap. But after using it for a few days, I am more than satisfied.

The MiBand is IP67 certified, meaning that it is fully dust-resistant, and resistant to water up to the depth of 1 m. This also means that you don't have to take the band off during showers. Soap and shampoo too don't seem to have any effect on the sensor. 

As for ease of use, the band is extremely lightweight. Other than when asleep or changing clothes, I often forget that I'm actually wearing it. Also, the band's polycarbonate strapping is anti-bacterial and anti-allergenic. That's what Xiaomi claims, at least. 

The band itself resembles a bracelet. It's more of a wear and forget device, once you strap it on, just go about your business and the band will keep on collecting data. MiBand uses BLE connectivity, so when you open the MiBand app, data is synced between the sensor and the app. 

Lastly, the battery is really, really awesome! Since it is only 41 mAH in capacity, you can charge the device fully in an hour or so. But although Xiaomi claims the battery life to be 30 days, I'm certain the actual figure exceeds that! Battery deplets very slowly, owing mostly to the lack of any attached screen, and the usual drain is around 2-3% a day. You can still conserve it more by turning off vibrations, extra alarms etc. 

When you conclude the day's goal (10,000 steps for me), the band vibrates twice, and the LED lights start glittering on it. Yeah, you can start your Victory Dance then. You can also change the colour of the LED lights using the app. But watching your progress on the band, without opening the app, is slightly tricky. You have to raise your wrist in front of your eyes, as if seeing your watch, and hold it there for around 2-3 seconds. Then, the lights will glitter. 1 steady light and 2 blinking ones indicate that you've completed 1/3rd of your goal, and so on. 

Conclusion 

The MiBand is, in my opinion, an excellent device for the price. The battery life, coupled with simplicity, durability and fairly high level of accuracy, make it the ideal device for the hobbyist life-logger like me. In fact, more pricey solutions like Sony Smartband and Fitbit Flex have much more frequent charge-discharge cycles than the MiBand. No other smartband that I know of, can boast such long battery life like the Xiaomi MiBand.

Before buying the product, I read online that the band often mistook commutes as walking/running sessions. That may have been the case before, but when I took the bus yesterday, MiBand accurately stopped recording the distance covered. I'm certain, an update to the firmware (1.0.6.0 at present) has fixed the issue, assuming that it had existed previously. 

Wearing the MiBand is a great experience. I have become somewhat psychologically attached to the band, given the geek I am, I guess. But truly, having someone, or rather, something, looking after you in a digital way, noticing your every step and even your sleep, is simply great! It's like having a digital guardian angel. Also, it motivates me greatly, to get more active. 

So, it's a 5/5 star from me! Wish it had a pulse-rate monitor as well, but I really can't complain in any way. 

Image credits: http://www.mi.com/sg/miband/