MN YOGA + Life® | Spring + Summer 2023

Page 23

INDU ARORA (She/her)

Evolution WHERE ARE YOU LOCATED? Minneapolis, MN

WHAT GETS YOU EXCITED ABOUT MN YOGA + LIFE MAGAZINE? With every single release of MN YOGA + Life magazine, I see the MN community coming together and moving forward as a mindful, responsible, and aware sangha for the betterment of many. This to me is heartwarming and reassuring that we must be doing something right here in our own land of 10,000 lakes.

WHAT IS YOUR VISION AS A COVER MODEL FOR MN YOGA + LIFE? To convey how real progress (in life and in yoga) takes time, effort, and patience. No matter what, keep learning and unlearning, for it requires both emptying and filling in tandem. To stay steady on the yogic path, it is important to pay attention to everyday health (physical, pranic, mental) and not just health as some future goal. Through my work, I like to emphasize adopting selfcare practices (as laid out in ayurvedic texts as morning, evening, and seasonal care and yamas and niyama of yoga sutras) as essential, non-negotiable, and swadharma.

HOW DO YOU INTEGRATE YOGA INTO YOUR LIFE/ WORK BALANCE? Yoga to me is 24 x 7 x 365 days of awareness, discernment, and balance, not a one-hour practice or few hours of study or a few days of teaching. Yoga, truly speaking, is not even work for me, but my dharma, my karma, and my life. I share so I can repay the debt

MNYOGALIFE.COM

ON THE COVER

Requires Learning + Unlearning of wisdom to my teachers who shared the timeless practices, philosophy, and rituals effortlessly and unconditionally. Personally, as a practice on the mat, it changes based on the time of the day, season of the year, and my physical, mental, emotional, and pranic state.

WHAT DOES EVOLVE MEAN TO YOU? To be able to contract, stretch, or invert our mental landscape as needed; evolve to me means “to stay flexible.” If we stay stuck with “this is who I am,” “this is what I know,” and “this is what I do” narratives, we cannot evolve. We must stay open, humble, and ready to be stirred or stilled as needed. May we learn from the five elements and keep transforming as needed: be steady like a rock to fight the good fight, flow with ease when life becomes unpredictable, radiate enthusiasm to meet new challenges, diffuse the stress by easing the breath, and learn to simply be without chasing constant accomplishments, accolades, and approvals.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? The colors of dawn and dusk.

COFFEE OR TEA? Chai.

ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO SHARE? Say NO to yoga of extremes! So many times, I observe practitioners dabbling between what I understand as the yoga of extremes. Yoga inherently is a state of balance, moderation, and equanimity. Any kind of extremes, be it movement or stillness, exertion

or inertia, hot or cold, comfort or discomfort, and so on over a period of time will lead to imbalance. Likewise, it is not yoga for a specific dosha like vata, pitta, or kapha. It is always yoga of Vikruti (imbalance) towards yoga of Prakruti (balance). No matter the state of imbalance, the effort should not be to move to the other end, but to the center/equanimity. This is called “upeksha” in Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, yoga of “samatvam” (balance) as stated in Bhagavad Gita, or the state of “madhyasta” (center) as mentioned in Vijnana Bhairava Tantra. None of vedic or tantrika literature points towards extremes. Be mindful of the yoga you practice; it will only be you who will taste the fruit of your yoga. Irrespective of the yoga you practice, may it always be the “yoga of common sense.” Indu Arora, an ayurveda and yoga teacher, mentor, and author considers herself a student for lifetime. Sharing about yoga philosophy, yoga therapy, ayurveda, and tantra since 1999, Indu taught under Kriya Yoga, Himalayan Yoga, Tantra (SriVidya and Kashmir Shivaism) lineages in a traditional guru Shishya Paramapara setting, all of which inspire her. Her teaching style is rooted in empowering and inspiring students through self-inquiry. Her core philosophy is, ‘yoga is work-in not work-out!” She is the author of three books, Mudra: The Sacred Secret, Yoga - Ancient Heritage, Tomorrow’s Vision, and SOMA - 100 Heritage Recipes for Self-Care. +

YOU CAN FIND INDU ARORA AT: WEBSITE: Yogsadhna.com IG: @Induaroraofficial

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AMY ZELLMER LoveYourBrain Community Member

2min
pages 90-91

RECURRING EVENTS

10min
pages 86-88

WHY IS IT BENEFICIAL TO DRINK TURMERIC?

2min
pages 84-85

BOOK REVIEW: WILD YOGA

3min
page 83

FOREST BATHING

1min
pages 82-83

My secret to a healthy glow: 3 Simple Steps

1min
page 81

YOGI’S HALO: Glow Like the Moon in 3 Steps

1min
page 80

BOOK REVIEW: BETWEEN FRIENDS Not Your Average Romance Novel

2min
page 79

3 WARRIOR POWERS OF AMETHYST

1min
pages 78-79

NETI SOLUTIONS for a Better Season

2min
pages 76-77

ALIGNING YOUR DOLLARS TO YOUR DREAMS

4min
pages 74-76

CHI FOODS

1min
page 73

AVIATOR

0
page 72

THE POWER OF THE SANKALPA

3min
pages 70-71

SATYA + GROWTH

3min
page 69

SELF-CARE 2.0

3min
pages 68-69

THE EVOLUTION OF EMBRACING EASE

3min
pages 66-67

EVOLVE INTUITIVELY

1min
page 65

5 STEPS TO “WHAT’S NEXT?”

1min
page 64

EVOLVE

3min
pages 63-64

CHANNELING YOUR INNER WISDOM

1min
page 62

AYURVEDIC SLOW-AGING Transformation

4min
pages 60-62

THE EVOLUTION OF A PHARMACIST

3min
pages 58-59

INTUITIVE EATING

3min
pages 56-57

SELF EVOLUTION

1min
page 55

THE IMPORTANCE OF DISCOMFORT

1min
page 54

Your Pet’s Constitution

2min
pages 53-54

AYURVEDA FOR CATS AND DOGS

2min
pages 52-53

GOOD VIBRATIONS The Evolution of Sound Therapy

3min
pages 50-51

REVOLVE TO EVOLVE

0
pages 44-45

RECLAIM YOUR ATTENTION

3min
pages 42-43

TURN UP YOUR VOICE!

2min
pages 40-41

SUBTLE BODY SCIENCE Guided by Intuition

2min
pages 38-39

COMBATTING THE MYTH of Inevitable Pain with Age

3min
pages 36-38

HEALTHY HIPS & HAMMIES PROTOCOL

1min
page 35

HAPPY HIPS + HAMMIES

1min
page 34

ELEVATE YOUR EVOLUTION With Yoga

2min
page 33

SPRING CLEAN YOUR MIND with this Guided Meditation

2min
page 32

THE YOGA VITAMINS

3min
pages 30-31

CHAIR YOGA: Accessible Yoga for Everyone

2min
pages 28-30

WHAT IS THE ENERGETIC HIGHWAY?

2min
page 27

YOGA IN SCHOOLS

2min
page 26

IS BODY HATRED Sneaking into Your Yoga?

3min
pages 24-26

Evolution Requires Learning + Unlearning

3min
page 23

STUDIO SPOTLIGHT: SHANTI YOGA STUDIO Jessie Sandoval

4min
pages 20-21

SPOTLIGHT: BACK TO CENTER Laura Willenbring

4min
pages 18-19

SPOTLIGHT: MOXIE MALAS Jessica Hoch

5min
pages 16-18

SPOTLIGHT: HILLMAN RETREAT HOUSE

3min
pages 14-15

STUDIO SPOTLIGHT: MINNEAPOLIS YOGA Melissa Sargent

5min
pages 12-13

CONTRIBUTORS

11min
pages 8-11

EVOLVE

2min
pages 4-5, 7
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