Tillitonse - A Transformational Journey Together

AUTHENTIC NOT PERFECT... One of my powerful insights over the past year is to try and embrace my imperfections rather than the other two choices - a) trying to look perfect to others or b) denying my imperfections to myself. This age old practice is allowing me to be lighter...on myself and others...and increasing play the observer. This allows me to smile and treat the 'naughty child' with benevolence rather than as an errant one who deserves punishment or being banished. Hence, the article below resonated. Curious to know your reactions.... http://devdutt.com/articles/indian-mythology/shiva/who-made-god-perfect.html

“IS THAT ALL THIS PERSON DID? YOU WERE LUCKY. I WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE SEVERE.” And with those incisive words followed by a stare, Altaf moved away! I was left shaking……Looking back it was clear that I first needed to be jolted. When I followed up with him, the wisdom he so forcefully communicated slowly dawned upon me. Ever so often in you life, you respect, trust and like someone well enough that you simply just HAVE to be authentic! No BS, no PC, no playing games, but just be yourself. Actually, you don’t have a choice. Just being in their presence makes you drop all pretences. Do you have someone like that in your life? I hope you do. I first saw Altaf Shaik a year ago as I began my coach certification program. Actually, that does not capture it well. Altaf saw right through me. I can’t recall ever feeling so exposed in the very first encounter with him. His piercing eyes are truly a window to his soul – a reservoir of courage, commitment, authenticity and...

I WAITED FOR A SIGN…. It’s been a week….There was a part of me that wanted to make the announcement and share my joy and for some reason there was a silent whisper that kept me “wait for the right moment.” And so this morning, when the omniscient Facebook, announced that that it was  Jagruti Gala 's b’day, I knew the universe was nudging me. In March last year, I began a journey to become a certified coach. While I thought I joined the program to acquire skills, I am blown awa y by the overall transformative experience the process has been for me. At the centre of this wonder lay Jagruti and the other wonderful coaches/teachers who not just taught me how to become a coach, but inspired me to become a better human! Nay, they did more, a lot more…they created an environment of trust, empathy, ‘edginess’ and candour that made it safe for me to look within myself, accept my ‘demons’, celebrate my innate talents and equip me to embody courage, compassion and commitment. ...

“You've got to know when to hold 'em Know when to fold 'em Know when to walk away And know when to run” Just experienced something powerful that brought home these wonderful lyrics from Kenny Rogers (‘The Gambler’) Sw. Satynananda founded the Bihar School of Yoga in Munger from scratch. Yep, while others supported his vision, but it was his drive that made it happen. Over a twenty year period (1963-1983), he led the establishment of one of the most revered platforms for the serious holistic yoga practitioner.   And then he walked out….. At a relative young age (early 50s), after choosing and mentoring a successor, Sw. Satyananda walked out of the gates of the Munger ashram…never to return. Imagine that! Just walking away after creating something HUGE! His rationale – to avoid the ashram to become synonymous with one individual (himself). During my recent trip to the Ashram, this story was beautifully captured in the move ‘Sathyam.’    What a wonde...

“I AM LOOKING FOR A GREAT JEDI MASTER…” I have been visiting the Ashrams of the Bihar School of Yoga since 2011. During my first visit to the Rikhia Ashram, a wizened old soul gingerly walked up to the front of the group, sat down and looked up at us. When he spoke, we could at first, hardly hear him. He asked us if we knew a few mantras….we did not. Then he asked us what ‘asanas’ (yoga postures) we knew and reeled off a few names. He saw us looking none the wiser and I could feel his disappointment. His already aged shoulders seemed to sink further. He then led us through some chants and once done with that, got up and hobbled away. Ever since that moment, I had him labeled. During my subsequent visits to the Ashrams, I saw him often lead the chanting in a raspy voice. Ever so often I would see him sitting on a chair, while most others sat cross-legged on the floor. Yup, my labeling of him by now was complete – as a frail old man whose primary role in the ashram it ...

The devil quietly entered and made a brief struggle with sleep into a full-blown insomnia episode! So here I was, back in the ashram of the Bihar School of Yoga in interior India. It’s been almost 18 months since I last spent any substantial time at the Ashram. It was just about when I was trying to sleep on my second night there when the devil made its move. Slowly but surely, the old game played itself …. I found myself   revisiting the same conversation in my head that I had during my initial visits to the Ashram in 2011-2012. What happens? Well, I get to the ashram and very quickly, the daily routine, being amidst people I can’t immediately relate to, feeling trapped by the rules (no talking while eating, or being locked into your dorm by 7.30pm for instance), gets to me. Ala Neo trying to find a way to exit the Matrix, I find myself running through all the reasons for leaving the place. Of course, in an attempt to not loose face, the rationale for leaving have...

WHERE TIME SEEMS TO STAND STILL I am sure this happened to you too…. …when you catch a glimpse that time stands still. I was on the train from Calcutta to Jamalpur, Bihar en-route to the ashrams of the Bihar School of Yoga when I experienced this beautiful ethereal moment. The train slowed down and eventually made an unscheduled stop somewhere near Bhagalpur. I looked out of the not to clear windows of the 2 nd AC compartment. The field seemed to roll on to eternity….and I espied a snake. A snake of women (and a few men) carrying bales on their heads trudging along silently. The snake made its way to the stationary train. And one of the women broke away from the group and looked back….the solitary reaper. Maybe she too was seeing what I was…..time standing still... It seemed like generations of women (and men) had trudged this silent path.   As I pulled out my i-phone to take this picture, this juxtaposition of modernity against this timeless background struck a ...

NOTHING LIKE HOME..... For the past thirty years, I have been fortunate to travel to some fascinating places and met some amazing people. In early January, as I paused and thought about the year ahead the desire to develop stronger roots professionally and socially in my hometown Chennai came through strongly. So, over the past two days, engaging with the wonderful folks at Footprint Leisure, a high end luxury boutique travel firm, has been particularly gratifying! A two day workshop on Emotional Intelligence has kicked off a long term relationship to support this small and motivated team to lead more enjoyable and fulfilling lives! Once again, the amazing power of harnessing the power of one’s thoughts and emotions to manifest what one wants shines through clearly. GRATITUDE!

SEX AND GENDER ARE NOT THE SAME???? I was preparing for the interactive session with a group of male managers at GE’s   Jack Welsh Technology Centre on the occasion of International Women’s Day. Man, I prepped quite a bit (no pun intended). I reached out to my dear friend Uttara for input. Her simple comment threw me – “How about talking about the difference between gender and sex?” I don’t know about you, but for me, the words seemed interchangeable – images of numerous immigration forms flashed through my eyes where I had to choose between the two ‘gender’ choices..... Then she explained. And wham, the penny dropped!!!! I realized that while I knew (and had internalized) many of the concepts, I was unaware of the simple yet profound definition of ‘gender.’ Shaken and Humbled! Thank you Uttara! As I prepped more, a goldmine was discovered. The links between Emotional Intelligence and Gender became apparent….and this became the topic of the session I led yesterday...