u/Writing_Soul_

Dearest Gentle Readers,

Waking up early is like opening a hidden door to the day. At first, 7:30 felt natural, then 6:00 became possible, and now 5:00 feels almost easy. With practice, the body and mind adjust, and mornings begin to feel lighter.

Many Isha meditators rise even earlier, at Brahma Muhurat, around 3:40 am. It is said to be the most peaceful time, when the mind is calm and the energy is fresh. Even with busy jobs and routines, they make space for their kriyas at that hour.

The joy is not only in finishing the practice, but in starting the day with clarity and strength. It feels like you have already won the morning before the world wakes up.

Do you notice that waking earlier has made your whole day flow more smoothly, not just the mornings?

https://preview.redd.it/0d3n51cw88ah1.jpg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7f3b26403a86f7589c4602576a7e167c64c1540a

Dearest Gentle Readers,

This is the story of a girl who changed, inside and out, and today I would love to answer any questions you have about it.

For years I carried the same 18 kilograms. I tried to lose weight more times than I can count, and nothing held. So this is not really a weight loss story, even though that is how it might look from outside.

On 25 July 2025, I was initiated into Shambhavi Mahamudra Kriya, and life has not been the same since.

One practice quietly led to another. Yogasanas in July. The 108 km Baba Dham Kanwar Yatra in August. Bhava Spandana in September. Surya Kriya in December. The Shoonya intensive in April.

While I was moving through these, something much deeper was happening within me.

Without forcing anything, my lifestyle changed on its own. Two meals a day. No junk food. The anxiety that once lived in me slowly dissolved. Discipline stopped being a rule I had to impose on myself and became something I actually wanted.

And somewhere in between, the 18 kg left. The same weight that had stayed with me through every diet and every attempt. But the real change was never on the weighing scale. It was in my energy.

Yoga taught me how to breathe. Breathing taught me how to run. Today I run with a joy I never thought I would feel. People might call it weight loss, or fitness, or discipline. For me it is something simpler. When your energy changes, your life starts to change. Your body follows. Your mind follows. Your choices follow.

I am happy to answer questions about:

How the weight came off without dieting or forcing it

What each of the practices was actually like, especially for a beginner

How my eating and anxiety changed on their own

What it felt like to go from not running at all to running with joy

I will be answering live from 07.30 PM to 08.30 PM IST on 30th June 2026. Please drop your questions below and I will get to as many as I can.

Regards, Payal

Dearest Gentle Readers,

Ever since I began my morning detox with Turmeric and Neem, I have not once fallen ill with fever - even while practicing yoga at 5 a.m. in the biting chill of Delhi’s 3-degree winters. This simple ritual has been transformative. Turmeric and Neem (Neem, of course, only for those not planning pregnancy) can support the body in remarkable ways:

1. Reducing Inflammation - an essential ally in my journey of inflammation-related weight loss.
2. Strengthening the Immune System - especially valuable during my frequent travels across different cities.
3. Enhancing Digestion - a true game changer for early mornings people.

If I may recommend, just 1-2 tablets each day can enrich your practices and life rituals in subtle yet profound ways.

P.S. While placing my order today, I was reminded of something I’ve never said enough—thank you to Isha Life.

Dearest Gentle Readers,

Some of my earliest memories are not of grand celebrations, but of watching my father eat.

Before taking his first bite, he would quietly place a small portion of food and a little water on the ground. Then, with a gentle movement of his hand, he would complete a ritual that lasted barely a minute.

As a child, I was endlessly curious.

“Who is that food for?” I would ask.

“For our ancestors,” he would say. “Because of them, we are here.”

And then he would add something that stayed with me long after childhood:

“The greatest food in the world is the food served on your plate.”

I never fully understood those words then. Sometimes I followed the ritual, most times I forgot.

Years passed. College happened. Then came corporate life—rushed mornings, hurried lunches, meals squeezed between deadlines. Though I often ate in haste, I rarely wasted food. Somewhere beneath all the noise, the seed my father had planted remained alive.

Much later, I witnessed another way of approaching food.

At Isha, during Bhava Spandana I sat among more than a hundred women before a meal. Everyone joined in a simple prayer.
At first, I only observed.
But over time, the prayer stayed with me.

Today, before eating, there is often a moment of gratitude, a brief pause before the first bite.
The food on the plate has not changed.
But the way I receive it has.

And sometimes I wonder how something that takes less than a minute can slowly reshape the way we live.

Perhaps rituals are not meant to impress us.

Perhaps they are simply reminders, gentle pauses that help us remember where we belongs too.

Dearest Gentle Readers,

I was an overthinker.

My mind would imagine a thousand things at once, running endlessly without pause. I tried many things to quiet it down, but the thoughts kept racing.

Then came Bhava Spandana.

The program was scheduled to begin at noon, but I had arrived at the ashram a day earlier. That morning, I woke up at 4 a.m., took a bath, and walked towards Dhyanalinga.

The gates would open only at 6 a.m., so I waited outside. Around me, I saw swamis silently moving about and volunteers performing rituals. There was no rush, no unnecessary noise, just a certain stillness that seemed to belong to the place itself.

Later that day, I returned.

Before entering, I noticed the pillar engraved with symbols of different faiths. It reminded me that Dhyanalinga was not bound by religion, caste, culture, or belief. It was presented as a scientific possibility, open to anyone willing to experience it.

There was Sadhguru’s poem. There were the six portrait that I later learned represented devotees in their most intense and diverse expressions of devotion. There was a sculpted figure forever bowing towards the Linga. There were volunteers in white, gently guiding people to maintain the sanctity of the space.

And then there was this.

The Dhyanalinga itself.

Had I seen a Shiva Linga before? Of course.

Yet this felt different.

The moment I stepped inside, it was as if everything paused.
I didn’t know what to do next, so I simply followed what everyone else was doing.
My eyes were closed, and there was only a deep, resonant hmmm…

It was heavy, yet light.
It was distant, yet inside.

There were hundreds of people around me, but somehow the experience felt intensely personal. Even the way food offerings were handled caught my attention, everything was carefully preserved and reused with mindfulness rather than discarded.

It didn’t feel like a temple.

In fact, it felt like an entirely different universe.

Or perhaps not.

Perhaps it was simply a space where, for a brief moment, I experienced what life felt like without the noise I had always mistaken for myself.

Maybe Or maybe not.

Baba, you are beautiful,
you always were.
Even when I look from far or near,
your essence is always there.

You don't need approval
from anyone external, out there;
for all you need to shine is your inner beauty,
and the world will be at your duty.

Baba, you were beautiful,
but you never looked inside.
All you did was search for the mirror
and kept the wisdom aside.

- Payal Mishra

P.S - This is the poem I wrote back in September 2025 after coming back from Bhava Spandana(Advance Program).

Baba - Myself (refer to Tripling Series)

For anyone who has experienced the program, I think you can relate 😊

Wisdom, HE shared through books.

Maybe I have not met HIM, but definitely I have read HIM.

Dearest Gentle Readers,

01.02.2026 - It was the culmination of my 21-day Bhairavi Sadhana, and coincidentally, the day of the Navy Marathon 10KM race in Delhi. For three months I had been preparing for the run, and destiny chose to place both milestones on the same morning.

The rules of culmination were clear: the first meal could only be taken after noon. Until then, just honey water and sprouted green gram. It was Sunday, 3 a.m., when I woke, bathed with natural soap from Isha Life, packed my Devi saree carefully into my bag, and dressed in my Save Soil t-shirt, shorts, and running shoes. At the race counter, I left my baggage behind, carrying only determination.

There was a quiet tension within me - no salt, only water. Salt, the runner’s lifeline, was forbidden. But Devi was with me. Step after step, I did not stop. For the entire 10 km, I ran without pause, completing the race in 96 minutes, sustained only by water and faith.

Afterward, I went straight to Isha Delhi, draped myself in my Devi saree, and joined the culmination. When the moment of blessing arrived, something within me dissolved. Tears flowed - not of sorrow, but of joy. A happy cry, as if my being had finally settled into place.

At 2 p.m., I had my first meal. Simple, yet it felt complete. That day was more than a race or a ritual, it was a union of discipline, devotion, and destiny.

It was, and will always remain, a special day for me.