Spiritual Gear: 5 Material essentials for your

spiritual path

Lululemon is a $2 Billion company. Kripalu pulls in annual revenues of $30 Million. Deepak Chopra

has five pages of meditation products on his website. Makes you wonder about the Himalayan yogis sitting

in their caves, doesn’t it? How do they manage to reach God without all this paraphernalia? While I

haven’t stripped down to just a loin cloth yet, these are the only five essentials I’ve seen add value to my

yoga and meditation practice over the years:

Manduka Yoga matI’m 6ft 4-inches tall, as a result, my feet are

typically slipping on the floor in plank or downward dog. Were it not for Manduka’s marvelous extra

length yoga mat, that is! But don’t get it just for the generous size. The Manduka mat has a legendary

sturdiness. For all twelve months of our sabbatical, the mat was tied to the outside of my

backpack, weathering

snowstorms and the burning sun, through the most rugged of environments from Europe to India

by road via buses, trains and ferries, from Rameshwaram in the deep south of India to

Gangotri right at the top of the Himalayas, never fraying or tearing even a bit. Highly, highly

recommended.

Zafu meditation cushionI’m a firm believer that meditation is free and democratic—you need no apps, props, secret

mantras, Gurus etc. But if you’re not a born yogi (or were not one in one of your 84,000 previous lives), then sitting cross-legged on the floor for

more than

thirty minutes can be a challenge. The fix is simple. Your hips need to be at a higher elevation

vis-à-vis your legs. You can sit on a couple of pillows to achieve that effect but this vibrant red

Zafu cushion gets you up just a tad more elegantly.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: A commentary by BKS Iyengar From Christ to Buddha to Rumi to

Mohammed, mystics through the entire history of human life have had stunningly similar

experiences of the ultimate reality, the One who cannot be expressed. Except by Patanjali, the 2nd

century BC, mystic-

intellectual that is. He collated the entire body of ancient Eastern yoga in a taut, highly readable

summary. This is the only book you need to dive into the heart of Eastern spirituality (oh—and THE

SEEKER of course!)

Integrative Nutrition CourseMy dietary changes have greatly helped my yoga and meditation practice by allowing me to have a

light, vibrating energy throughout the day. The right food has also enhanced my productivity allowing me

to make more time for my spiritual

practice. All thanks to my wife, Kerry, being a graduate of this course. The online version of this course is easily accessible to all and yogi or not, I highly recommend it to get the most out of your

life.

10 day silent Vipassana meditation retreatTypically, I find meditation retreats hokey with their

chanting, gongs, and self-help affirmations. Vipassana is the only exception. The course is

tough, scientific, and logical—and will allow you to create your independent meditation practice for

life. I’ve done Vipassana three times and each time it’s given me something—the first time, a spiritual ideology, next, a deeper meditation

practice and finally, the idea for THE YOGA OF MAX’S DISCONTENT which turned out to be my first international release. Highly recommended. And if you pair it with a yoga teacher’s training,

you may well just start walking on water!

If any of the above help you reach enlightenment, do drop me a line from the other side. And maybe,

I’ll see you there too. Until then, don’t forget to download my meditation video course and Kerry’s

yogic nutrition supplement here. Yes, it’s free!

For more details

Visit us @

http://www.karanbajaj.com/