Wellness & the Brain 🧠💭

Happy Holi! As you may know this festival symbolises the burning away of past worries, anger and your ego as you’re losing yourself in colour and share the same identity as everyone else, reminding us that we’re all connected through our shared consciousness.

You’ll have heard us say: yoga isn’t asana practice alone and doesn’t have to be asana practice at all. What we really try to do when we practise yoga is to let go of control, feel connection and accept the highs and lows of life without attachment or aversion. That way we’ll have a fuller experience of life as well as a lighter one. And just as the colours of Holi fade, we recognise and accept the impermanence of life and everything that happens in and around us.

In Conversation with…

Last month, Bassanti had the pleasure of being interviewed by the wonderful Sarah Austin, founder of the Really Helpful Club. We talked about the science behind yoga, why a daily meditation is a must, and how to hack into our brains and bodies to get the full and lasting benefits of posture, movement, breathing and concentration. We live in a world which bombards us with things we “should” buy and which exposes us to constant stimulation – and our bodies and brains react to this. In fact, marketers are successfully using the ways our bodies work to make us want more and chase that next dopamine hit as well as triggering fear in us and sparking our fight or flight response. So now more than ever, it’s crucial to implement yogic techniques which counter these detrimental brain changes. You’ll find the full conversation below.

Wellbeing Talk at the “International Association for Peace and Economic Development”

This week, Bassanti was part of another wellbeing event hosted by the Universal Peace Federation: ‘Redefining Prosperity: Business and the Pursuit of Wellbeing’. She spoke about the importance of meditation and awareness techniques for economic growth. The day was a good reminder that we are not alone in the struggle to make wellness a must in the corporate world. After ten years of working in corporate wellbeing, it is often frustrating that we still need to point out the obvious fact that your workforce is your biggest asset and that if you’re thinking about the bottom line, you need to take steps to keep your staff healthy and happy, so they can use their full brain power. Bassanti shared the stage with three amazing experts in their field, so do check out the full talk here.

NeuroYoga x NeuroVeda – April Neuroscience & Yoga Conference

In more exciting news: on April 23-27, Bassanti will be part of this year’s Neuroscience & Yoga Conference in New York, organised by neurologist Jonathan Rosenthal’s company NeuroYoga. The event is designed to bridge the gap between neuroscience and yoga, transcend misinformation, and share the actual science of how yoga affects the brain, which all of you will know, is something very close to our heart – and it felt apt for NeuroVeda to collaborate with NeuroYoga. 😃 The conference is packed with expert presentations from PhDs and MDs as well as yoga classes from top teachers, and this year focuses on hormonal health and brain injury. Bassanti’s classes zone in on science & mythology as well as on hormonal health. There are free and paid for options and you can join online or in person, live and later, so sign up here. 🧠