Just Walking Around

Yoga –A way of Life

You get up early do all your routine in a hurried manner. Most times you skip breakfast and rush to office just to beat the traffic , just so you can reach a few minutes early and plump at your workbench. You sit there all day long in that chair , your back and neck all stiff from punching at the keyboard and multitasking with the desk phone to the ear. Sometimes it’s well past your lunchtime and you say might as well grab a sandwich and a Cola to save time and be back at the desk. You work at the computer staring at the screen like a zombie. You answer some more calls and finally end the day well past 7 or 8 o’clock. Then rush to catch that fast local or grab a UBER / OLA to head back home . Have some dinner catch up on the news if you are and plump on the bed to catch a few winks before the routine begins all over again.

Then one day you are ordered by the office management to have your Annual Comprehensive Health Check up with the partnered Pathological Lab’s like SRL Diagnostics or  Fortis Healthcare. The test are routine blood check for diabetes, cholesterol and other body part analysis like Liver , Spleen and Kidney’s. You are anxious about the test results like a school going kid and finally the Lab reports are in. You look at all the red remarks – your blood sugar is borderline on the higher side, your bad cholesterol is High and going through the roof . Some may have their Livers remarked as sluggish and needs attention. The doctor attached with the Labs prescribes total lifestyle change , puts you on a diet and you get worried , what went wrong.

But this is the new normal. You work like a dog and take all the stress that comes your way and finally end up bruised and maligned healthwise. You think of changing your lifestyle but don’t know what to do . Some of your colleagues suggest hitting the Gym. Some say they need to hit the road either jogging or speed walking . The ladies decide to do the in thing like Zumba. Then some wise guy in the office says “Why not try Yoga”

You start thinking of all the asanas (twisting your body in unimaginable positions) and the bearded man in orange robe teaching Kapalbhati on television . But Yoga is much more and beyond all this. Derived from the Sanskrit word yuj, Yoga means union of the individual consciousness or soul with the Universal Consciousness or Spirit. Yoga is a 5000-year-old Indian body of knowledge. Though many think of yoga only as a physical exercise where people twist, turn, stretch, and breathe in the most complex ways, these are actually only the most superficial aspect of this profound science of unfolding the infinite potentials of the human mind and soul. The science of Yoga imbibes the complete essence of the Way of Life.

Yoga is more than 10,000 years old. The earliest metion of the contemplative tradition is found inn the oldest surviving literature Rig Veda. It dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization. The Pashupati seal from the same civilization shows a figurine in yogic pose, further corroborating its prevalence in those olden times. The practice of Pranayam of the art of breathing in and breathing out , which we all have lost in todays hurried life is mentioned as a hymn in Chandogya Upanishad. Yoga was seen as a process of inner journey or ascent of consciousness.

Vratya , a grup of ascetics mentioned in the Athravaveda , emphasized on bodily postures which may have evolved into Yogasanas. Even Samhitas mention munis, sages and seers who practiced rigorous deportments to meditate or do tapasya.

Yoga is discussed in the ancient foundational Sutra of Hindu philosophy and is perhaps most elaborately mentioned in Patanjali Yogasutra. Patanjali defines yoga in his 2^nd sutra as : “Yogah Citta-vrtti-nirodhaya” meaning  “Yoga is the stilling of the modifications of the mind”. Patanjali’s writing also became the basis of Ashtanga Yoga. Many practices like five vows in Jainism and Yogachara of Buddhism have their root in Patanjali Yogasutra. The medieval ages saw the development of Hatha Yoga. Patanjali is considered father of Yoga and his Yoga Sutras the bible of Yoga , dedicated to the knowledge of Yoga.

The western world has adopted this physical practice of Yoga be it in the form of the regular Yoga or the extreme action Yoga a combination of kick boxing & yoga asanas. Or another variant a combination of Aerobics and Yoga exercises tuned to pump-up music.

But the best way to practice Yoga is to join your friendly neighbourhood Yoga centre. In Dadar-Matunga belt you have 2 of the oldest such centers . One is the Shri Ramtirth Yogashram at Dadar East close to the Hindu Colony . Shri Ramtirth Yogashram began its activities in 1933 , with an aim of propagating Yoga & Nature cure. Till date they conduct Yoga classes early in the morning with fine tutors experienced in Asanas , Meditation and Pranayam. Students and Patients from all over the globe have come here and availed of the teachings and treatment.

The other being The Yoga Institute in Matunga Market near the famous Shri Kankhya Parmeshwari Temple. Their founder Shri Yogendraji’s life mission was to bring yoga out of the forest , hermitages and make it accessible to the common men , women , young , old, sick , healthy , people of castes and communities in all parts of the world. To actualize his mission he and his wife Smt.Sitadevi worked tirelessly to make the science of Yoga available to people, the world over and founded The Yoga Institute in 1948.The simplicity, sincerity & non-commercial angle of The Yoga Institute caters to householders and offers guidelines of how to manage self and keep up one’s sanity as well as balance in today’s competitive & tension ridden world.

One of the beauties of the physical practice of yoga is that the poses support & sustain you no matter how old or young or fit of frail , you come to your mat. As you age , your understanding of asana becomes more sophisticated. You move from working on the external alignment & mechanics of the pose to refining the inner actions to finally just being in the asana.

So go out there , start a new life , learn to be one with the universe by way meditation , pranayama and Yoga asanas.

To quote the legendary Yoga Guru B.K Iyengar “ Live Happily and Die Majestically” , for you have this one life live it to the fullest….try Yoga and Reach your balance…