YOGA – A FRIEND FOR LIFE

YOGA – A FRIEND FOR LIFE

 

I feel I have been associated with yoga since time immemorial! Though educated in a Catholic Christian school with Irish sisters and nuns minding our Ps' n Qs', surprisingly the study environment was very Indian. We had compulsory yoga and moral Science classes including tales from our Indian mythology.

As a child, naturally blessed with a slender and flexible built, yoga was just a means to impress cousins during vacations by twisting into jaw dropping positions. With a propensity towards sinus related allergies, basic pranayama was drilled in by the mater at home. In my pre-teens, the attitude towards it was of an unpleasant chore to be done before being let loose to enjoy life.

Fast forward many years: one marriage, two children, lots of carelessness and the arrogance of youth took their toll. I developed a weak knee which would buckle at most inopportune moments. Just my luck that my mother in law was a certified yoga teacher. There was no escaping it. In spite of having 2 toddlers to raise, I was forced to wake up early and re learn the rudiments of yoga. Slowly, as I saw the actual evidence of improvement, it became a part of my life.

But again, the attitude was questionable. In my passion to find a quick fix for my knee, there was no place for the philosophy of yoga or trying to connect to my inner self. Meditation, Pranayama.., I had neither the patience nor the inclination. Only plus point was my persistence and the burgeoning love for the yoga asanas.

Over the years, I have attended various classes to discover one fact… Yoga courses have re-purposed themselves to the single-most important need of the hour, ie weight loss. They use whatever means possible: hot yoga, aerobic yoga, kickboxing yoga, multiple surya namaskars, etc. Even when I found one somewhat appealing, most gurus just pushed me to achieve more to set examples. No doubt it was intoxicating to “show-off” my capabilities but thanks to this over-achievement, my knee deteriorated instead of getting better.

Over a period of time, I started becoming more discerning; questioned my aim in doing yoga. Now I was keen to learn the intricacies of this science; the right way to breathe, I wanted to meditate, spend an entire class doing just pranayama, chant Om, etc.
This change came about so subtly that even I was caught unawares.

Is this related to age; did I finally grow up mentally to develop an appreciation for a finer, slower and a more meaningful way of life? Or did a painful knee make me see the follies of a foolish youth? Maybe there is a right time for everybody to wake up and this was mine.

Today, life has come a full circle for me. I’m back to starting yoga from scratch; allowed only the basics, many asanas (the Ooooh ones) are out of reach for me. There is a deep-rooted urge to do what I can with perfection, keeping the mind, body and soul in complete sync with each other. The satisfaction of doing it well, holding each pose, regulating the breath as required is way beyond the shallow thrills of doing complicated twists.

With every deep breath I take, every twist I make,
Every barrier I break, every muscle that aches

I’ll be thanking mum (my first guru).

And the others too who have guided me in this pilgrimage. There was some take away from all of them, whether it is what to do or what “not” to do. 

Its truly become my

Yaar - my best friend
Guide - my guide to healthy living
Acharya - My guru to help me overcome all health obstacles
Omnipotent - Nothing about my body is hidden from it

There are yet many levels to transcend before I sleep. I mentioned earlier about life doing a 360 degree turn? Its true in more ways than one. Instead of ma-in-law being my yogic guiding light, its my daughters who have recently trained as certified yoga teachers and are lighting my path and showing me the way now...