June 21 was declared as the
International Day of Yoga by the United Nations General Assembly in December
2014. Over 190 countries, including 40 Islamic nations, supported the move to
have a special day for yoga. Yoga is a 5000 year old Indian body of knowledge.What is yoga? Yoga is a physical,
mental, and spiritual practice or discipline which originated in ancient India.
Including breath control, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific
bodily postures, is widely practised for health and relaxation. all of which
keep a person in good health. Though
many think of yoga only as a physical exercise.I wish to share my experience
about yoga.
I am active and a cheerful
person. I am crossing 50 and have been in pre-menopause for a couple of years. As
it takes a toll on almost every women health, it happened to me as well. I faced a
lot a health issue recently, like fatigue, stress, anxiety etc. I feel so exhausted
and feel weak all day. But past one year
due to personal issues My mental stress and physical stress make my health worst. I faced severe
vertigo that even I can't able to go for
walk, Eventually with this kind of lifestyle I started gaining weight..
I feel depressed and lost my self
confidence. I wanted to change my life style and my greatest achievement is to
gain back my self -esteem and smiles. my first step towards better life was started
regular walks in the evenings. . I was walking one hour daily but my heart
broke the day I stepped on the scale after a month of regular walking— the
scales were behaving like an adamant child.This make me sad.
One nice eveningwhile gone for a walk, I saw a
banner of Ashtanga Yoga Class is opening
shortly just near to my home.
I felt I should give it a try, Without thinking further I enrolled my name and paid the fees and came back home.
I started my classes . Ashtanga-yoga literally means eight-limbed-yogaas
outlined by the sage Patanjali in the Yoga Sutra’s. There are 8 limbs of
Ashtanaga yoga:Yama, niyama, asana, prayanam, pratyahara, dharna, dhyan,
samadhi in that order.
First Ashtanga Yoga has taught me
about love—how to truly love myself, those around me and to love life in
general .Surprisingly with each class, the ‘weight’ and other issues was out of my mind. I started
enjoying the class , postures, breathing patterns and the whole concept of
practicing yoga together. I was keen on going for the class the next day. My
body was sore for first week . It was very hard . I remember feeling weak, out of shape and
having to stop and rest during some points; but it became fine eventually. The
teacher never made me feel inadequate or like I didn’t belong. In fact, I was completely inspired by her
passion for the practice, which was evident as she described it as a “healing”
practice and her supportive and confident teaching approach.
Attending class five days a week, I was feeling somewhat confident as
an “Ashtangi.” I then had to build up a whole new level of courage. On begin
with I didn’t notice much change, but looking back now I can see there have
been many small changes that have taken place along the way. . As a result of
that my body feels good; strong but flexible, stable but mobile and my mind
feels the same…I am not saying these changes will be the same for everyone,
however they felt right for me.
Ashtanga is very good for
Self-reflection, your practice will soon show you your strengths along with
areas of weakness and its up to the individual how they choose to manage seeing
themselves more clearly, but I can say the practice has helped shaped where I
am today and I am happy with that. Physically I feel the fittest I have ever
felt, my body continually surprises me by what it can does seeing and feeling
my progress, it’s slow but it is definitely happening and I am happy with that.
Also it’s nice to get up early and do the practice surrounded by lovely people
and great energy. There is a sense that everyone is on his or her own yoga
journey but we are all supporting each other in that process.
The benefits of meditation are
endless, but mantras for anxiety or sinking into deep relaxation with yoga
nidra - -will help you feel centred. I’m stretched out during my first
45-minuteof Yoga; Then Practice yoga
Nidra in class, body cradled in a fully supported Savasana (Corpse Pose), limbs
limp, breath quiet, thoughts drifting All traces of the day fade away, time
stops, and stillness washes over me. So this is Yoga Nidra Practice for Deep
Relaxation and Healing! Your body will thank you for this type of Relaxation.
When you feel "I'm too
fat" or "I'm too weak".
"I'm to stiff" or "I'm not flexible enough". Okay, then practice Ashtanga yoga. Through repetitive practice, your body will
grow more supple. your body grew stronger and more flexible. I became satisfied with my outside
appearance. You will also learn, over time, to love your body more than ever,
if ever, before.
Both meditation and yoga emphasize that when
we are feeling discomfort, whether an uncomfortable physical feeling, emotion,
or thought, that we can sit with that feeling and either choose to react or
choose to let it go. I practice at home these days. This allows me to listen to
my body.
Once I obtained this physical
acceptance for myself, my body and mind began to filter out all the unnecessary
tension and stress that I had been holding onto for my whole life .yoga makes my body
more healthy.. Your own yoga practice begins to work internally, kind a like a
free psychotherapy session. In all reality, When you are sick I realized no one can help. you deal with yourself, only you can do the work. So get moving and love yourself because
if you don’t look after yourself no one ever will.
