Path to Yoga

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.