Saturday, August 16, 2014

Life made beautiful by Yoga

Pharmaceuticals, Healthcare, Fitness, Organic food are some of the many industries that do a good job in showing that their products and services are predominantly aimed towards providing solutions to problems faced by us on a daily  basis and take pride in flashing their balance sheets with billion-dollar-revenues. And, the world citizens don’t hesitate to pay the exorbitant price to procure these products and services for a QUICK-FIX-SOLUTION which, sadly, adds more complications (side effects) to our lives, as the extreme-capitalism has managed to keep the democratic powers under siege so much so that adding a few more harmful chemicals to the products that cause the side-effects have become an acceptable norm in life. Thanks to today’s hypocritical life, our life ends up in a tailspin further complicating our lives without any closure to our problems.




I know what it feels like to be caught in this tailspin that causes great pain which is not only persistent but also compounds to exploding levels, in our lives. The worst part is that hope is diminished to nothing which forces us to surrender ourselves to a life of pain and suffering.

In a nutshell, we work harder compromising our health to make more money to buy more QUICK-FIX-SOLUTIONS to get temporary relief and eventually end up in spending all that we had earned on diseases that we had bought for ourselves with QUICK-FIX-SOLUTIONS. Crazy!! Well, the inconvenient truth is that there are solutions to all our problems and it is free too! Today’s cynical belief is “There is no such thing as free lunch.” In fact, there is.

Yoga and Oxygen

One of the most important beliefs that my Yoga guru, Prema Nagesh (http://yogatherapy4all.blogspot.com) imprinted in our minds is that solutions to our problems are available all around us and we just need to have the calm mind to avail it. A calm mind is a strong mind. Calmness in the mind is lost when there are too many issues and problems in our daily lives which leave our mind transfixed with so much of noise that obscures the focus on the real life. If one can learn to attain calmness in mind, then most of the solutions to our unfathomable problems can be found without spending the big bucks or without reaching out to hard-to-reach places for solutions. Good news is that Yoga can do that for you at no cost.

Think about it!!! How many people have you met who do not complain about life?! Not that many because many of our friends and relatives are in some kind of pain and still struggling to find a way out. As a result, the concentration in tasks at hand at the very moment is lost because our minds are wandering like a honey bee buzzing from one thought to another focusing on mistakes of the past or future. Here is where prime benefits of Yoga can be fruitful through rhythmic breathing (extra oxygen invigorates your brain thus calming it down and build concentration), asanas, guided meditation etc.

Now, imagine a life with herculean mental strength and calmness to shrug off (with a smile) a nagging spouse, problems with children, road rage, office politics, the venom of this cynical world and, after facing all the realities of life, imagine your mind to be calm and pristine like the snow-capped Himalayas. Please do not despise this imagination as something that is naive or non-existent. Trust me, there are people among us who are enjoying this priceless lifestyle through Yoga.

Regular physical exercise is something that we enjoy doing that will relieve the stress temporarily but the hard earned spirit-during-exercise fades away soon, when we step out of the gym and face the real world. The magic of sustaining that spirit even outside the gym and throughout the day is what Yoga can do. And, also that is the reason why just by learning difficult Yogic asanas will not give you the ultimate result. Rather it is by relating and applying the Yogic principles to every moment of our daily lives so that you could develop clarity and peace of mind.

Personally, I started Yoga about two years back with the utmost contempt and little did I realize at that time that my life would never be the same again. I joined Yoga for a pal of mine so that she would not give up but I was woken to the brunt magical force of Yoga that humbled me. I was training for marathon at that time and I despised Yoga as boring and not so physically demanding. My ignorance was stripped naked during my first Yoga session and I was sold to the idea of Yoga. Since then it has been an amazing journey that has transformed me to be a better person not just outside the home but also especially at home. Yoga has also given some unwarranted benefits especially at work as the “Calm Mind” empowers me with wisdom and strength that is the envy of many around me (in a good way). 

The best part is that people would love to be around you. It feels as if you have transcended through a portal to another galaxy of sheer bliss and looking back at the sufferings of people around you, it is sad. I have learnt so much of Yoga in the past two years and it seems so little while looking up to my guru and other Yoga experts around the world. If this little knowledge of Yoga could bring so much of joy, I am thrilled to look forward to learning more and more in the coming years.

Simply put, with Yoga, Life is beautiful. And, I invite you to Yoga so that you may also experience and enjoy the true essence of life as we all deserve to.

4 comments:

Robert Samy said...

Parveen - Good artical and it is well said. I have been in the same boat and started yoga 2 months back. I can witness your experience and it is a long way for me to go. Thanks for sharing similar experience.

SURIYA said...

Yet another gem from your treasure box, Praveena! The pictures accentuate the beauty of the piece. Wish you all the joy yoga has to offer.

Reading The Green said...

Robert, I am very happy and excited for you for having got into Yoga and already reaping the benefits. It is a priceless experience and journey ahead. Wish you all the very best.

Reading The Green said...

Suriya,
Thanks. Your encouragement means a lot to me. Glad you liked it.