Introduction
“Manav jeevan ki 2 paditiyan hai- yog paditi tatha bhog paditi. Yog se manushya swasth, sundar aur saksham rehta hua jeevan bhar sukh mei rehta hai. Bhog se manushya rogi, aswasth, asaksham rehta hua jeevan bhar dukhi aur kalesh yukt rehta hai.”
Deeply fascinated by Anita’s personal journey and how yoga became a part of her life, I couldn’t wait to sit down with her to discuss her perspective on yoga and its incredible role in acceptance, healing, and transformation.
Ms. Anita Jain, is currently working as a certified yoga instructor and naturopathy practitioner. She did her master’s in yoga and preksha meditation followed by a 3-year diploma in naturopathy.
With an experience of over 10 years of personal and professional practise, her benign and motivating words have made me a sucker for yoga. Let’s see how it works for you!
The impeccable impact of yoga
“Today I am fit and healthy with literally zero ailments. What do you think I owe it to?
Yoga has had an immense impact on my life. It has enhanced my self-awareness. I am more aware of my myself and of the connections, between my body and my mind.
I know myself more, and I trust myself more.
Thanks to yoga, I feel more confident about myself today. Doing something not only for self but for others as well brings me enormous pride. This self-reliance is my biggest achievement.
I came out with a completely new way of looking at life’s unpredictability. I am so much better at living in the present moment rather than dwelling upon the past or being fearful about the future.
I have succeeded in learning to apply breathing, stillness, and movement as a consistent self-management system when dealing with conflict. You may not be able to resolve conflicts when under stress but what matters is your capacity to monitor your emotions and elevate your consciousness, isn’t it?”
Breathing easy with yoga
“Yog man ke utaar-chadhav ki sthirta hai”
Focusing on pranayam, she reiterates the importance of breathing controls and their ever-lasting impact on our survival. She justifies this with an intriguing example-
Cheetah is one of the fastest breathers with respiration rate double of that of humans. His lifespan is merely around 8-10 years. On the other hand, a turtle’s breathing rate is quite leisurely, and do you know its lifespan? Its 120 damn years on an average.
A pill hard to swallow, isn’t it?
“Shwas ka sambandh humare jeevan se hai. Shwas jitni lambi hogi, man utna hi sthir hoga. Chahe gussa ho, man ki chanchalta ho ya nakaratmakta ho; shwas par niyantran paa lo, man apne aap hi sthir ho jayega.”
Misconceptions surrounding yoga
The biggest myth about yoga is that one must practice it only when suffering from an illness.
“Aaj bhi log yog ko zaroori tabhi samjhte hai jab unhe koi bimaari hoti hai. Kuch toh yeh bhi mante hai ki yog sirf madhyam ayu ke varg ke liye hai. Par yog toh jeevan jeene ki shaili hai. Prakriti ke anusar jeena hi yog hai.”
People assume that yoga is a cure-all and you should suddenly be immune to emotional highs and lows. That is unrealistic and inhumane. Rather, yoga tools such as mantra, meditation, asana, and pranayama help us to identify imprints and patterns in our lifestyle. This information helps us to recognize our tendencies, make adjustments accordingly, and turn toward a more balanced lifestyle.
Moving forward, Anita talks about the biggest misconception surrounding alternative therapies.
“Unfortunately, we consider fields like yoga, acupuncture, acupressure, ayurveda, naturopathy, homeopathy, etc as alternative therapies today.
But do you think this is how it shall work? Aren’t these in fact one of the most ancient, renowned, and mainstream therapies of India? Then why are they termed as something complementary?”
The perennial perks of yoga
“Yoga ke laabh sthayi hai. Aaj jo aapne yoga se paa liya vo aapke saath zindagi bhar rahega.”
From enhanced blood circulation to its purification, from cleansing your system to improving your digestion, from making our muscles flexible to strengthening your entire body, yoga has no side effects, none at all.
Yoga’s everlasting benefits are indeed here to stay!
Conclusion
A yoga mat is a nice place to go when talk therapy and anti-depressants aren’t enough. You cannot always control what goes on outside but you can always control what’s there on the inside.
Ms. Anita urges each one of us, people of all ages and every stage to indulge in yoga and finally pay heed to their bodily and mental needs.
“Bhavtapen taptana yogo hi paramaushadham”-Yani sansaar ke dukho se dukhi praniyon ke liye yog hi sarvasreshth aushadhi hai.
It’s time that you start working on yourself, for yourself.
“Parivartan ke liye humesha jagah hoti hai lekin apko us badlav ke liye khula rehna hoga.“
