Yoga in a busy life

It is 11:15 am, my mind rushes in the midst of finishing up my first meeting for the day. Parallel processing has never been my forté. I try to reduce my anxiety, turn off my video and pace the room. Already stripping my slippers and laying out my yoga mat. All the while addressing my team about tasks they have and questions unanswered.

Inching towards 11:30 am. My team knows I must leave. They have been briefed that I will be unavailable for about 90 mins. They jokingly tell me, “Relax! It is just a yoga class!” I laugh nervously and in annoyance. It is now 11:31.

I exit the meeting. Hurriedly log into my laptop and my class. About 5-6 people pop up on the screen. I lie down on my yoga mat, close my eyes and attempt to regulate my breathing and my mind.

And then, the first Om is said out loud!

My Therapy Session

My focus shifts. There is a bubble around me of serene energy. With the first Omkar, the harried nature of my morning disappears. With the second one, my shoulders relax and by the final Om, I have a smile on my face.

For the next 90 mins, I lose track of the noises around me. I focus on my body, my breath, my mind. Every part of me focussed on doing the best I can and attempting an extra 5% every day.

By the end of the class, my spine is singing. All the tensions and knots have disappeared. I have bliss that carries me on my feet for the rest of the day.

That is what yoga does. Alignment, at its most basic!

I have forever been a gym person. Never quite warmed up to yoga till right before the pandemic. I had reached a plateau with my gymming. A close friend suggested that I try yoga. He felt my body was built for it.

I call it divine timing and accept that sometimes the best advice comes from the most unlikely source.

So I joined a yoga class at the nearest centre. I still remember that I ran late for my first class. My teacher, a veteran yoga teacher and someone I have come to deeply respect rebuked me and said “If you are going to be late by more than 15 mins, don’t bother and join another batch!” After that first class with him, I knew why.

A yogi's journey inwards

Yoga is a process, it is not just physical exercise. It is concentration and a remarkable journey inward. There are times when I have felt close to the divine. There have been moments when I have complimented my body for doing what it could. There have been moments of failure. My struggles in Shirshasana (the headstand) and moments of overconfidence too where I have had to slap my own wrist.

It has taught me to go beyond the visions of ego or self. It has taught me that we are brilliant and yet also as ordinary as the next person. Yoga brought me perspective during the pandemic. It teaches you to be in the moment in times of uncertainty. I mean, let’s be real, there is little room to think about anything else when you are trying to make your toes touch the ground in the plough and cursing the burger you ate last night!

People have asked me many questions and made many comments. Why yoga? Why not go back to the gym? Isn’t yoga boring? You are really just breathing in and out and it looks so simple!

I have no harsh words for them. I ask them only to try regular practice and then tell me if they think it is boring. Or better still try holding yourself steady in Anjaneyasana and tell me if it is just stretching!

Yoga is for everyone!!

There are many assumptions about being a yogi. Practicing yoga does not mean I want to give up on living and all my earthly pleasures. It does not mean I give up on my favourite chaat. It does not mean I spend all my time in contortions (although I wish I could). And it definitely does not mean I don’t care about possessions or people and am ready to walk the lonely road.

I can be a yogi and be a business person. I can be a yogi and be a loving mom. I can be a yogi and don every other hat that I need to and I can do it better.

Yogic practice teaches you to look within. To have the ability to withdraw from the moment and shift your focus inwards. To silence external stimuli and listen to your intuition. It teaches you about the impermanent nature of things and life and that attachment to past memories, people, things serves little to no purpose.

Think for a minute then, about the impact it can have on our lives. That office meeting that went sour, what if you could detach yourself from it and look at yourself objectively?

The crystal vase that your child broke in an accident, what if you could understand that no amount of yelling will bring it back and control your reaction?

That is Pratyahara or Withdrawal of Senses that attempt to overwhelm you at the moment. If a diabetes patient followed Yama or Restraint, would it not help their sugar levels? And if we can implement Niyama or Observances in our lives, would we not be better people?

Yoga changes lives. That’s where the glow comes from. That’s where the smile and the quiet comes from. And before you know it, suddenly, one fine day in the middle of the Chakrasana bending and stretching your spine. You are set free!

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