Every morning, 4 a.m. onwards, you can hear ‘Om’ chanting in
my house by various people at various intervals. No, we are not a religious
lot, we just do a lot of Yoga!
My dad, much to my mom’s fury, wakes up at 3 a.m. and does
Yoga. He says he goes back to sleep at 4. His skin sclerosis has had a
miraculous effect ever since Baba Ramdev entered our abode.
My mom, she wakes up at 6, has her tea and twists and turns
on the floor for more than half an hour. At 62, she is a hero of sorts and the
most agile person I know at that age. She devours atleast one mithai a day.
My brother starts his day with a morning run. He then goes
to have samosa and chai after which he comes home and does his Yoga routine. His
sinusitis has been kept in check for years due to this. His late night partying, atleast twice a week, has also been regular.
Me, well, I’ve had a love and hate relationship with mudras.
I was introduced to Yoga at the age of 13 at a private class by this yoga
teacher who taught me a lot of exercises. Being a young girl, I absolutely
hated going for the session. Teenage was definitely not the time when I took my
health seriously.
It did not help me much and so we stopped after a few
months. Now when I think about it, if the teacher knew more about the benefits,
he could have helped me.
I learnt Sudarshan Kriya when Art of Living was quite new. It
came into my life at a tough time and did make me a new person. We learnt quite
a few Yoga exercises there as well.
Over the years I have learnt breathing exercises and a
number of stretches and poses. For optimal benefit, I combine principles of
Yoga and exercises taught by various physiotherapists. When I tell my
physiotherapist about a particular Yoga pose, she immediately tells me how it
will hurt my back. When I tell my mom that Yoga can be harmful, she shuns
science. You can’t win with fanatics, can you?
From experience, however, even I feel there are a number of exercises
that can cause harm, especially to the back. Unless you are not careful, Yoga
does make you stretch beyond your limits and can lead to injuries. For that, it
is important to listen to your body before getting completely immersed into a
program.
While no exercise regime can guarantee you a healthy life,
combining various forms can keep you interested. Not many people enjoy getting
out of their comfort zone and pushing themselves beyond limits. But if you keep
your routine flexible, much can be achieved in a fun way.
Pledge to change and keep your exercise interesting. Working
out is as necessary as brushing your teeth or taking a shower. On this
International Yoga Day, make sure people are twisting and turning in your home
too. Not at 4 a.m. though; that is torture!
