Yoga grounds me

My bond with Yoga stems from how it grounds me.

I’ve been practicing yoga since my school days; my sister and I were enrolled in Iyengar Yoga classes during our vacations and we thoroughly enjoyed them. A year later or two, my mother and I started practicing Yoga every morning at home following RamDev Baba on TV. My father got us a CD of Ramdev Baba, and I would watch and practice that every evening.

I have been an overweight child with hypothyroidism, so my evening yoga practices helped me lose weight, normalize my thyroid levels and perpetuate a general sense of calm.

Cut to college, I on and off practiced yoga but always experienced the mental, physical, emotional benefits of when I did practice.

As I completed my third year, I felt pulled to join the Art of Living Program after attending one of their sessions on mind management. I joined their Youth Empowerment Seminar, did their Advance programme in the Ashram, followed by other courses, and really enjoyed the Sudarshan Kriya, yoga asanas, pranayama, mudras they taught us.

During my interaction with others who’ve been a part of Art of Living (AOL), I came to know the healing experiences people underwent because of Yoga, Sudarshan Kriya, and Pranayamas taught at the AOL courses. I was regularly practicing the techniques which lead to a deepening bond with Yoga.

My attachment to Yoga stems from how it grounds me, acting as my anchor while sailing through my life.

A few years later, I was thinking of pursing a Yoga certification programme, as I wanted to teach others what I benefited from Yoga. The Art of Living Ashram had announced that it will open a school of Yoga, by the name of Sri Sri School of Yoga. Sri Sri Yoga teacher training course teaches about and integrate all paths of yoga including Hatha yoga (effort), Raja yoga (effortless, royal) Gyana yoga (wisdom), Karma yoga (service & action), Bhakti yoga (love & devotion) and more. The primary elements of our training were asanas (postures), pranayamas (breathing techniques), meditation and the experience and application of yoga beyond the yoga mat.

As I continued my practice, I felt a deeper connect with Yoga. While correct posture, improved range of motion because of flexibility is beneficial, yoga is more than that. It is an approach one adopts beyond the mat, enabling us to maintain equanimity.