Yoga is the science that adds zeal to your spirits. The positive energy
imbibed by practicing Yoga every day is commendable. I have been witness
to the immense change Yoga brings, not only does it spark up your
spirits but alleviates many health issues. Yoga teacher training in India helped me realize the best things Yoga can do for us.
Doing Yoga changed my persona:
I
was never an athletic person. Since childhood, I never excelled in any
sports neither at school or in my neighborhood. When we played gully
cricket, I was always the last person to be picked in the team. I
couldn’t run fast for long, and neither had I the strength to hit or
throw the cricket ball far. I tried to compensate it by applying myself
academically. Around the time I turned sixteen, I tried to change how I
was. I took up running. I started doing laps of my gymkhana ground in
the morning. I started with a couple of laps, but even after a year, I
could do only three or four. My knees hurt. I couldn’t do it regularly. I
joined a gym, but that wasn’t for me either. Doing repetitive exercises
could never hold my interest. I didn’t renew my membership after one
month.
Life
went on, I got enrolled in the prestigious Delhi School of Arts, got
myself immersed in studies and started working full time at an
advertising studio. I picked up the bad habits of smoking and drinking
and working late nights. After a few years of this lifestyle, I started
to feel fatigue. My digestion went haywire and I started to have
frequent acid reflexes. I couldn’t sleep properly and always woke up
tired. I no longer felt energetic. It affected my work. It almost seemed
like I was drained empty of my creative juices.
New intentions to stay healthy!
I
made a lifestyle decision. I made a genuine effort to lead a healthy
lifestyle. I quit smoking and cut down big time on my drinking. I joined
a gym again near my building. I started going to bed early and getting
up at four am. I really became watchful of what I ate and when I ate. At
the gymnasium, I felt so out of place. Picking up weights was never my
thing and no matter how strongly I resolved, I wasn’t making any real
progress. One thing I thought I would excel at, the treadmill, it also
proved to be a thing of the past. I was no longer a sixteen year old. My
knees weren’t what they used to be and my stamina had seen better days.
So, I huffed and puffed, sweated like a pig, and kept repeating in my
head, no pain — no gain. It turned to a point that I no longer looked
forward to the mornings; it was a tortured time for me that I dreaded.
Something
had to be changed. A new outlook was required to attain the goal I set
for myself. And the journey didn’t necessarily have to be a punishment
on the body. That is when I picked up the brochure of yoga classes at
the reception desk of my gym. I immediately enrolled and gave it a try.
Yoga isn’t about taming your body with harsh discipline and painful
training. It is about worshiping it, understanding it, and gently
coaxing it towards what our body was made to achieve.
I
started practicing yoga daily. I learned a few basic postures. I
started practicing in fifteen-minute sessions every morning before work
at the gym. Soon, these sessions grew to a half hour and for the first
time; a sense of accomplishment filled me. My arms grew really strong,
my waistline became taut, and I began to breathe so much better. As my
body became lithe, my mind ached to learn more about this wonderful art.
I became really interested in this ancient discipline. I felt so stupid
that I had this plethora of knowledge in my culture, yet, all my life, I
ran towards western ways to condition my body.
The place where I was reborn:
As
luck would have it, I got an assignment in Uttarkashi. I had to shoot
some stock footage to be used later. I shot one day in the town, then,
on the next day, I went up the river Bhagirathi to take some nature
shots. And places of places, I found myself face to face with Yoga
Bhawna Mission. Little did I know then, that moment would change my
life?
Uttarkashi
in the Himalayas is a canvas of stunning landscapes. The place is a
marvel that imbibes in it a serenity and soul-binding peace. The
ambience of the place adds to yoga learning experience here. The scenic
landscapes and tranquil atmosphere boost your spirits and furnish
immeasurable happiness and peace to do Yoga. While doing a yoga teacher training in India
you get a chance to probe into several aspects of Yoga with every
passing moment and tranquil atmosphere around the place of learning can
play an eminent role in the learning process. Learning Yoga in
Uttarkashi gave me the dual benefit of good health and peaceful
atmosphere. Since while learning Yoga teacher training Course,
it is eminent that you aptly concentrate on the latest chapter,
tranquility is of paramount importance, and Uttarakashi being amidst the
magnificent Himalayas makes a perfect place for the same. Moreover, the
homely yet disciplined environs of Yoga Bhawna Mission empower yoga
learning process with blissful accomplishments that hardly part from you
throughout life.
I
went in and inquired about the various courses the institute offered. I
gathered that it is a venture of Ujjain Yoga Life Society, a
prestigious trust in her country. And that it is also a certified as
well as registered yoga school from YAUSA. We talked at length about the
experiences there and I decided to give it a serious thought. I was
given an orientation. The building accommodates classrooms, yoga hall,
kitchen, living rooms and living quarters. All living rooms are twin
shared and face the river. Rooms are well appointed with all modern
amenities and looked quite comfortable. That evening I did some research
and found that, since it is an internationally recognized RYS for
teachers, your certificate will also be recognized globally.
My discourse with Yoga
I
made a decision right there. I opted for the RYS200 course. This
program offers two hundred hours of training and broadly covers the
physical, theoretical, physiological as well as spiritual branches of
yoga. It is structured so as to train the students into yoga teaching
professionals. At the end of the course, one gets the RYS certificate. A
certified course helps an individual to take up Yoga as a profession in
any part of the world.
I
came back to Delhi and arranged with my company to work as a freelance
for two months. It went smoothly. And I came to Yoga Bhawna Mission on
the appointed date.
I
had the most extraordinary time at the institute. It was like getting
reborn. A life of discipline and a quest of inner self-filled my days. I
really saw myself for the first time. From 4:00 am in the morning with
pranayama sessions under the caring eyes of ERYTs, we were on this
wonderful journey every day. A succulent breakfast followed and we
gathered again to learn new asanas and hone our bodies. There is a flat
sand bank just outside the campus. Sometimes when the weather permitted,
we practiced on that spot. Such fun activities added to my treasured
life of Yoga learning.
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