Yoga- how it went from Blahh to Ahh!

I remember having this early morning Yoga sessions in my School and Later during my Masters. We hated it so much as kids, it was more like- 'who is going to get up this early to do a dumb set of exercises', the Yoga teacher poor thing being a constant target of harassment . Not one of us was really interested in it, we would crib, complain, fuss about it, do everything in our capacity to put an end to it. I even remember having these discussions during my MBA days, 'why does a Management grad with a schedule that is so packed with 2-3 presentations a day, tests, case studies followed by discussions and no time to even sigh need yoga to make matters worse. Oh my it was like precious time lost...could have worked on that one last slide for my presentation you know, and who knows I would have just got a B+ instead of a measly B. Well that was our thought process back then....he he.

Now I can only look back and laugh at those times. I was always amazed at the number of tourists that would roam around in a cycle near Ballal Circle( Mysore), eating and relishing all the local specialities like Churmuri( spiced puffed rice) , Idli Vada Sambhar, Cane Juice and stuff. They must have been there for a while to adapt to the lifestyle this well, but what were they doing here?....and then I got the answer to my question which came as a surprise, Mysore houses one of the most popular Yoga Guru in India who supposedly has taught yoga to the likes of Madonna, Gwenyth Paltrow and so on. and these guys were all his students... also heard , getting an admission at these places is even harder than getting an admission at a top notch university. Wow!...all this for Yoga...hmmm...now I know I have been a fool not to have understood it's importance.

People here in America pay thousands of Dollars to practise Yoga at even the most normal / basic studios and heard so is the case with other western countries. Yoga is now somewhat like a luxury product that is flaunted by the elite. Yoga is IN. Its the latest norm in the fashion world/film world/corporate world....he he..and I was getting to do Yoga everyday with a well trained instructor and never wanted it then...sheesh.

What changed my approach towards Yoga though is not all of the above but what it has done to my Dad. The doc said he has a very weak heart and has to change his lifestyle and then Appa took to Yoga and Pranayama. He dedicates about 20-30 minutes in the morning to yoga, nothing intensive, just very light and easy to do exercises. The next test results indicated that there had been a good improvement in the functioning and efficiency of his heart. I don't know whether this is purely because of Yoga, but I would like to believe that it has done him a world of good.

I have been trying to do Yoga for a few days now , but was finding it hard to make time for it as I am not an early riser, which is ideally the best time to do it. So now I keep an hour in the afternoon , evenly spaced between my meals. I am currently following Shilpa Shetty's Yoga(no specific reason other than this the only one I have). The exercises are very simple and I find them very easy to follow. In a total time of about 45 mins-1 hour, 5 mins goes to OM Chanting, 5 mins to Pranayama( Breathing exercises) and the rest split in 5 parts

• . Exercises laying on the back
• . Exercises laying on the stomach
• . Sitting Exercises
• . Standing Exercises
• . Neck Exercises

I just started and am already feeling good, my body is not used to this kind of stretching and so it hurts a little, but that is natural. I am glad I finally decided to do it, but the bigger challenge is to keep doing it, which is what I am bad at. I must admit this is one thing I want to be addicted to. My approach towards Yoga has definitely changed in the last few years and I am glad it has...It's never too late to start a better/healthy lifestyle. It's a simple choice, but one that no one else but we, have to make for ourselves.