YOGA KU NAAN GUARANTEE! :)

Yes I know!! You have heard it a zillion times in all forms of media. The benefits of yoga! With even the west catching up fast on yoga and celebrities adopting this practice, it is no surprise that it has become a hot topic.

But wouldn’t it be more convincing to hear the experience from someone you know?

Well, here goes my story..

I was slightly overweight for 4 yrs. From 12th grade to 3rd year of college. I’m using the word “slightly” because weight seems to be a relative term. Some long lost aunt who arrives one fine day would declare “Oh! Look at you so thin. Kids these days are dieting all the time to look slim”.  On the other hand, my classmates in college would call me fat! Anyway by overweight in this context, I mean a little above the benchmark that is set by the younger generation as acceptable weight. 

Not that I was actually bothered..  Neither did i attempt to eat less, nor did I try to work out. Also, I had wheezing problems since childhood, so I had convinced myself that physical activities aren’t for me.

4th year of college-time for a change!

Whiling away my time at home with only final semester project happening. With lots of holidays, my sleep pattern was changing like crazy. I used to be up till 4am (there was no way I could go to sleep before that, however hard I tried) and my wake up time was well after noon. I was a mess. In fact I tried walking on the treadmill in the evenings, hoping it would make me tired and get me to sleep early, but in vain!

Then one day, I happened to come across a yoga video in YouTube. Since I was pretty jobless and killing time anyway, I decided to give it a try.

It wasn’t bad-not too hard. Yes, certain stretches were way beyond my reach, but I did what I could, as the instructor in the video mentioned. Incredibly, on Day 2 I fell asleep soon after dinner. Can you believe that? In a week’s time, I sensed so much difference. I felt so peaceful and rejuvenated. The body aches that I experienced in the first week (what else can you expect after years of no physical activity?), eventually disappeared. My breathing problems were getting better. Strangely though, people started questioning about my health and advised me not to starve. All i wondered was “Me? Starve??” It was then that I noticed that my clothes were getting oversized for me. I was so rapidly losing weight. And mind you, I wasn’t starving!!!

After experiencing all the benefits, who would want to give up? I continued. I became addicted to it. My health improved so much that wheezing did not stop me from carrying out other physical activities. I could now run in games-my endurance had improved so much that when others took a break panting and gasping for breath, I was still going strong. It was a magical boon!

After i started working, of course, there was no TIME..! But I made sure that at least 15 minutes of yoga is part of my routine. I relax and perform a few poses just before catching my bus in the morning. It has become an integral part of my life. Of course, with the current work pattern and long travel, I tend to miss it on some days. But it is okay, I make an effort to catch up even if I have a tiny slot in the 24 hour day cycle. Pregnancy has not stopped me from continuing either. I am still going strong with my yoga. J

So all you people out there, I very strongly recommend yoga. It is for everyone. Doesn’t matter if you’re thin or fat or old or young or weak or healthy! It is proved to heal several diseases and also prevent many diseases from coming to you in the future. And mostly importantly it keeps your mind peaceful, considering all the stress we undergo at work. Now don’t convince yourself that you do not have the time. Start with the weekends, the addiction will eventually drag you into finding time in the weekdays. In fact, you can perform the breathing exercises and meditation while at desk, only to be refreshed to continue your work.

Trust that most of you would start the yoga journey after reading this! Comments are welcome.

To all those who are already practicing, please share your experiences. 

MY PARAGLIDING ADVENTURE!

Place: Langkawi island, Malaysia.

The last day of our honeymoon trip. My husband had been enquiring about paragliding for sometime and then we found a tamil restuarant guy who asked us to go to Cenang beach. We went there and found 3 fishermen who offered to take us for the sport ride.

Now I was reluctant! Not that I hadn’t been in fun rides at theme parks.. But of late, I’d been panicky even if the car or bus speeds down a slope. Now we’re talking about going on a parachute, several feet above the ground!! Its natural to be nervous. On the other hand I wanted to be a sport and did not want to render myself as a delicate darling!

Fortunately (or unfortunately!), we found that we were short of Ringgits (Malaysian currency) to pay for the ride. My husband was upset and I was relieved. There was enough for one, so I insisted him to go alone. He refused and tried convincing the fishermen to accept Indian rupees, they could exchange it later. However, they refused. As we were just about to turn back, they spoke among themselves in Malay and suddenly seemed to have changed their minds-they agreed to take both of us. They brought a motor boat and asked us to get in. While we were wondering why we had to get into a boat, they explained that paragliding takes place at a different part of the island and that’s why the boat. So we got in.

Well, thanks to all the movies and the news channel flashes I watched all these years, I thought we were going to be robbed and thrown into the sea!!!! Come on, that’s what they must’ve discussed in Malay!! Should we put up a fight??? We’ve been married for a week and are going to be thrown in the sea already??? Why didn’t I learn karate after school hours instead of whiling away all the time chatting??? In fact, I was looking around the boat to see if there is some object I could use!

Before I could let my imaginations run further, the speeding boat landed at an island. Wow! We aren’t going to be thrown into the sea after all! There were lots of tourists, a few ready to go on the ride, a few landing and the others just watching. Those on the ride seemed to be having so much fun, but I was still nervous.

Now expect the unexpected! I was busy putting on my safety belt, totally oblivious to the “Down” alert which the instructors were shouting. A paraglider landed in full speed, its rope cutting right across my cheek, narrowly missing my eye. I tried pulling it away, injuring my fingers too in the process. Maybe I was being warned!! Maybe the Gods were asking me to stop!!!! But I still dared to go.

Summing up all courage, I told the instructor that I was ready! Up went my paraglider, opening up in air. My nervousness was suddenly gone. Flying in midair right above the sea, I was not a bit scared. The panicky feeling I had when my car or bus sped-it wasn’t there! It was so cool. The surrounding was perfect. Strong winds, blue sea below (yeah their sea is actually blue!) and the sunset (it was around 7.30, they have a late sunset.) I just didn’t want it to end. It was the best ride ever. And the landing was so smooth too. I wasn’t even bothered that I was bleeding. The ride compensated it all!

The motor boat then took us back to Cenang beach. It turned out that the fishermen were not evil after all!! In fact, they were sweet enough to take my husband to the nearest exchange center, get the money and drop him back. Well don’t blame me, blame my genes-we Indians are taught never to trust strangers, aren’t we?

PS: The picture was shot by me, when my husband went paragliding.