"Yoga" - the way of life

Yoga (Sanskrit - योग) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India. Sanskrit word योग meaning is Way of life. Yoga is a method, practice, technique, and philosophy to enrich our lives. Karma Yog, Bhakti Yog, and Dhyana Yog, Raj Yog, etc. I am going to talk about Yoga using asana(Posture) and Pranayama. If you want the same freshness, calmness as early morning bathing in evening then you must do a 30-minute’s yoga.

A Yoga session is mainly divided into 3 stages. The first stage starts with a warm-up, the main exercise using the yoga posture and Pranayama, and last stage recovery. All three stages are applicable to our life too. We need to hold the posture for the minimum time and then gradually increase the timing by few seconds every time in exercise. It really added to your core strength. If you hold any yoga posture for the maximum time that defines your actual body strength. 

3 Yoga stages teach us, do not rush to the situation. Slowly start analyzing the situation like the warm-up. Hold the situation on the ground and better it day by day like the main exercise. The third step, recover from decision side-effects like recovery. 

My favorite asana is 'Sirsasana/Headstand'. Headstand is the king of yoga poses; and it is great for increasing blood flow to the brain, building strength in the arms, shoulders and core muscles, and it helps with energy, stamina, and even hair loss! Dynamic poses are more important in exercise to strengthen your core muscles. Flow tests your patience and Pranayama build your inner strength. The most important aspect of yoga is, no external equipment required for practice. Pranayama with soft, motivational instrumental music will bring the mesmerizing effect, which will add more peace, calmness to your lives. It will be extremely useful to control your anger and to attain inner peace.

                Our admirable yoga instructor ‘Sunaina Miglani’ told us do not underestimate 'Surya Namaskar'.  We should not avoid it. It comes with lots of benefits. We should do it at maximum times. Sunaina makes a good combination of static, dynamic posture, flow, Surya Namaskar, Pranayama which turns out to be excellent and effective daily workout for us. A helpful, encouraging and motivational yoga instructor adds innumerable benefits to your yoga practice.

Sometimes, difficult yoga poses like 'Hand Stand’ create funny and lighter moment. When you are unable to perform any difficult pose that puts the smile on your face. I unable to do full ‘Hand Stand’ till date. its happen to many people. So, We laugh at ourselves when the instructor asks to do it. Rohit adds entertainment flavor to our yoga session. As a talkative person, Rohit asks too many questions about yoga poses which sometimes create lighter moments.

               On weekdays, I do yoga for 30 minutes. One day our instructor took 10 minutes Pranayama. After that session, I felt weightless and experience was very soothing and serene. It channelizes our internal power to minimize the stress-out effect from our lives. Personally, I like the prayer which is the last part of every yoga session. Prayer is the most powerful weapon of bhakti yoga. You pray for almighty for the wellbeing of you and your family. You pray to achieve the ultimate goal of human being. I pray in every yoga session with positivity by joining both hands in namaste pose. It creates lots of positive vibes.

I think there is a small issue with Yoga posture. I think, doing Yoga at home individually will not be effective. Sometimes we are not able to concentrate on Pranayama. Sometimes we do not stick to proper yoga poses and we lose concentration on holding yoga poses. Our carelessness might be an actual issue. As we got distracted easily. So, I prefer to do yoga practice in the group under the guidance of an instructor. Also, incorrect yoga knowledge and improper poses prone to injury. It’s advisable for a beginner practitioner to practice yoga poses under proper guidance.

On occasion of International Day of Yoga, I like to thank our Yoga instructor ‘Sunaina Miglani’. I like to thanks SAS R&D wellness team for providing this fantastic platform.

Lesson

One day, as usual, Vijay, a Regional Transfer Office employee, went to the office, as he entered the gate, it was just like any other government office. People were coming in with documents, struggled with processes and protocols, attended the driving license tests and went ahead with their chores. Many agents and domineering officers mess around and crowd the RTO office. Such things are a daily grind.

Sachin was a shy and a principle oriented and value driven man with good deeds. It was the day when Sachin went to RTO for a car driving license. He put his beliefs on trial. Being an honest man, he decided to give the driving test without bribing any of the agents or officers.

Bhosale, the officer on the job, was RTO licensing examiner on that day. Principles and honesty did not mean anything to him. Sachin approached Bhosale to submit his documents for the driving exam. It looks like Bhosale glared at Sachin and demanded Rs. 2000. Here's the catch! To no surprise, Sachin refused. A junior officer there tried to convince Sachin how things work. While Bhosale, the freak, attempted to challenge Sachin's limit and abuse his education, he rejected his form and threw away his documents.

Bhosale added insult to injury by using the local slang to abuse Sachin and asked him to get out of there. As a reaction, Sachin got irritated and frustrated. He thought a police officer should not abuse him for not giving bribe. Sachin then decided to teach a lesson to that crazy police officer. Sachin was very angry. He returned home totally disturbed and helpless, yet agitated. Sachin drilled and got some more information about this officer Bhosale.
He got to know that corruption charges and various other such cases were pending against him. He also got to know that, it was just six months ago, he was reappointed in one such case due to lack of proper evidence. Sachin investigated more about this particular suspension case. But he could not get any primary evidence against the officer. However, one day an unknown person approached Sachin on the road.

Unknown person to Sachin: "Hey, I followed you since the RTO fiasco the other day. I know you were looking for something."

Sachin: "But, who are you?"

Unknown Person: "I had seen a clash of a principle oriented common man against a freaky and corrupt police officer. I want you to win this clash. And so, I would like you to take this parcel. This should be enough food for your hunt!"

Sachin: "I cannot accept it."

But that person forcefully handed over the package and left in disguise. Sachin went home with the mysterious parcel. When Sachin opened the parcel, he got ample evidence against Bhosale.

The next thing he did was to call Bhosale and asked him to immediately stop harassing people for a bribe and all such evil acts. Sachin warned the officer for handing over the evidence in court. Bhosale stood helpless. He had no choice but to comply to Sachin, and so he did. He stopped harassing ordinary people for a bribe and all his wrong acts. Sachin kept an eye on the officer’s behaviour. After a few months, Sachin went to the RTO office again to take the driving license examination.

The same officer Bhosale verified Sachin documents and showed a green signal for the examination. He accomplished all his tests. After finishing the test, Sachin left the building. One person smiled at him at the gate for a few seconds. At first, he did not recognise that person, but later he acknowledged that the unknown person, who had helped him, was none other than an RTO employee. Sachin finally got his driving license without any bribe to the officer. The officer got the lesson of his life.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner.