Ludhiana’s new mantra for health: Yoga

Punjab: Yoga offers benefits beyond the mat and this ancient practice is fast becoming popular in today’s fast-paced society. For many, yoga is a means of relaxation from the chaotic life, while others find both mental and physical benefits in it. Be it summer or winter, residents of the city can be seen practicing yoga in parks, gyms and specially created yoga institutes. Free yoga classes are being held in public parks of various colonies. Young and old people can be seen visiting these green spaces in the morning or evening with a mat in their hand. Santosh Agarwal, a resident of Agar Nagar, said, “It has been three years since I started doing yoga in the park near my house. Since then my life has changed a lot and now I feel more relaxed and energized throughout the day.” Neha Grewal, a resident of Sarabha Nagar, who has been practicing yoga for the last 15 years, said that yoga is an art of living. He said that doing yoga after eating junk food and sleeping late at night is of no use. “Yoga means disciplined life and one can get benefits from yoga only if you lead a strictly disciplined life,” he said. Advocating yoga practice in schools, yoga teacher Rohit Kumar said, “Yoga is an elixir that works on almost every new age problem like obesity, high blood pressure, depression, diabetes and panic attacks.

It is a solution not only for adults but also for young children and can help them lead a better lifestyle when they grow up. It should be made compulsory in schools so that they take it up from an early age in life and adopt it in their lifestyle.” She said, “There are breathing exercises like Anulom-Vilom, in which one learns to balance their breathing process and which have proven to be helpful for people suffering from respiratory disorders. There are many asanas that help bring flexibility in the body, like Padmasana, a position that is practiced by gurus. Yoga originated in India and has been practiced by sages and munis for a long time. Spiritually, those who practice yoga have been seen to reach seven levels of peace of mind and body, including moksha and samadhi.” Thirty-two-year-old Sheetal swears by yoga and cannot imagine starting her day without pranayama, although her beginning was not easy. “When I started working full-time in a corporate house, I noticed a lot of changes in my body and my life. I didn’t have much energy, I couldn’t find time to workout and I felt very disappointed with myself. After making some lifestyle changes like avoiding eating out and taking up yoga—and I loved it so much that I started doing it every day—I started feeling really good about myself,” she shares.