Beyond The Yoga Mat

1. Beyond The Yoga Mat “Oh, there’s a storm inside,” says Myra Khanna, betraying the calm in her voice. Whenever I write about something, I like to experience it firsthand on my own. You could say I was looking for inspiration when I booked a class with her or I was simply procrastinating actually sitting down to write (writer’s block is as unpredictable as my anxiety). Perhaps, this time I was looking for something to take my mind off of the countless rushing thoughts in my head - work deadlines, uncomfortable conversations to be had, where to find the best tiramisu in town - it goes on. Luckily for me, June comes with a gift - International Yoga Day. A few minutes into the class, I found myself in a very uncomfortable position in more ways than one. Sweat dribbled down into my eyes, making a stop on its journey from my nose to the mat, drop by drop. My legs wobbled as I tried to hold the pose and I thought - “Why am I doing this to myself at 6 am on a Friday?” Every part of my body wanted me to give up - and yet, I didn't. I shifted my weight to the back of my heel, and exhaled slowly, through the nose, as instructed. I focused my drishti (vision) in between my eyebrows - and there it was! The balance. I found myself balancing my weight between my two legs, between my two hands, between my feet and my hands. I found my centre - but the thoughts started to rush in again. How is it that my mind wanders for a split second, and my legs give in immediately? The term ‘Yoga’is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘yuj’ which means "to join", or "to unite", symbolising the unity of mind and body and emphasising the interconnectedness of all aspects of life. It’s a journey that welcomes people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities; meets you wherever you are and offers a path to growth, healing, and self-discovery. Yoga

2. is so much more beyond the physical postures and breathing techniques - it seeps into our daily lives, reminding us to live with compassion, kindness, and gratitude. At the end of the class, I found myself lying in my favourite pose - Savasana. I let everything I felt simply flow through me. My breathing was a lot calmer; my hands not fidgeting; my mind blissful and clear. There was nothing but the sound of my breathing. This is why you do it. I got in touch with some Yoga teachers and practitioners to understand what Yoga has done for them on and off the mat over the years. Let’s talk to them, shall we? Sujay Reddy, Yoga Teacher Trainer “Most people start their yoga journey with an intention to enhance their physical strength and performance, which is great on its own. It gets people moving and linking their breath with movement.” Sujay says. He believes that when yoga is seen as solely a physical activity, we’re only deriving a small amount of benefit you can from the practice. “When you try to stay in a posture for a sustained period and regulate your breath in the posture, you become aware of your thought patterns, and your current emotional and mental state. In Yoga, we subject ourselves to austerity and pain internally in order to become stronger. It’s done in a controlled manner - you use your breath to calm yourself down and help you stay with the discomfort a little longer. You begin to understand what frustrates you and where your strengths lie. For me it's crucial to meet and breathe with the challenge of a posture, and not fight it. It increases your resilience, patience and understanding of yourself. The physical strength and flexibility are just by-products of this approach to the practice.”

3. For a long time, Sujay barely practised Savasana for a couple of minutes in each session, but now he’s convinced that this particular asana is one of the most important aspects of a yoga session. “It allows you to activate your parasympathetic nervous system. In this fast-paced world, we need such tools to go into deep states of relaxation without external stimulation. It enhances good digestion, good sleep, rejuvenation and helps with elongation of the breath,” he says. Myra Khanna, Student Of Yoga & Teacher Before finding Yoga in 2018, Myra was a scuba instructor in the Andamans. A couple of years into her life in the Andamans, she looked for a movement based practice - something she could do everyday since she couldn’t practise Kathak with her mom anymore like she did back in Delhi. Myra started her practice in Mysore with the intention of enhancing her strength and flexibility, but she started feeling the effects practising Yoga had on her mind a couple of months into learning with her teacher, Bharat Shetty. She realised that she started becoming more aware of the way her body functions, her sleeping patterns, how her food habits affected her. “Whether you’re uncomfortable or nervous, looking for happiness or mental stability - it all starts with awareness of your mind. Most often, it's not that we don't know how we feel, it's that we don’t pay attention to why we feel the way we feel. How do you deal with uncomfortable situations or demanding asana you've never done before? Are you going to get agitated? Or are you going to take it in your stride, do your best and then do better each day? There’s always effort in the beginning before it becomes effortless. And this is how you apply learnings from Yoga to real life situations.” Myra sees lots of similarities between yoga and diving or dancing - the environments are different, but she senses a state of meditation with all of these activities. “When you're

4. diving, you only see what’s in front of you with complete awe, when you’re dancing you can only focus on the rhythm and the beats, and when you’re doing yoga, you focus on your breath. And that’s what union is, to be completely immersed in the now and the present with no worries.” The first step, Myra says, is to always recognise how you're feeling in the present moment. “Some days you wake up not in a good mood. Let yourself feel whatever you’re feeling and let it flow through you without disrupting someone else’s day. It's not always about getting to the root of it. Maybe you didn’t get a good night's sleep. Sometimes we just need to accept how we feel, not over analyse it and be neutral about it. We all long to be happy. When we laugh, we don't deconstruct our laughter, we just accept and enjoy it, so why do we try and go into the root of sadness and anger. Sometimes it’s important to know how to drop it. You accept it, you don’t neglect it but at the same time, you do not give it too much attention and just let it flow through you. Try not taking yourself too seriously!” To know more: https://nack.life/blogs/news/beyond-the-yoga-mat