Yoga - The Liberation of Life

I have been working out at gym for 18 years now. Inspired by the mind blowing looks of Hritik Roshan in Dhoom2, I too started hitting the gym, dreaming of getting a physique like him one day. Initially it was tough and straining but after about couple of months it became a habit. Very soon I understood that being Hritik Roshan requires intense amount of dedication towards gym and diet routine which I cannot afford. But even though i could not have six pack abs and a chiseled chest like Hritik, yet i had already fallen in love with the work out. I had a decent physique, I was fit and craved to hit the gym almost everyday.

A new definition of workout opened for me when i joined curefit. It initially had four different types of workout. Strength and Conditioning, HRX, Boxing and Yoga. The workout was short, intensive and filled with fun. Each exercise was for a duration of 50 minutes. We had to book our exercise class earlier through the cure fit app. They was a trainer assigned for each class who would instruct us and also monitor us. A single batch used to have about 20 people. Performing the exercises along with the instructions of the trainer seemed to be like a harmony. Each member was inspired by the person working out beside him/her, bringing out the best in them. This saga continued for about an year, till this time I had never tried Yoga. The reason is i was quite afraid of it. The stretches would frighten me and i had a perception that in case I try practicing Yoga, i will tear some of my body parts for sure. One fine evening, my gym partner persuaded me to try it. After lot of dillema, i decided to give it a try.. and then i was introduced to a new gateway of life.

Yoga class used to start with centring where you do a meditative practice to bring your attention to the practice, where your body will be confined to the mat but your abilities will touch the sky. I was mesmerised how this meditation ending by 3 OM Chants could really tie you down to the mat. I was never so ready earlier to act. This was followed by a warmup of Surya Namaskar. During my different workouts in curefit, we used to have a cooling session of 10 minutes after each workout. After doing Surya Namaskar, i realised those cooling stretches were words which when formed a sentence became SuryaNamaskar. This practice is the best warm up i had ever done. It helps you exercise each part of your body and when synced with proper breathing techniques becomes a dance allowing the blood flow to all of your body parts. The main workout was comprised of various asanas which would target different parts of your body, ending with savasana. Savasana is the asana of submission, you leave yourself to mother earth and the mental relaxation achieves ecstacy. I loved it the first day and within a month, Yoga, the form of exercise which frightened me earlier ended as a best form of physical and mental relaxation. Since then i have been practicing yoga at least 3 days a week and it has enabled me to be more focused, patient and physically fit.

As Sanskrit is the mother of many languages, similarly multiple forms of exercises are derived from Yoga. Yoga has separate forms like hatha yoga, power yoga, vinayasa yoga etc. Mixing yoga with legacy gym workouts or any type of sports always makes you a better individual at whatever you do. It helps you get acquainted with fitness either you are a beginner or pro. Start yoga with Surya Namaskar at least 2 times a week if you a beginner and in no time this will become the best habit you ever formed.