Let’s live — breathe in..., breathe out...
Dr Sonica Joshi

ASK yourself how many times you have realised that you are in a festival called life; or in a fairy tale written by God’s fingers or you have had an awareness that you are breathing. Hardly any, will be the possible reply. Is this the life for the most beautiful creation of God (human being) on this magnificent planet called earth? Certainly not.

The realisation of one’s own self; the consciousness and the awareness of being makes life. Let’s unveil the simple art of self-realisation. This art will take us to the sacred journey to ecstasy and hence teach us how to live!

Why is this art important?

We have woven around us a web of stiff competition, high ambitions and great aspirations. We are in a rat race. The gap between expectations and achievements is filled by frustration. This causes avoidable stress, strain, worries, anxieties and mental tension, leading to a variety of physical problems. But these physical problems have roots in our much developed minds. The psychological and emotional disturbances affect the body to a large extent. There comes a set of disorders like high or low blood pressure, insomnia, loss of appetite leading to diabetes, cardio-vascular diseases, respiratory disorders.

Moreover, it is not important how long we live but how we live. The quality of life depends upon a healthy body which needs repair. The fluctuating concentration needs to be stabilised so that the physical and mental capability is optimised, efficacy, quality and results improve.

How can this journey towards ecstasy be carried out?

We are gifted with an amazing body, a wonderful and intelligent mind and a deeply seated soul. All three levels are related to one another through breathing and so all the four need to be understood.

1.Body: The body needs attention as it has remained unattended for years. By providing light exercises and yogasanas, we can avoid getting wrapped up with stiffness, pains, frozen joints, sluggish working of the organs and organ systems etc.

2.Breathing: A little deep and conscious breathing can do wonders. It can act as a catalyst in exhaling your worries, stresses and tensions and can prove to be a simple workout for the respiratory system as well bring about a refreshing change in the personality which is the need of hour. Some variations in breathing exercises, called pranayama, are of eight types. Pranayama gives the power to fight such enemies as physical problems, lack of concentration etc.

3.Mind: The mind is like a black hole in this universe. Whatever comes in its contact gets drowned into it. Whatever we see, hear talk, smell, feel or even imagine or dream, everything is good for the mind. With such a huge amount of load, it is possible for mind to get overloaded and this can lead to fatigue, anger, fear, indecisiveness, insomnia and abnormal slowing down of physical as well as mental activities.

4. Soul: It is the chetana, the consciousness, the real you. Without the soul, the trio of body, mind and breathing, is worthless. The realisation of one’s own self, about what we really are, is very important. We are separate individuals with our different bodies, appearances, colour etc. We have developed our own territories and countries, and have drawn our own boundaries. We follow our own religions. This whole world has many language and cultures. Despite all these diversities, we have one thing in common and that is the big Ego which we have nurtured so well. Ego can bring destruction and we need to fight it. We do have that mind which can bring back harmony, peace, happiness and real joy not only to one’s own self but also to the whole world. The practice of relaxation, concentration can bring back the ecstasy and that will last forever.

The human being is not born to eat, drink and die only. There is more to his existence. Life can be beautiful, musical. Let us try and learn to live.

Taking yoga to America
Karuna Bector

A 25-year-old Panchkula yoga expert, Sonika Sharma, a national yoga champion, has shown Americans the benefit of yoga, the ancient Indian art of asanas, kiryas and pranayamas (breathing exercises). The over-worked, stressed out Westerners realised, to their delight, that the key to many of their problems lay in this simple form of exercise.

She was one of the four members of the Yoga Federation of India who performed at a number of places in California. The trip was sponsored by the Yoga USA Organisation in 1998 to popularise and propagate yoga by demonstrating at educational institutes, temples and community centres.

After her performances, Sonika was thronged by “patients” of asthma, spondylitis, backache, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. She said people in the USA were keen to know about the ‘yogic kiryas’ which are useful in maintaining sound health. Needless to add, they would immensely benefit from the practice, if they follow it regularly.

Particularly interested by the technique were children who were eager to learn the asanas. “They were surprised to see how we twisted our bodies during the performance. They were inquisitive to know how long it would take for them to gain perfection in doing the yogic asanas and how will these help to maintain physical fitness,” she recalls.

The team received an overwhelming response there. She felt proud to represent India. The yogic kiryas of jal niti, sutra niti and vastradhoti received great admiration. She was awarded the Yoga USA Award for it

A chance performance by classmates had 10-year-old Sonika hooked to yoga. Mesmerised by the various movements and postures adopted by her friends led her to the Yoga Centre, Sector 7, Panchkula, where she mastered the art under the guidance of Ms Indu Aggarwal. Dedication and practice of two to three hours a day saw Sonika soon winning many medals in individual as well as team performances in various national and regional championships.

“Yoga is the answer to many health problems. It not only helps to prevent health-related problems but also corrects the body system,” says she. Bachelor of physical education from PU and yoga instructor at Polytechnic College for Women, Sector 10, the young expert comments, “To stay mentally and physically fit, one must take to yoga.”

She participated in a National Yoga Championship for the first time at Calcutta in 1992. She won the bronze medal in the National Yoga Championship at Madras in 1997. Her achievement was appreciated by her coach and family members that boosted her confidence. She won the silver in the 23rd National Yoga Championship at Bijnor, UP, in 1998, the bronze in the 24th National Yoga Championship, Karnataka, 1999, and the silver medal in December, 2000, in Tamil Nadu. “Mr Ashok Aggarwal, Deputy Director Sports, always encouraged me to perform better, ” she says.

In the All-India Inter-Varsity Yoga Championship held in 1995, she won the silver, and was awarded the bronze in 1996 and 1997 in the same championship. She bagged the silver for individual performance in the same championship at G. B. Pant University in 1999.

While her team was awarded the gold medal in the Inter-College Yoga Championship in 1995, 96 and 97, she bagged the silver in 1996 and gold in 1997 for her individual performance. She won the silver and gold in 98 and 1999, respectively, in the same championship. She also bagged the gold thrice from 1995 to 1997 in the Chandigarh Open Yoga Championship.

The most satisfying occasion for her was when she defeated 10 times national champion Pankaj Sharma. Recently, she was awarded ‘Praman Patra’ for excellence in yoga by the Haryana Government on Republic Day.

She practices yoga two hours each in the morning and evening. Her favourite kiryas are jal niti and sutar niti. She says, “Yoga should be made a way of life as it helps us in maintaining sound health”.

Yogic kiryas and asanas performed regularly and with dedication help get rid of backache, respiratory problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, certain physical deformities etc.

6-fold gain from yoga
Balvinder Kumar

ALMOST everyone is familiar with the word or the subject of yoga. In today’s busy life, yoga by its impressive effects has attracted many people all over the the world.

Some know of yoga as being a specific technique of exercise by which one can keep the body active and healthy. Others know it as a procedure of enchanting mantras (auspicious words) by sitting in specific postures in meditation while still others understand it as a procedure to maintain peace and a balanced state of mind to be free of stress and strain.

In this age of scientific advancement, a person is dissatisfied and tense even though he has almost all the facilities for comforts and luxuries. He desires peace and happiness. To attain the eternally divine experience of satisfaction is the real and main purpose of yoga.

Yoga creates a balanced mind and body with development in the physical, mental, social and behavioural levels. It helps in:

1.Development of ethical values in a person by yogic yama and niyama.

2.Development of the physical level by yogic postures and shatkarmas (process of purification).

3.Development of the maximum mental potential of a person by the practice of pranayama.

4.Development of the maximum potentiality of senses through the practice of pratyahare (sensory control).

5.Development of maximum potentiality of the spiritual level of the person by the practice of concentration and meditation.

6.Experience of unity in diversity and diversity in unity or totality in pointedness and pointedness in totality in the universal mysteries.