The Balancing Act
I still remember days when CultFit used to provide yoga mats at the class. People could go with empty hands and finish their yoga workout. Those were pre-pandemic days. Thanks to COVID, everyone is supposed to carry their own yoga mats to the CultFit yoga class.
Today, I attended a yoga session at CultFit and felt great. As I walked out, my thoughts were driven to the moment I decided to try yoga.
I was crossing the signal near Forum mall by foot when I thought signing up for yoga classes would be a good idea. Why yoga?
Personally, I had a snobbish attitude toward gym rats (though I would turn into one later in the year). The price point for a yoga package was lower than that of a full-fledged cult membership. Thanks to my hatred for gym-goers and lower prices, Yoga practice was my first foray into the world of exercise/fitness.
So, I went for it. I completed the purchase on my phone while walking back to my room.
When I purchased a CultFit yoga pack, I had not anticipated a massive change in my life. It was just another experiment. As of today, I have attended 720+ classes at CultFit. The percentage of yoga classes has reduced. But I haven’t given up on it.
Yoga has been a truly transformational tool for me. When I completed my first session, I felt unprecedented stimulation in my brain. I felt as if someone had dipped their fingers into my brain and rearranged the nerves.
But it wasn’t an easy ride. There were asanas that I couldn’t perform. Sarvangasana and Chakrasana were among the two that I could not master in my initial days. But whenever I cracked a new barrier, I felt a unique jolt of happiness in my body.
Even today, I can’t perform Shirsasana and Bakasana. And it looks like the trainers will not venture into that territory. I’ve put the desire to perform these asanas in cold storage.
Maybe I’ll crack these asanas in the near future.
Yoga was the best antidote to stress at work. This was in 2019-20. I used to attend two yoga sessions every day. However, I never lost weight or added muscle.
But the mind was in great shape, thanks to happy hormones released by the body. Of course, pretty women attending the classes did have a role in uplifting my mood through their sheer presence.
The real test of the body’s capability is the 108 Suryanamaskara routine. It is the yoga equivalent of a marathon. Initially, I could do around 80. Then I breached 100 but never got to 108. Over a period of time, I improved my stamina. At my peak fitness levels, I performed 108 Suryanamaskaras six days in a row.
This is a deliberate flex.
Tenacity, focus and balance are three personality traits enhanced by yoga practice. I don’t mean to say that I didn’t have these earlier. But they have been channelled better thanks to regular yoga practice. I am unsure if I can prove this, but I believe my mental health has been uplifted significantly due to yoga. Apparently, many studies support my claim.
Honestly, I don’t think I can dish out any gyan at this point. I just shared a random thread of thoughts.
If you feel like trying yoga after reading this, then great. Even otherwise, no problem.
I have done yoga now and then. The longest stretch was during the pandemic...No, I have nothing to say about its effects. But like all other practices( walking,jogging, meditating) Yoga has been never a part of my everyday discipline. I am ok with it.
👏🏼👏🏼 to all practitioners :-)