New Delhi: Did you ever speak to a yogi for a few minutes? If you have had the opportunity, you would have realized the tremendous level of serenity, calmness and composure in his or her presence, and the enormous energy hidden beneath every word he or she speaks.
Yoga is almost as old as old as the history of India dating back to the Vedic ages. It is the art that helped rishis and munis to stay connected with their inner persona among the humdrums of daily life. And they lived happily. As centuries passed, humans got more engaged with their outer world and lost connectivity with their inner self.
The encouraging story is that, after many centuries, yoga has once again started to gain prominence, and surprisingly, not just in India, but amongst the richest of the people in the richest countries of the world. Hollywood A-listers like Madonna, Ricky Martin, Jennifer Aniston are yoga freaks today. The Obamas hosted a 'Yoga Garden' in 2013 for kids and their parents to 'Be Healthy, Be Active, Be You' with Yoga.
Yoga in India has been patronized by great Gurus like Maharishi Patanjali, Sri Aurobindo, Swami Vivekanda et al. In recent times, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Baba Ramdev and others have helped Yoga connect to its roots.
When Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India, Yoga was sure to receive a boost in India. And true to his words, he went on to promote Yoga globally and on his appeal, the United Nations declared June 21 as International Yoga Day. Now, with the frenzied preparations going on in celebration of Yoga Day, Yoga is surely at its most golden days in recent years.
And, the timing could have never been more apt. As the country moves gradually towards globalized economy and with millions of people moving to cities in search of jobs, life is becoming acutely hectic and stressful for millions of Indians.
As a result of unhealthy lifestyle and loss of mental peace and physical fitness, increasingly high number of people are suffering from lifestyle related diseases like diabetes, high Blood Pressure, cardiac arrests,thyroid, obesity, osteoporosis and so on.
Yoga, with its breathing exercises, meditation and over 100 prominent postures can help in preventing these diseases and complications. For people already suffering from these, a routine regime of Yoga can increase body’s immunity and help fast recovery or controlling the negative influences.
One lesser-known benefit of Yoga came to light when we were researching on Yoga and its benefits. Infertility has become a growing cause of concern in India, especially among the city population owing to delayed marriages, poor lifestyle and stressful working conditions.
And yoga seems to have become a savior for many couples suffering from infertility also. "Yoga has become perhaps the most well accepted natural remedy for couples who want to conceive naturally without going for medical procedures as it improves blood circulation, reduces muscle tension and increases body flexibility thus, relieving physical and mental stress- all of which have direct impact on fertility of couples", says, Yogesh Vaidya, CEO of STG Lifecare Ltd, whose infertility guidance portal, ivfgurus.com offers free guidance to patients.
We confirmed the same with Dr. M.L. Goenka, Director of Kolkata based renowned fertility clinic Institute of Human Reproduction, and he reveals that IHR specifically runs Yoga sessions for infertile couples and they have found a strong positive correlation between yoga and fertility. This was an interesting revelation, as we already knew the benefits of Yoga on major diseases mentioned before, but not much on fertility that affects at least one in 10 couples today.
So, with international yoga day round the corner, do not think twice, get out of your tight jeans, put on your track-suits, buy a yoga mat if you don’t have one, and reach the venue. No matter how old are you, what work you do, and where you stay, yoga is simply going to transform your life. Give it a try on June 21!
Comments
0 comment