by Sheena

Namaskaram.

I was introduced to yoga by my mother at the age of around 14 or 15 as I was a chubby girl. She used to make me watch an Indian yoga guru, Baba Ramdev, morning yoga sessions on TV and practice with him. I used to do that unwillingly as when someone makes you do a thing in which you do not have the whole heart, it appears to be a burden. Much later, I moved out for studies and was occupied in the college life.

After college, I started going to the gym. Because of no guidance and experimenting stuff on my own, I injured my knee. I ignored my condition for around 3 to 4 years as the pain wasn't regular and only bothered me once in a while.

This ignorance towards my knee was not wise.

One day, I was not able to cross a street so I finally consulted a doctor. He told me I could no longer do intense workouts and that I might need a knee replacement when I got older.

This was so disappointing for me. I couldn't just stop being active, so I joined yoga classes to keep myself fit without being harsh on my knee. After few months, with the help of a physiotherapist and yoga, the condition of my knee improved.

But by this time, my knee issue was not even the matter of my concern. The "feel-good" factor which I was experiencing everyday after the practice session hooked me to yoga for life!

This yoga practice was changing me on so many levels - not just physically but mentally and emotionally.

I experienced a phenomenal change in my thought process, the way I was perceiving things was very different as compared to before. I grew to be more confident, happy and light. My temper improved and the way of reacting towards situations.

It isn't that I am completely evolved but I am full of hopes and have a positive mindset. I am ready to work towards becoming strong everyday. I am a person who still gets angry. I still compare myself to others and get anxious over life matters. But also I am full of hopes and ready to come out of the troubles, to face the challenges of life.

When I tried a forward fold in class, or any pose for that matter where it was hard, it was difficult at first. Yet, with patience, hard work and consistent practice, I improved and got better in the practice day by day.

My yoga practice made me realize that this principle can be applied not only in achieving any pose but also anything in life.

"Patience, hard work and consistent practice" is the Mantra which personally made me realize that every problem in life can be dealt with if we keep these three words in mind. Be it any troubled relationship, work related matter. Any thing and everything can be sorted.

Yoga does not only help in toning our body but also the mind. Yoga can bless us not only with the body of our dreams but can also condition our mind in such a way that we are comfortable in our own skin.

How deep is the meaning of the saying "Sound mind resides in sound body"? We all are aware of the fact that a disturbed mind creates unpleasant chatter in our heads. The habit of procrastination, comparing our lives with others, overthinking, stresses from work and other spheres of life, all of these appear to drain ourselves.

Therefore, I want to help and encourage others, so that the same kind of relief, confidence, satisfaction and happiness can be experienced by them and they can also witness the beauty of this life.