In Yoga if you want to live to the
fullest the most effective asana is the ‘Shavasana’ where you lie still and
play dead. Apparently nothing rejuvenates you more than playing the corpse-zaps
the life force and sends it zinging through those million inert cells.
Want to achieve peace of mind and
soothe those shattered nerves? Easy peasy! No, don’t go to a quiet corner and
close your eyes. Instead, take a deep breath and expel the air while producing
a loud ‘Om’ sound loud enough to bounce off
the walls and wake your comatose neighbor, 3 blocks away.
For years your body betrayed you.
You didn’t walk upright, you shuffled along while every joint creaked and
groaned and your doctor sternly ordered you to join a Yoga class. And you
thought, why the hell not? Nothing could cripple you further than your
arthritis or your finances.
And, you were being offered the
straight and narrow path to salvation minus pills and potions. That is when the
‘aargh’ component of Yoga comes into effect. Every spinal twist, knee bend, hip
contortion is the ‘Yogic’ way to get the body to straighten up. Hold impossible
poses in different angles and directions and voila!, you are no longer early
man shuffling along but limber modern man, as fit as a fiddle.
‘Yogaargh” also teaches you one
of life’s most important lessons-you just cannot take anything for granted. We
unenlightened lot thought that breathing was the one thing that came naturally
(after the first unkind slap to get us started) and did not require our
undivided attention. Well, the first shocker, as any good Yoga master will
kindly point out, is that not only should we focus our complete attention to our
breathing but that most of us are doing it all wrong.
So, to achieve that elusive
Nirvana it is like being transported back to kindergarten and being told a
countless times to breathe deeply, inhale and exhale. Apparently, if you want a
flat belly you have to do exactly the reverse- inflate it like a balloon and
then deflate it. And here most of us uninitiated ignoramuses have been wasting
our time and energy trying to stand tall, tuck in our tummies and swing our
arms gracefully as we walked. No wonder people turn to ‘Yogaargh’ in droves- it
is life’s invaluable lesson condensed in one pithy saying-DON’T HOLD YOUR
BREATH!
Nimmou Nilakantan
Aerobic Instructor
(Always Hyperventilating)
