On the occasion of IYD 2018 a Ukrainian writes about Yoga the Gift of India to the Universe in the realm of Lifestyle and Well being
- In History & Culture
- 12:00 AM, Jun 19, 2018
- Galina Zhuravel
It’s very difficult to explain what attracted me to yoga! I was always interested in different sport activities but that was only because of the physical aspect. At the same time, I was very curious to know the answer to a simple question – how to live this life!
By the time I was 25, I had made many mistakes; my lifestyle was terrible and I had no goal in life. Luckily there was “something” inside me signaling that everything can be changed if I find out how to live this life.
But who could give me the answer?
A few years passed and the desire was getting stronger and stronger. I started taking small steps to improve my lifestyle: I stopped smoking, then stopped drinking (that was impossible to imagine a few years before), began to read books on Psychology.
Finally, I stopped eating meat. I have no idea how and why it happened! One fine day I woke up and felt that I didn’t need and didn’t want it any more. Around this time, I heard about yoga, but it seemed so unreal – I felt that only special people could do Yoga. I continued watching nice photos of people doing asanas and read about yoga from time to time. I also started to listen to relaxing music and introduced a very short prerecorded meditation into my daily routine which helped me survive after hard working days.
Few more years passed before I joined my first yoga group. I still remember it as if it was yesterday. While doing my simple morning exercises in the park, I noticed a group of people doing yoga every morning during weekends. I began watching them. I was excited to see “real” people do yoga. And the same day I had a random thought in my mind –” it would be nice to join them”. A lady from this group invited me to join. At that moment, I learnt a very important rule of life – everything happens in our lives at the right time and when we are ready to accept it. From that day, I fell in love with yoga; I started to learn more about it – deeper and more consciously, about my body as well as my mind.
Most of all I love yoga because it is so vast, deep and comprehensive. It helps me to maintain my body and at the same time gives me all the answers that I couldn’t find elsewhere. There are so many famous yogis who inspire me.
I practice asanas almost every day and I love this feeling when every muscle is working. It makes me feel alive and full of energy. Also, regular practice raises my self-esteem, I feel proud of myself that I wake up early to do my yoga instead of sleeping till noon.
To be honest, I have become addicted to yoga. I love everything: asana practice, meditation – though it’s so hard to focus for me, breathing and especially philosophy. The more I learn about Vedic culture, the more I feel at peace. The arguments and misunderstandings with people closest to me became much less. Yoga helped me to balance my diet and gave me deep understanding about what is good for my body and what can harm it. Of course, I still have some cravings but now it’s much easier to control them. I stopped worrying about my appearance, I don’t look for satisfaction in shopping, dining out or some extraordinary activity. Now I know for sure that I will not find it there. A well-defined line appeared between important things and the rubbish of modern life.
There are many more positive aspects about doing yoga and probably everyone would have his own conclusions. But I’m absolutely certain about one thing- it’s worth doing it. Whether you are looking to fix your health issues or you’d like to meet real you or probably you want to find the universal truth, you can get everything through yoga practice.
Article Courtesy: http://www.flamingo.ae
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