Tension v/s Relaxation

My association with The Yoga Institute began in 2001 when I joined the 21-Days Better Living Course.

- Alpa Trivedi

At that time I looked at yoga only as a traditional form of exercise and was keen to learn, only because in one of the film magazines I had read that Hema Malini practices yoga regularly and that was the main reason for her remaining ageless. I came to the Institute and figured out that the best course that gives an insight into yoga from all perspectives was the 21-Days Better Living Course.

It was an excellent experience; for the very first time I was exposed to the 8-fold path of yoga, various Asanas, Pranayamas, meditation and conscious relaxation techniques that offered a method for slowly and consciously relaxing all the major parts of the body, leaving you fresh and rejuvenated! My favourite relaxation technique has been Nishpanda Bhava, which is the best technique of calming mind and body, along with developing a feeling of letting go.

However, I got entangled with my job, extended and irregular timings and with a hunger to rise in my professional career, yoga took a back seat. I did miss yoga a lot, but then due to not being able to pursue it, the teachings learnt here slowly faded away. Conscious relaxation got replaced with watching TV/movies, going for lunch/dinner with friends, eating junk food and sleeping for long hours, and at times very less sleep. This resulted in a lot of health problems in the form of frequent headaches, digestion problems, sleep disorder, acidity and weight gain. On an emotional level, impatience, anger, restlessness, non-acceptance, stress, anxiety and tension were at their peak.