Organizing a Yoga Camp

Organizing a yoga camp in a prestigious international school in Mussoorie was an amazing and delightful experience. Teaching Thai (forty percent students are from abroad in this school) girls who were almost double my size gave me the motivation and encouragement to teach even more foreign students. I was really shocked and taken aback to see that they did not have any awareness about a healthy diet and physical fitness. Even though all of them were cribbing about not being slim, they did not want to put in any effort in doing the exercises that would reduce their fat. They got extremely tired even after doing the easiest exercises like ‘Mushtikabandha’ or ‘Mushtikachakra’. It was heartbreaking to know that teachers, ‘the most learned ones,’ were also suffering from joint pain, obesity and different life style related diseases,which could easily be cured by eating right and proper fitness regime. They were the most careless people, I have ever seen in my life, regarding their health.

It was heart touching when I was honored by being given the opportunity to light the ceremonial lamp for the inauguration of the special assembly. One thing I appreciated about this school was that everyone was very respectful towards me. Even the principal bowed down in front of me to thank me for giving yoga classes and diet and nutrition tips to the teachers as well.

Food Selection

Besides yoga, eating the right food is also very important to keep fit and healthy. People believe that if they avoid fried food, they are consuming a healthy diet, but their belief is far from reality. Choosing the right cereals, pulses, grains, nuts, milk etc. is also very important. For example, we should not buy polished rice and pulses. Instead, we should have non-polished rice and pulses.

In the case of nuts, we think that nuts are very healthy and nutritious so they are benefiting our body. When we buy peeled almonds, the oil has already been extracted from it and only the residue is given to us, which is not nutritious. Therefore, we should prefer buying unpeeled almonds from a reliable shop and not get manipulated by the packing so that these are healthy. While buying raisins, we should not buy the green ones because most of them have been washed in acids to make it appear green. Rather we should go for a more natural color which may not be attractive, but is surely healthier than the green ones.

Packaged milk should not at all be consumed because it has been tested and proved by scientists that it is not natural milk, but is made of harmful chemicals.

Cooking in the correct way is also very important. These days’ people use aluminum and non-stick utensils not knowing that they are cancerous. We should always use steel and iron utensils for cooking.

What is Yoga?

"Yoga is a not an ancient myth buried in oblivion. It is the most valuable inheritence of present. It is the essential need of today and the culture of tommorow."  (Swami Satyananda Saraswati.)

I think Yoga is a vast treasure of techniques that have a beneficial effect on the body, the mind and our emotions that lead to the uncovering of our latent potentials.

Yoga is an ancient system of philosophy, lifestyle and techniques that evolves the whole person, the physical, the mental and the realization of the spiritual reality of each one of us.

"Peace and happiness can be found only within. You cannot certainly find it in external objects. Wealth, women, children, property, palatial buildings cannot give you everlasting Peace. Look within. Realise your oneness with that One Supreme Self, who lives in the chambers of your heart. When you are established in That, which is an ocean of Peace and Happiness, you will not be shaken even by heavy sorrow, loss or failures, inharmonious and disagreeable vibrations. You will tide over all difficulties or crises of life very easily and will come back with triumph in all experiences. Mysterious is this Peace! Marvellous is this Peace! Realise this Peace that passeth all understanding through Yoga Sadhna and be free. Float in this ocean of Peace and rejoice in the Peace of your own Self."  (Swami Sivananda, Divine Life Society)

Yoga

योग के आठ अंग हैं, जिन्हें अष्टांग योग के नाम से जाना जाता है !  यम, नियम, आसन, प्राणायाम, प्रत्याहार, धारणा, ध्यान, समाधी !
Yoga consists of eightfold path, the Ashtaanga Yoga. Yam, Niyam, Asana, Pranayam, Pratyahaar, Dhaarna, Dhyana and Samadhi.

शरीरमाद्यं खलु धर्मसाधनम !
This body is the means of performing all the duties.

योगो भवति दुःखहा !
Yoga is the destroyer of all sorrows and sufferings.