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Yoga, according to Kamlesh Barwal, is about going back to your natural state. It’s about getting to be with your true self. “Yoga transformed me from an overly pampered teenager into a happy and good person,” claimed one of the most sought after international yoga trainers in the world.
In Muscat to teach an advanced yoga workshop at the Art of Living centre, Kamlesh elaborated on how yoga works. “Yoga is not just asanas. It is a lifestyle. It’s not just something you do for 20 minutes a day,” she said.
“The western understanding of yoga is very different, and that’s what I aspire to change. I am not negating something like ‘Power Yoga’, but I think that it is a fitness concept rather than a lifestyle concept,” she added. “Yoga means being connected to who you truly are, how you were as a child, which was your natural state.
As we grew up, we developed a cloud of ignorance. You can only go back to the natural state once you have taken care of the mind. So all the asanas, postures and breathing techniques are there to still the mind. And when you do that, you are able to see your truth,” she said. Her love for yoga began when she was in college. She developed a condition, which was diagnosed as epilepsy at first, but soon degenerated into something much worse. “Fortunately for me, my neurosurgeon had read about the Art of Living and Sudarshan Kriya (breathing techniques) and he guided me to it.
And what followed was miraculous. I recovered and it’s been 14 years since I have taken any sort of medication.” She believes that the perception of the discipline has really changed over the years. “Being a practice for all demographics, it’s really nice to see that the younger generation is much more intelligent, open and aware of
yoga’s benefits. Their lifestyle is hectic, and they realise that yoga brings inner peace,” said the woman who has conducted yoga sessions in India, Kazakhstan, the Middle East, China and Russia.
“When I started, I wasn’t too keen on it and didn’t even tell my friends, because like my friends, I believed it wouldn’t work at the time,” she added. A common misconception about yoga is that it involves complex postures. Kamlesh was quick to dismiss the notion. “Yoga is relaxing, It cannot be taxing. And the asanas or postures are something that one has to give 20 minutes a day to. If one can’t do that, then they can never be fit.”
What yoga is really about is controlling your thoughts, according to Kamlesh. “One has to shut down the whirlpool of thoughts that are inside the head. Yoga means surrounding yourself with happy and joyful people, not regretting mistakes from the past and being able to exist in the present moment,” she added. She believes that yoga is all encompassing, a state where mind, body and spirit are in harmony. “So one of the key aspects is to eat healthy, which means cutting out spicy, non vegetarian and junk food.
Because a healthy body leads to a good body-mind image, thus providing clarity of thought,” she said. She also spoke of the importance of the breathing exercises. “Have you noticed that when someone gets angry or jealous, the first thing that changes is their breathing pattern? They draw sharp, short breaths and develop a headache. So there is an obvious connection between mind and breathing, which means there is a connection between mind and body.”
“Everyone who has ever been concerned about you tells you not to get angry, upset or jealous. No one ever tells you ‘how’ not to feel these emotions.” That, according to her is how yoga gets rid of stress. “It teaches you how to control your breathing, thereby helping you not to feel negative or control the negativity in the first place.”
She believes that it is very simple to live a yogic lifestyle. “I feel the mathematics of most people’s lives is so wrong. They spend the first fifty years of their life wasting away their health chasing money and the next fifty years using that money to get back their health.”
According to her if they factor in simple yoga practices like eating healthy, exercising the body and being in control of the mind, the very same people can lead a more natural and ultimately more fulfilling life.
Source: Muscatdaily
More Wisdom Quotes from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar - Click Here
In Muscat to teach an advanced yoga workshop at the Art of Living centre, Kamlesh elaborated on how yoga works. “Yoga is not just asanas. It is a lifestyle. It’s not just something you do for 20 minutes a day,” she said.
“The western understanding of yoga is very different, and that’s what I aspire to change. I am not negating something like ‘Power Yoga’, but I think that it is a fitness concept rather than a lifestyle concept,” she added. “Yoga means being connected to who you truly are, how you were as a child, which was your natural state.
As we grew up, we developed a cloud of ignorance. You can only go back to the natural state once you have taken care of the mind. So all the asanas, postures and breathing techniques are there to still the mind. And when you do that, you are able to see your truth,” she said. Her love for yoga began when she was in college. She developed a condition, which was diagnosed as epilepsy at first, but soon degenerated into something much worse. “Fortunately for me, my neurosurgeon had read about the Art of Living and Sudarshan Kriya (breathing techniques) and he guided me to it.
And what followed was miraculous. I recovered and it’s been 14 years since I have taken any sort of medication.” She believes that the perception of the discipline has really changed over the years. “Being a practice for all demographics, it’s really nice to see that the younger generation is much more intelligent, open and aware of
yoga’s benefits. Their lifestyle is hectic, and they realise that yoga brings inner peace,” said the woman who has conducted yoga sessions in India, Kazakhstan, the Middle East, China and Russia.
“When I started, I wasn’t too keen on it and didn’t even tell my friends, because like my friends, I believed it wouldn’t work at the time,” she added. A common misconception about yoga is that it involves complex postures. Kamlesh was quick to dismiss the notion. “Yoga is relaxing, It cannot be taxing. And the asanas or postures are something that one has to give 20 minutes a day to. If one can’t do that, then they can never be fit.”
What yoga is really about is controlling your thoughts, according to Kamlesh. “One has to shut down the whirlpool of thoughts that are inside the head. Yoga means surrounding yourself with happy and joyful people, not regretting mistakes from the past and being able to exist in the present moment,” she added. She believes that yoga is all encompassing, a state where mind, body and spirit are in harmony. “So one of the key aspects is to eat healthy, which means cutting out spicy, non vegetarian and junk food.
Because a healthy body leads to a good body-mind image, thus providing clarity of thought,” she said. She also spoke of the importance of the breathing exercises. “Have you noticed that when someone gets angry or jealous, the first thing that changes is their breathing pattern? They draw sharp, short breaths and develop a headache. So there is an obvious connection between mind and breathing, which means there is a connection between mind and body.”
“Everyone who has ever been concerned about you tells you not to get angry, upset or jealous. No one ever tells you ‘how’ not to feel these emotions.” That, according to her is how yoga gets rid of stress. “It teaches you how to control your breathing, thereby helping you not to feel negative or control the negativity in the first place.”
She believes that it is very simple to live a yogic lifestyle. “I feel the mathematics of most people’s lives is so wrong. They spend the first fifty years of their life wasting away their health chasing money and the next fifty years using that money to get back their health.”
According to her if they factor in simple yoga practices like eating healthy, exercising the body and being in control of the mind, the very same people can lead a more natural and ultimately more fulfilling life.
Source: Muscatdaily
More Wisdom Quotes from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar - Click Here
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