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At 5.30 am every day, a set of trains pass our apartment block in India, ripping through early morning silence. This is my 200 decibels wake up call, to which I throw on my sports gear and think to myself, “Is it worth getting up?” “Do I need a little more sleep?” Then I remember ‘why’ I do this, so I ignore the horns and continue with the day. As I scuttle along to my class, I meet my fellow sleepy-eyed yogis. Our instructor, who seems to have a boundless amount of energy, is a lady who has a passion to teach at such a crazy hour and knows what the body and mind need in the morning. As we enter our yoga room, we all sit peacefully on our mats, the lights in the room dim, the clock strikes 6.30 am and we begin.
“OM"
When I initially began, I couldn’t commit to the practice. Performing some fancy stretching for an hour in silence didn’t appeal to me. I was more interested in going to the gym and pumping some iron which always gave visible gains. These physical results always left me a little empty and not feeling quite right. There was no mindful energy, the stuff that helps you get through the day with clarity.
It was a couple of months later, having attended a set of classes and noticing the body and energy levels had increased, that I had my Matrix moment, it was while reading Inner Engineering by Sadhguru. A book dedicated to this subject matter and much deeper than I can take this article to. To explain my “Ah-ha! “ moment is complicated, in essence, you have to believe me when I say I felt an unequivocal internal need to practice Yoga. I guess you should read the book, it goes some way as to why one should practice and how to start.
I must say, rising early and practising Yoga before even having a coffee is not for the faint-hearted. You may feel demotivated and want to crawl back under the covers, I know I have on some occasions. However, to use yoga as a way of grounding yourself, each day make sure to get on your mat and practice. Every second you spend practising you’ll be putting in the mental and physical work to build discipline.
Yoga has changed my life. It’s taught me that I need to spend more time with myself. I have often been consumed by the stream of the internet, constantly looking for my cheap dopamine fix. To put an end to this distraction I spend a short amount of uninterrupted time each day to enhance my mind. Through this routine, I have discovered a level of mental clarity and become more alert than ever before, allowing me to think acutely for the first time in my life. I believe strengthening the connection between the mind and body is a step in the right direction to becoming the best version of ourselves daily, an outcome that all of us could benefit from.