You would love that, won’t you?
To be a dynamic, open, easy-going, yet strong person going through life with an uncompromising sense of confidence.
Going to the gym has toned your body, but not your emotions, and you are looking for something magical that will transform you into your dream self.
Reading book after book on self-development may help in its own time. But what if I give you a discipline that will tone your body, mind, and personality?
Asanas, one of the eight limbs of the ancient Vedic discipline Yoga, can give you all that and more. But remember, the trick in Yoga is your mental attitude, more than what you are doing and this applies to Asanas as well.
So, while I give you this sequence of just 5 yoga poses for morning, I urge you to practice them in the way given here. This practice will empower your day and get you ready for a wonderful life, day after day.
Here they are –
Grounding is a necessity, not a choice
Without grounding, we are like a dry leaf, drifting away with the wind. Going where the wind goes, never able to find a home, and hence the feeling of not belonging.
The basic nature of man is to possess or to be possessed, and ‘to belong’, is a basic need.
Then why not belong to Mother Earth, to nature, to the all-pervasive sky, and find stability in that belonging? Because belonging to a person or an idea is setting yourself up for failure, as both of these are designed to evolve and hence change.
Vrikshasana or Tree pose helps you do that.
When in this pose, imagine that you are a big & tall old tree, your roots are spread deep down the earth holding it tight and intact.
Hands folded in prayer position like branches in the sky, help you pull up and become even taller. Dig all four corners of your foot in the ground and have a firm grip between the thigh and the other foot.
See the feelings of absolute security surge up, since you belong where you are.
Claim your space and it shall help you maintain the same feeling the whole day, belonging wherever you are without struggling.
Pro-tip – Open your eyes and fix your gaze at one point. After some practice, you can do it with your eyes closed also by focusing on your belly button.
Set yourself free by practicing the art of surrender
You are right, unquestionably.
But once you surrender, you will experience a new level of peace in your mind. Where you are still being the best version of yourself as much as you can, but leaving the results of your actions to the Universe.
For letting what is best for you to come to you, rather than running behind something that may not serve you as well as you imagine.
Pashchimottanasana or sitting forward bend, will help you do exactly that. Achieving surrender through this pose and achieving this pose through surrender are two sides of one coin.
Inhale, stretch up, exhale with the feeling of complete surrender, and bend forward. Keep your thighs tightly and comfortably together to prevent injury at the root of your thighs.
With every inhalation, stretch forward and with each exhalation, surrender completely, and let go until you achieve the pose. Stay for as long as you can and breathe. Enjoy the feeling of surrender, of calm.
Pro-tip – Bend forward from the lower back, not from the torso. Do it with surrender and see the results
Open up, and the sky is your limit
Often in our lives, we complain that our friends family, or colleagues are not very kind to us, they don’t understand us. It is only a matter of how open you are, of first understanding them and then expecting them back.
Ushtrasana or Camel pose helps you open up your heart to the limitless bounty of this Universe.
Come up on your knees, stretch both your arms above the head, stretch up as much as you can with the help of your arms, and then roll back the shoulders bending backward.
Grab your ankles, soles, or wherever you feel comfortable on your feet.
Close your eyes if you can and open your heart! Breathe and soak in all the abundance of the Universe, it is for you only. Inhale abundance and exhale poverty of emotions with every breath.
You will see a considerable change in your interpersonal relationships when you keep practicing this pose every morning.
Pro-tip – Keep the belly button and pelvic region pushed forward to strike the right pose.
Better bend than break
Flexibility is the single most important trait for survival.
Not just for survival though, being flexible will make you a much richer person experientially. Taking risks and adjusting and accommodating with situations will groom your personality as nothing else.
The flexibility we are talking about here is mental first and then physical because that is how everything manifests.
The sitting half spinal twist or Ardhmatsyendrasana will train you to be flexible in life.
Like the other Asanas, start practicing this one also under the guidance of a Yoga teacher first and then maintain your practice which is another experience altogether. Personal practice is what develops awareness inside you, the main tool of Yoga.
Sit with both legs stretched forward. Bend the left leg and place the heel of the left leg touching the right hip.
Place the right foot over the left, right heel touching the left knee. Both the hips should be on the ground, adjust yourself. Stretch up and straighten the spine. Take the right arm back and keep your spine straight with the help of this arm with just a gentle pressure if required.
Inhale and raise your left arm, exhale, and completely turn towards the right as much as you can. Cross your left arm wrapping the right knee and grab the right foot wherever possible – ankle or main foot. Neck parallel to the right shoulder.
Take a few deep breaths and stay as long as you can.
Release and repeat on the other side.
Enjoy a flexible approach in life that will allow you to be happy always.
Pro-tip – The better you exhale while twisting, the faster you achieve the most twist.
It is all about balance in the end
Yet so often, we find ourselves out of it.
The balance between work and life, between holding on and letting go, between body and mind.
I can tell you this much the day you achieve Shirshasana or headstand, you immediately claim a certain amount of balance for the rest of your life.
It has that power on your mind, literally. You become more confident, more balanced, and more in sync. You know you can face anything that may befall you, once you have achieved the headstand.
Called the King of Poses in Yoga, Shirshasana stimulates all three main glands of the Endocrine system – Pineal, Pituitary, and Hypothalamus. Thereby bombarding your mind and body with innumerable benefits and an ultimate state of balance.
Practice with a Yoga Guru initially and keep practicing on your own later.
It is worth the effort.
Pro-tip – Use your core strength, not just arms and shoulders. Be aware of the belly button and back core muscles. The head should be just touching the ground, with no weight on the head or neck.
Feel it and you will achieve it
Aligned with your inner self, you are no longer scared of being yourself. Your emotions and approach towards any situation are balanced and grounded in your reality.
You are open to new possibilities and flexible enough for any necessary changes. You no more strain yourself about being in control of the smallest of things, because you know you aren’t the doer.
Experiencing surrender will change you, forever. You will be empowered in an way unprecedented. And this change will come from your very core.
It will be a transformation.
So what are you waiting for…
ON THE MAT!