It’s international day of yoga, today. My mom has been doing hatha yoga since her 20s. She learned it from a book, back then. She says that my maternal grandma and great grandma were also practitioners of yoga. They had told her that as long as they did yoga they were doing well, but once they stopped it their health deteriorated, so they regretted stopping yoga and letting it take a backseat. My mom also stopped doing yoga for many years in between, but she has resumed the past few years thanks to her maternal uncle who sent her a yoga book.
I tried doing yoga in Chennai in 2012 when we had an instructor come home. When I moved to Bangalore later that year, I joined classes and learned from there. It was artistic yoga – which is like power yoga. I lost inches, my flexibility improved, my joie de vivre improved, and I felt fit while doing yoga. I was very regular and consistent. I even attended a special yoga class on my trip to Benares. I then switched to another studio upon my return to Bangalore and learned yoga there. This style was slower, more languid, and relaxed. I don’t think I lost inches here, but my breathing, flexibility, and fitness did improve. I did yoga at yet another studio later. This was slow as well, but I feel it helped me.
I felt youthful and fit as long as I did yoga. This was in my late 30s.
