Resolve to find calm

Yoga is the perfect practice that combines health with wellness, joy with discipline and also makes you fit both in the body and mind, suggests Akshar

The New Year feels a lot like turning a page in a book that is your life. This is another year going around the Sun and can feel festive and even auspicious. New Year is an event that brings renewed vigour and gives us the chance to attempt being better.

Set your NY resolutions

Come New Year’s time and everybody jumps on the resolution-making wagon in a hopeful state of mind. Your resolutions are the list of things-to-do that need to be checked off with sincerity and commitment. Using this opportunity to start afresh, sit down and introspect before you rush into a namesake list of resolutions. How realistic are they? Do they add value to your life? Will it help you move out of your comfort zone? Set realistic deadlines for them, and choose your list wisely so it
doesn’t spill over into the next new year of 2021.

Practice these following asanas on a regular basis to improve your strength, flexibility and enhance overall well-being:

Santolanasana – Plank Pose

Lie down flat on your stomach and place your palms under your shoulders and ground your toes down. With an inhalation, lift your body up and keep the knees straight. Align the pelvis and spine placing your wrists under your shoulders. Keep your arms straight and hold for 8 to 10 breaths.

Naukasana

Sit down with your legs forward and lift your legs 45° off the floor. Lean back gently so your upper body is also at the same angle. Balance your body weight keeping knees straight or bent. Extend your hands to the side. Engage your abdominal muscles and straighten your back.

Vrikshasana

Stand up straight in Samasthithi. Lift your right leg and place your right foot on your left inner thigh as close to your groin as possible. Balance your body weight on your left leg. If this is hard, you can support your balance by holding the foot or ankle with your palms. Join your palms in Pranam Mudra at your heart chakra and raise it upwards. Repeat with the alternate leg. Hold for 8 to 10 breaths.

Padahasthasana

Stand up straight in Samasthithi. As you exhale, gently fold forward with your upper body. Allow your head to drop down pushing the stomach on the thighs. Ensure that you are bending forward from the hip joints and not from the waist. If possible, try to place palms on either side of the feet. As a beginner, you can bend your knees slightly but with practice, slowly straighten your knees and try to touch your chest to your thighs. Hold for 8 to 10 breaths.

Murcha Pranayam

Sit in any comfortable pose (such as Sukhasan, Ardhapadmasana or Padmasana)

Straighten your back and close your eyes

Place your palms on your knees facing up (in Prapthi Mudra)

Bend your head forward and reach your chin towards your chest

Inhale through your nose and fill your lungs with air

Lift your head, take it behind and rest your head on your shoulders

Open your mouth without breathing out

Retain your breath for as long as possible

After you have held the breath for a while, close your mouth, bend your head forward, reach your chin towards your chest and breathe out.

You may begin by practising this breathing technique for five minutes a day and gradually increase it with time. Through the breath, it is possible to regulate one’s emotions and moods. And yoga teaches the art of breathing through pranayama techniques that help you sync with your breath. Yoga also refines the mind through many powerful meditation and pranayama techniques. Start off your New Year on a healthy note by dedicating at least 20-30 minutes a minimum of three times a week. This will help you to fulfil your resolution of a sound body, mind and soul.

(The author is a lifestyle coach and Yoga-preneur.)