HYDERABAD: In a run-up to the World Yoga Day on June 21, we speak to three Hyderabadis who have been through traumatic disorders and have approached yoga as the last resort, but feel that it should be the first choice of patients. They talk about how yoga has transformed their lives
From backache to 108 Suryanamaskaras now
I joined yoga in 2017 because I was suffering from excruciating backache for an year after I underwent Caesarian. The pain was so extreme that I could not even bend to lift anything, even from a chair or bed. Apart from back pain, I also had issues with my knee.
I have a knee implant because of which I usaed to get knee pain while doing any kind of physical exercise, including walking a little distance and also had difficulty in sitting cross-legged. Regular practice of yoga has strengthened my back and knee and has relieved me from my health problems.
Prior to yoga, I even tried regular medication and acupuncture therapy, but with no luck. That is when I decided to join yoga, which became a life changing event for me. With yoga, not only my backache and knee issues got resolved but my other health problems like digestion, migraine, low immunity, which I had accepted as an indispensable part of my life, have also got cured to a great extent. With so much problem with my back and knee, doing three Suryanamaskar was also a difficult task for me.
But with regular practice and proper yoga instructions from my yoga teacher, Livin Chandrasekar, now I can do 108 at a stretch without break and have achieved many other goals in yoga with my yogamates, like completing 400 Suryanamaskars, doing 108 SN continuously for 11 days, and much more yet to achieve.
Yoga has not only strengthened, my knee & back, but has worked on my entire body in increasing flexibility, strength and toning. Today, I can do advanced yoga poses like tripod pose, chakrasana, and many others. I was lucky that I joined yoga at the right time.
— Manisha Unnam, lawyer, 34, Madhapur
Yoga taught her the discipline
Manisha joined the class in the year 2017 when I first started yoga in their community. She started yoga from scratch. While she was yet to show change physically, she was mentally strong and committed towards exploring more possibilities of yoga to make her health better, more over she was aware about issues like her back pain and how her knee was, which really helped her in deciding the pace in doing yoga which is important. Although her back and knee was on a weaker side initially, with consistent practice and dedication in doing yoga, she also shed some weight too in her journey. She made immense progress mentally and physically.
Physically she became lot more flexible her endurance levels increased , muscle strength increased which helped her in doing difficult postures with a lot of ease and overall stamina increased to a level that she could do 100+ suryanamskars in one go and holding the asanas for more than five minutes. Yoga teaches you to be calm, take pressure without breaking and other such good traits. Once a yoga student, always a yoga student. These sessions will help her to handle anything in life.
— Livin Chandrasekhar, Infinity Yoga, Jubilee Hills
'Physically stronger than when I was younger'
I am a 33-year-old mother of a seven-year-old boy. It was during my pregnancy that I had sciatica for the first time, the pain was so excruciating that I wasn’t even able to touch my left leg. After giving birth to my son, I tried physiotherapy and Ayurveda, however, was unable to get much relief from the pain. Sciatica refers to pain that radiates along the path of the sciatic nerve, which branches from the lower back through the hips and buttocks and down each leg. At the age of 28, I just couldn’t even climb stairs! I used to have severe knee pain and I was just 28.
Standing and teaching is an integral part of my job, with sciatica it was not easy, by the time I came back from school, all I could do was lie flat on the bed and wouldn’t be able to get up. I also had severe heel pain in the mornings, making it impossible to stand. Once my son grew up a little, I decided to take care of myself and joined yoga. “With a regular routine under a trained yoga practitioner, I am now able to climb steps, stand for long hours in class, all the knee and heel pain has vanished, and do all household chores with ease.
It has now been 2.5 years since I am regularly doing it. It is feasible and not much time-consuming. Whenever I stop yoga, sciatica pain comes back. I started training under yoga teacher, Ronica K about six months back. I believe it is important to keep mental hygiene and getting a good, committed, knowledgeable yoga instructor is very important, as only they can light up the hidden positivity and strength in you, this is something I have personally experienced.
— Devika S Bose, psychologist, special educator, St Andrews School, Bowenpally
Surya Namaskar gives relief
Yoga postures – bhujangasana, ardha pincha mayurasana, trikonasana – are included in Devika's Surya Namaskar. These are a must for her as it improves blood circulation and strengthens the spine and leg muscles. Also meditation for 15 minutes morning and evening to strengthen the connection with the source (God/ Universe/ energy)
- Ronica Kumar, Yoga Practitioner
‘My cervical pain is gone’
I started suffering from chronic cervical pain in 2012. I spend a large part of my time working at my laptop that too in a bad posture. I took physiotherapy sessionsbut that gave only temporary relief. After going for 40 sessions of physiotherapy, the pain was back in a month. In fact, I was bedridden for a week due to the pain. In 2015, I joined Yoga Vignana Kendra in Kukatpally, and pain subsided in two months. But even before the pain started diminishing, I could feel positive changes in my body. While the first hour was dedicated to yoga, we were served Satwik food and asked to attend yogic story-telling sessions. I stopped going for the classes after I moved to Manikonda, but I do it at home. I recommend yoga for everyone.
— Jagadeesh Chintaginjala, Director, product growth, Byndr