BHARATI PAWASKAR
Anita Dua took to yoga almost 30 years ago. At that time she was quite habitual to swallowing pain killers at the slightest physical pain or discomfort caused by temporary stressful situations. “Well, yoga did wonders for me. For a year in 1989, I did beginners’ classes at the Ramani Iyengar Yoga Institute. At the end of that one year back in 1991, it dawned on me that I hadn’t fallen ill or had a headache during that full year. In fact, I had not swallowed a single pill of any kind! I am inclined to attribute all this to my daily yoga practice. From then onwards, yoga became my secret of good health and happiness. In many ways, it has become a healthy addiction! I have become a firm believer of the saying why resort to medical examinations and pills when we have the method of yoga for ensuring good health,” shares Anita.
Padma Shree awardee Shovana Narayan who has authored 15 books including this latest one, feels that classical dance and yoga the two sides of the same coin. “Both yoga and dance share a common source and common goal namely that of being born out of spirituality and seeking to elevate oneself and one’s being; of finding the perfect state of harmony both within and with the surrounding environment,” states Shovana, adding, “Both yoga and dance share the same principles of physical discipline combined with controlled and regulated breathing. Even in the cosmos, movement of the particles has a certain rhythm and choreography namely it is the divine dance of the cosmos where the controlled points of energy is prana or cosmic breath.”
Yog is union. Why is it necessary to have this union or balancing of physical body and mind with the cosmos or the universe? Anita explains, “The word ‘Yog’ is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Yuj’ which means to join. Yog is best defined as union of the individual self (Jivatama), with the universal, (Paramatma). In our eastern philosophy of Vedanta, it is not necessary to aim for this union as it already exists and is evident. What is evident need not be debated.”
Anita feels that united in their origins, while dispersing and expressing energy, both yoga and Indian classical dances are wholesome practices for the body, mind and soul. The third limb of Ashtanga yoga focuses on Asanas or postures which involve stretches, twists, bends and inversions, all basic
building blocks of asanas. These are common to both, dance and yoga.
Many of our deities were dancers and dance, as a form of art, has very important role in our cultural and spiritual texts. Admitting this Shovana explains, “In traditional Indian philosophy, the existence of opposing emotions (‘tandava’ and ‘lasya’) within a person has always been recognised. Therefore it was imperative to find a balance of the two extremes emotions towards developing a balanced personality. This was realised by sages of yore and thus our deities were imbued with artistic qualities in order to highlight the relevance and importance of the need to balance out conflicting emotions within man.”
Shovana points out that today when the world is racing and trying to outdo one another in the ruthless path of development with technical knowledge as its base, we all seem to have forgotten the guiding principle latently shown by Saraswati, the goddess of learning and wisdom. History has shown that such a race has led to uncontrolled miseries and has portrayed a picture of unhappy mankind not at peace within themselves and thus not at peace either within themselves or with their surroundings. “Even though imbued with all faculties and five senses, they are unable to find music in their lives “ music that comes from a balanced and harmonious personality,” observes Shovana.
With self-experience, Anita has known that a prolonged practise of yoga leads to a sense of peace and a feeling of being one with the environment. “Yog is a holistic experience that benefits the body, mind, and emotions. The driving force behind the belief is that yoga is for everyone,” she asserts.
Anita vouches that the practice of yoga aims at overcoming the limitations of the body. Yoga teaches us that the goal of every individual’s life is to take the inner journey to the soul. Yoga offers both the goal and the means to reach it. “Through harmony between body and mind, we achieve self-realisation. Yoga teaches us that obstacles in the path of our self-realisation manifest themselves in physical or mental indisposition,” concludes Anita.
