Mind and Body Nourishment, Life away from Travel!

January 25, 2017 by nikirath 19 Comments

We all know that life is not all about just travel tales to tell and listen. Even if we all would want our life to be full of adventures, constraints such as time, money, body and lifestyle curbs us from leading a nomadic life. We all have a routine life we must follow and find time to appreciate and take care of our body which helps us do celebrate life. It is our responsibility to thank our body and mind by providing it with nourishment both physical and spiritual.

I have been an ardent yogi for more than a year now. My journey started with practice of asanas which serves my body. With time, I have learnt that the our mind needs as much as yoga as the body does. I have learnt to value and respect both my mind and body. Practice of meditation for the mind is as essential as asana for the body. Recently I have started to incorporate meditation and deep breathing into my practice. Every morning I set aside 30-40 mins to practice deep breathing, sun salutions and inversion. It has been 4 months since I started it and I am now addicted to it. Every morning I look forward to it. It is my reason to wake up and my body calls me for it. All our hard working bodies deserve this time and sense of peace as a gift from us.

Here is what my 40 mins sequence looks likes:

For the first 10 minutes, I just try to breath deeply. Say I inhale for count of 5 and exhale for count of 5, I start to slowly exagerrate my breath count and increase it to 8, slowly to 10. Depending on each person’s capacity the number might differ but the goal is to take deep inhales and exhales.

For the next 10 minutes, I practice pursed lip breathing. I inhale through the nose, however I purse my lips and breath out through the lips. This helps me exhale more air out so my breathing becomes even more exagerrated. The count eventually increases and it surprises me how different techniques can actually get more air flowing in and out

In the next 10 minutes, I practice alternate nostril breathing(Anulom Vilom) and few rounds of forced paused exhalations(Kapal Bharti). It helps me clear my nostrils and breath even deeper.

Last 10 minutes I get the body flowing through 10 sun salutations well cordinated with breath. Moving with breath is what is most important. After my 10 sun salutations , I practice one inversion. These days I am trying to get into headstand without support, so that is what I practice. I end my practice with a child’s pose to grace my body and move through out the day.

To be honest , I have already started seeing a difference already in the past four months and here are a few listed below:

Mindfulness: The first and foremost change I observe in me is becoming more mindful. Careless and forgetful person that I am, this change was easily noticeable by me. I don’t rush, panic or move quickly anymore which is a huge change in itself. I have cultivated the art of remembering essential things, art of moving slowly and mindfully very aware of the my surroundings.

Improved Breathing: I often struggle with my breathing which tends to get very choppy when it comes to exercising. My breathing has definitely improved and I have learnt to inhale and exhale more as I breath after my regular practice.

Positivity: I am already a very positive person reflecting on positive aspects of life rather than dreading on the negativeness. My meditation practice has helped me climb one step further into the light of positivity.

I can only write and describe my experience. But this gift is for you to actually experience. If you begin to incorporate parts of my practice into yours , I would love to know how it affected your mind and body. Thank you very much for reading, this post is very dear to my heart!