Unspoken words

The yoga speech I never delivered - but my practice spoke louder.

I have been practising Yoga under the guidance of Jacqueline Peter, our yoga instructor, since April 2023, here at Gyan Ashram - a cultural hub promoting creativity, situated in the western suburb of Mumbai, Andheri East,

As you know, Yoga is a mind-body practice, that combines physical postures, breathing techniques and meditation to promote overall well-being. You would have seen various dog, cow, cat, pigeon, fish poses - top yoga asanas to do when you scroll Instagram and Facebook posts or watch reels and YouTube shorts.

For me yoga, offers my body a complete reset. Long working hours - typing away on my laptop, slouching on my chair, staring at multiple screens or unknowingly sitting in an awkward position while watching TV or even one wrong pillow angle, strains parts of my body. Doing yoga three times a week resets all these parts.

I love yoga because for one hour in that day, I am present to every breadth and stretch. I allow my breathing and movement to control the rhythm of my body. It is my time to leave behind my stress and anxiety and just focus on parts of my body that are crying out for attention through aches and pains. This combination of physical movement, breath work and mindfulness calms my nervous system.

I also like yoga because it is a non-competitive form of exercise. I focus on my individual practice, personal growth, body acceptance and progress at my own pace rather than with external comparisons.

Now, a little bit about our yoga instructor, Jacqueline. What I love about her instructional style is that she encourages us to listen to our body and let it guide us. That doesn't mean we get to slack off! She motivates us to do each pose intentionally, to do it better than the last time, to push our bodies further and to hold our poses longer. In her words, "I don't like easy. You come to me for pain. No pain, no gain!" And, "keep smiling even though it hurts."

She closely notices every student's strength and capacity and tailors her instructions accordingly. You will always find her holding someone's legs in shirshasana (head stand) or supporting another's back in chakrasana (backbending pose). In our regular suryanamaskars, she knows which student needs to improve which posture. She constantly introduces us to new poses or adds variations to poses we have mastered so that no session feels boring.

She also gets annoyed when we don't do our best. On days when she wants us to push our bodies further or try out physically demanding poses, she bribes us by promising longer shavasanas (sleeping pose) at the end of the session. We really look forward to shavasanas.

I also learn a lot from my fellow yoga students. We inspire and push each other forward just by being together in this space.

For me, the yoga space is one of my happy places. I look forward to every class. If you are considering taking up yoga, I strongly recommend that you do. The classes at Gyan Ashram are a great place to start. Thank you!

The speech I never got to give. They gave me a best performance award, instead.

"Wow just perfect and complete. You encompass all the aspects of our class. Only if you had chance to say it." - Jacqueline, my yoga teacher's words that meant more than any award ever could.