Feeling good is a combination of a balance of mind, body and soul. You can’t feel good and at peace unless and until, you have a balance in all the three areas. When you talk of Yoga most people assume it is that physical asana practice of holding poses. But in reality, Yoga is a means to unite yourself with the higher self, this a process which flows through a lot of steps, required to cleanse body and mind. We start with our self-discipline of hygiene, eating good food (Sattvic) and the physical asana practice is a means to learn to concentrate and control each and every body part.

FOOD

Body is something we think we take of lot of care of off, but in reality, we neglect a lot. Eating good food which is clean, nutritious and fresh is important for your body and mind. We all know about the ayurvedic importance of sattvic food, and the positive affects it has on body and mind. Sattvic food mean fresh in season food that’s freshly prepared, off course animal products are not included in it. It seems like a task to prepare and consume these meals on a daily basis but if one can do that it would really be life changing.

I personally try to eat fresh food in every meal. Also, addition of spices is vital, I keep my meals chemical free by making everything from scratch, sure its time consuming but worth it. Traditional antiseptics like turmeric make it to my daily tea and soy milk.

BODY-MOVEMENT

The next big thing you need to do for your body is movement, this could be anything and any movement at all, different people have different things that they find attractive, some people like to jog, others hike and some weight train, as long as you ‘MOVE’ you’re good. Choose what works for you and go for it. If you follow me on social media you would know about my desi muscles move movement, it encourages people to move and do some activity for at least 30 mins. I train at least 6 days a week and give my body a healthy mix of Yoga and weight training along with some cardio and dance here and there.

MEDITATION- STILLNESS

As per Yoga, once you have control over your body, you can learn to take control of your mind, that’s why we do ‘Dhyaana’ or meditation to still and calm our minds of any thoughts we have. In this current world full of stress, we can’t avoid these stressful situations coming to us, but what we can do is learn to control our reactions to it, in a way that doesn’t destroy our peace of mind. For most of us meditation can be tricky, we assume we need to learn and practice a lot to do it effectively, but meditation is stillness. It’s a state where you are not thinking. Personally, I practice it wherever I find time, just breathe focus on your breath and don’t attend to your thoughts. Thoughts would come to you, you can’t stop that, but you need to find a way to not attend to those thoughts. It’s like someone is knocking your door, you don’t ask it. Practice for 5 mins if you can, you will feel the stillness.

CHEMICAL FREE SKINCARE

Lastly, I try to imply the same principles of food to my skin care and hair care. Too many chemicals can get absorbed through your skin too, so I try to source products that are chemical free and Ayurvedic.

But, if you’re just starting on this journey, what small changes can you do to get on this path.

• Start including 2-3 litres of water to your daily intake
• Use traditional Spices like Turmeric, Pepper, Chilli in your diet in moderation
• Eat clean, can’t insist enough of it
• MOVE, do 30 mins of any form of exercise everyday
• Take time off, away from your phone, social media and go near of nature
• Try to use products that are natural and chemical free for your body and hair
• Lastly, spread happiness, you can’t be happy unless you give out happiness to others,

Your soul would be at peace if you give more. Spread smiles, joy and hugs.