Yog: this word comes from Sanskrit meaning union, I experienced this union in my mind, body and people and place through Yoga, It meant Coming home away from home in Ireland.
You must have heard of many Westerners going to India when they are soul-searching and on a spiritual journey. It won’t be wrong if I say I was born in India but I grew spiritually in Ireland.
I was 8 years old and we were living in Kashmir as my dad was posted for his job in Military Engineering services. One morning as usual he woke us up at 4 am and announced today instead of going for a morning walk we are going to do Yoga, I and my sister and mother were all sitting on blankets on the floor and my father started reading from the book all the instructions to do different Yoga asanas/ postures. We enjoyed the yoga practice.
In 1997, I was working as an Assistant Lecturer at Choithram College of Nursing in India, we had one Yoga teacher coming every morning to teach yoga to nursing students and I decided to join too. I continued to attend classes every morning for over a year. I experienced many benefits of the morning yoga routine sitting in open under the sky and learning to know myself through asana and breathing exercises called pranayama.
When I moved to Ireland in 2002 I forgot about Yoga but in 2004 when I was pregnant as if Yoga also started coming back during pregnancy and after Aarush was born I started to practice Yoga and even taught some pranayama to my 2-year-old baby son.
when I submerged myself in these ancient practices & took 2 Yoga teacher training in Ireland and met many wonderful teachers and other Yoga practitioners. It felt like a true union of East and West where no difference existed we were united with the thread of this ancient wisdom of Yoga. I learnt my real lesson in Yoga which is “Vasudeva Kutumbakam” whole world is one family.
It’s a feeling of coming home to Ireland and living in peace and harmony with all those around me because I am in peace and I have become at ease and feel joyful as I have found joy in knowing myself. This is a natural union.
