Yoga guru and expert Hansaji Yogendra is one of the few women who have received equal respect and fans in yoga as men. How did she start yoga and how was her experience till the age of 76, know in this exclusive interview of Health Shots.
Yoga practice is not limited to any particular age group. Anyone, whether old or young, can easily practice yoga at any age. By looking at Indian yoga guru Hansaji Yogendra, you can understand how much yoga can energize life. She started practicing yoga at the age of three, which she continues doing till the age of 76. For decades, she has been spreading awareness about the philosophy, psychology and practice of yoga among people around the world. With her calm personality and humble nature, Hansaji inspires the youth towards yoga. Along with this, she also shares great information about yoga, which is helpful in boosting physical and mental health, through social media.
As the director of the Yoga Institute in Mumbai since 1997, Hansaji Yogendra started telling women about the benefits of yoga. Here she also provides training to them. In this exclusive interview with Healthshots, we know about Hansaji’s achievements and some important aspects related to her life.
Having developed her personality as an excellent author, yoga expert, teacher and motivational speaker, this personality aims to inspire people to enhance their facial beauty as well as improve their overall health.
What was your initial experience with yoga like?
Hansaji Yogendra says that I was born in a family where Jainism was followed. Discipline was always observed in the family and I made it the essence of my life. I was connected to yoga from the age of three. Hansaji says that her father used to go to a yoga institute to learn and after returning home, he was also made to practice yoga.
He says that it used to be very difficult for a small child to sit with closed eyes at that time. We were challenged to see who among all the siblings could sit with closed eyes for the longest time.
Apart from sitting with closed eyes, we were asked to remain in Shavasana without moving. While practicing yoga with my three brothers, I was mostly victorious. Due to receiving this type of training since childhood, I started getting interested in yoga. With time, yoga became my interest. Actually, through yoga, I started experiencing stability in life.
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The popularity of yoga has increased a lot in the last few years, how do you see it?
Hansaji Yogendra tells that in the beginning people were not much inclined towards yoga. At that time there was a fear in the minds of women that whoever learns yoga becomes a sanyasi. To change the thinking of women, efforts were made to connect them with yoga. Women were taught yoga in yoga institutes and they were made healthy, strong and capable. Then gradually women started connecting with yoga and started thinking about their better health. In this way their inclination towards yoga started increasing.
People’s interest in yoga was seen increasing rapidly even in foreign countries. Not only did people make yoga an integral part of their lives, but foreigners also came to India and started teaching yoga. At that time, Indians thought that any imported thing coming from abroad would be beneficial. Yoga was now attracting people like an imported thing. Due to this, the popularity of yoga started increasing rapidly in India once again. In fact, now people really wanted to learn yoga.
Yoga has always been male dominated, is this thinking changing with time?
Hansaji Yogendra Actually, there is no discrimination between men and women in spirituality. Yoga is important for women as well as men. Women are taught yoga in yoga institutes. Actually, women are busy in many works throughout the day. In such a situation, strength and health of their body is necessary. Be it women or men, it is very important to understand how to keep themselves fit and healthy.
Yoga often represents a slim body. How to avoid unrealistic fitness norms?
With time, people’s perception about yoga is changing. Some fitness standards have been set in the society. One of them is zero figure. Zero figure does not mean that you are fit. It is important to pay attention to whether the person has flexibility in his body or not. Apart from this, how is the physical and mental balance of that person.
Physically, some people remain slim, while some start gaining weight. It is not possible to keep the body slim all the time. Especially during menopause, there are many ups and downs in the face and overall body of women. In such a situation, leaving aside the external beauty, one should focus on maintaining a healthy body.
Give special importance to your personality. Understand how you are as a person and how you behave towards other people. What words you use while speaking. It is necessary to take care of all these things for healthy living.
Even at this age you look physically and mentally fit, please tell us something about your daily routine.
I am 76 years old and yoga is very important in my life. Actually, after the age of 50, people need to take care of their body. I used to spend most of my time taking care of the yoga institute and attending lectures. But it is very important to take out some time in the day for yoga.
Actually, it was becoming difficult for me to take out separate time for yoga along with fulfilling other responsibilities. Obviously, this is a difficult task for any woman. If you are not able to do yoga due to lack of time, then the moment you wake up, stretch your body for some time and do yoga. Take deep breaths and sit in meditation for some time while focusing on the breath.
Do not keep your mobile phone with you as soon as you wake up. You can also do some exercise while bathing.
To keep yourself healthy after yoga, eat a healthy breakfast. Apart from this, it is important to eat at an interval of 4 hours. Eat simple and plain food. Before eating, I always bow down to the ground and thank Mother Earth, and then do Hastapadasana. This stretches the spine and arms, which increases blood circulation in the body.
I go for a walk in the morning, afternoon and evening. This helps the body to get plenty of oxygen. Apart from this, some time should also be taken out for breathing exercises and meditation. Apart from yoga, good sleep is also necessary. For this, avoid eating anything after sunset. Having an empty stomach solves the problem of sleeplessness. By following this routine, you will remain healthy and also get rid of the problem of fatigue.
What message would you give to the young generation?
The young generation has understood only the physical aspect of yoga. Yoga keeps health balanced. But keep changing the yoga postures with age. I believe that one should do pranayama and meditation according to one’s age. This increases strength in the body. If a person has a depressive personality, then he should leave meditation and do other yoga postures along with pranayama. This boosts mental health and also develops the ability to think and understand. Yoga increases stability in the mind of the youth.
What are the 5 things you would like to tell people to increase their lifespan?
To lead a healthy life, 5 things must be followed.
1. One should be happy every moment. This way one can easily face every problem that comes in life.
2. Take care of your body
3. Keep the friendship forever
4. Do your favorite activities
5. Work on self-development and spiritual upliftment
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