LOCKDOWN – Part 2, Yoga learning

Narrated till now…

Pramod spends the first few days of the lock down eating, drinking, and relaxing. Susan, his wife tells him to start some workout to be healthy and fit.  He gets a lead about online yoga from his beautiful friend Ipsita Chakraborthy and he joins the course.

Narration continues...

“All of you close your eyes and with a gentle smile on the faces, relax,” the guru said and there was silence for a couple of minutes. He continued “Slowly open your eyes”. Pramod smiled and looked at the laptop screen. The first day of the online yoga classes got over and the participants were waiting for the guru to say few closing words.

“Yoga is not just about exercises or keeping fit. It is about creating a healthy body, a positive mind, and a spiritual soul. We shall keep doing the sun salutations and few asanas to keep our body fit, practice pranayama, and other breathing techniques to have a positive mind and do meditation to have a spiritual soul. It is about spirituality that sans religion” he said.

Pramod smiled and thought “Yoga gurus in India are very good speakers and influencers. They know the pulse of the people well.”

He glanced at the screen and spotted Ipsita in it. He was happy to locate her. The guru started interacting with the participants. He asked Ipsita “Who is your friend who has joined the classes today?”

Ipsita replied, “It is Pramod.”

The guru continued “You mean the uncle with a big tummy wearing black tracks?”

Pramod was taken aback. He did not expect this kind of attack. His face turned pale. Ipsita noticed it and she said, “Pramod wants to keep himself fit and am sure he will be a different looking person after few weeks, Guruji”.

“Your Guru is very strange. He insulted me today” Pramod told Ipsita. They were talking over the phone. It was evening and Pramod was standing in the balcony with a cup of coffee in hand.

“You got him wrong Pramod. He is a very nice person and sincere in his attempts to make us fit. He told me that he liked your smile and will make you shed few kilos in few weeks.” she replied. Pramod laughed and said “I know that he did it deliberately. I shall give my best and try to utilize this opportunity.”

One week passed and it became a daily routine for Pramod. Earlier he used to get up by 8 AM and since the yoga classes started he got up early by 5 AM and attended the classes religiously.

It was Sunday and the yoga trainer was showing new asanas to the online students. She was very flexible and could do very easily. Suddenly the guru started speaking. He said “why is Vidya not to be seen? Why has she switched off the video?” Immediately Vidya came on the screen and said “I was not able to do so many sets of Surya Namaskaras and so I switched off the video and sat down.” The guru looked serious and told her “Whether you do the Surya namaskaras or not we need to see you and then only we would be able to understand your endurance levels and suggest corrections accordingly. This course is for you and we are only enabling you to be fitter and for that, you need to follow the rules.”

He continued “Do you know which student I like the most in this group? Pramod the smiling Buddha. He is elder to most of the participants in this group and of course not able to do the asanas well compared to many. I have been observing him and he is very prompt in updating the diet details online every day and gives his best in the class. The icing on the cake is his wonderful smile.” Pramod was surprised by the words of the Guru and blushed as many young girls clapped.

“You still find the Guru strange?” Ipsita asked Pramod. They were talking to one another over the phone in the evening. “I find him stranger now. I did not expect him to like me so much. I was always thinking that he had no good opinion about me. It is encouraging.”

Many more days passed and in between regular yoga classes they had a body detoxing session which helped in weight loss.

It was the last day of the three weeks yoga course and they completed the routine exercises, pranayama, and meditation. Every participant was sitting in sukhasana with a pleasant smile over the face. The Guru started “Since all of you are attending from your own houses, I request you to call one family member to join the interaction. Pramod got up and went to the bedroom and told Susan to join the interaction.

“Namaskarams to all the participants and their lovely family members. I see a lot of smiling and glowing faces on the screen today. The training has ended but the journey has begun. You people will have to take this forward and make more and more people join the fitness campaign. I thank the family members for allowing the participants to attend regularly without a break.” He continued for about 15 minutes and spoke about the importance of being fit and maintaining a healthy diet. He surprised many when he said “Now I would like to inform you about the best performer. He did neither lose many kilos of weight nor did he perfect the yoga postures. He deserves a special mention for his commitment, punctuality, and of course for his smiling face. The best performer is Pramod.”

Pramod could not believe his eyes. He could see Ipsita smiling and looked satisfied at the result. Susan kept her palm on his arm and patted. Suddenly his eyes became moist and he realized that satisfaction comes when hard work and sincere efforts are appreciated and recognized. He smiled back and felt that the lock down did not go waste.