Hari Om !! I would like to  share my journey of Asana Practice with Ganesh Sir.

Going back to  2012/2013, I suffered from slip disk. I had to take almost a month off and was lying down on bed most of the time. I did MRI and it was found that the lower back disk (I think L4/L5, the disc was bulged out and it was touching the nerves . The doctor in Bangalore said that I should not be bending down to lift anything in my life and should be careful while lifting any heavy stuffs. Thats completely understood. 

Fast forward in 2015, I moved to Paris on an official assignment and I came across the same problem again. Almost a week, I had to work from home and a week of sick leave . It was so painful that I was not able to even get up from the bed. The doctor asked me to see a physiotherapist. I have gone through sessions for almost 2 to 3 months . The physio said that the back muscles are weak, so I need to be continously doing some of the exercises that he has prescribed every day to ensure the muscle is strong enough to push the bulging inside the discs. I slowly recovered and started doing all the exercises and I was able to return to business as usual

Moved to Australia in 2018 and I joined a local yoga class. The yoga class was more to keep mind relaxed as there were a lot of stress at work. I did the yoga sessions for 2/3 months but did not enjoy and started doing the same practice at home or followed YouTube channels. I was feeling I am doing a good job. Fast forward to covid days when my company organised a week long session with Ganesh sir and his team. The session was about discovering and reflecting on self and working with team and realising own potentials etc. The session used to start with Yoga everyday. Thats when I first realised that 1) AsanaPranayam does not need the guru to be sitting in the same room to guide, 2) whatever I was doing watching YouTube was far from real practice. Focus on breathing was something I was not aware of  . After the session was over, I reached out to Ganesh sir to see if I can join him and learn directly from him and he gladly agreed to help me.

I forgot to mention one thing, since childhood, my pulse rate used to stay between 95 to 100. I just accepted that this is something will stay with me always. 

When I started learning with Ganesh sir, I was not able to do Bhramari and Ujjai for long time. Could not even do few steps in Surya Namaskar properly because of pain n the muscle or body. Ganesh sir taught me to observe and slowly challenge myself and do a little more every day.TopaKarna was one of the AsanaPractices that I was not able to do at all, I used to fall the moment I was trying to sit.

One year passed in between. Towards end of 2022, my parents were here in Sydney and I bought a blood pressure machine for them to monitor their blood pressure. Out of curiosity, I also measure my blood pressure and pulse. It was a perfect 120/80 and 74. I thought the machine was faulty, I repeated (wearing the engineer hat and doing multiple iterations)..The results did not change a lot. I tried the next day and same. I then realise that what I have been doing for last 1 year in terms of practice is actually helping me in stabilising my heart rate or pulse rate. 

Remembering the doctors from Bangalore and Paris who advised that I should not be ever bending down, it had created a mental block for me. Under the guidance and motivation of Ganesh sir, I slowly started challenging myself. One thing Ganesh sir mentioned that dont rush, do it slowly, let your body learn, you observe. I followed his instructions. Over the years, I have been able to do quite a bit of Asana practices (still a long way to go though) but I feel very happy that I  am able to do some of these practices that I was thinking that they are not my cup of tea. Over the years, my brain, my body have learnt about the practices, I can now do surya-namaskar with many variations including slow and fast,dhanurasana, Janu Sirsanana, Uttanasana, Pachimotanasana,sarvanga asana and and many more. I am focusing on SirshaAsana to get my legs straight up in the air, currently I can stand on my head with knees bent and of course, a lot of new practices or variations that I am learning regularly .

Mentally I feel better now, of course a big chunk of it is because of my new job which treats me well and I look forward to go to work everyday. But otherwise, I feel nice. The body clock has set in a way that if for few days I am not able to do the practice, I am feeling guilty, I am feeling as if something big I am missing and I try to get back to my mat asap. AsanaPractices have become now a way of life.

I am continuing on this journey , stretching myself one notch higher than yday. I am also reflecting on my overall actions, why am I getting angry quickly, why am I getting irritated quickly and many other…So it is a journey that I am on which will continue, discover many things on way but will never stop..

Hari OM !!