From corporate life to being the yoga ambassador

"I am blessed to be born in the country where Yoga originated," shares Ankita, who has been a yoga instructor for almost 12 years now.

Since her childhood,she had always followed her grandparents who used to practice certain Yogic techniques early in the morning and somehow, she had developed passion towards learning this ancient wisdom.

She shares, "I finished my MBA in Marketing and was placed in one of the most leading media firms in India- The Times of India Group. My challenging corporate career was growing at a fast pace but after a few years I realised that I am just running in this rat race and not able to be with myself. In 2008, I decided to quit my job and started my professional Yoga Teachers training degree from the world's oldest -Yoga Institute in Mumbai and simultaneously did my Masters in Yoga and Philosophy from University of Mumbai."

Currently, she is pursuingher PhD in Yoga from University of Mumbai. Her first assignment given by my Yoga Guru was to train the Mumbai Police and after that there was no looking back.

She adds, "As a Yoga Consultant, I started teaching Yoga in various Corporates, Universities, Colleges, Schools, Institutions and later represented India in Europe.The best part of being in this noble profession is to serve the people of the globe."

Yoga helps us to explore our life, eliminate what is not needed and elevate from the gross to the subtle. Yoga teaches us to manage our life in a balanced manner. The need of the hour is to integrate Yoga and enhance its essence through Value based education.

Ankita shares, "The importance of Yoga was clear during this pandemic of Covid 19 where the focus was to keep the body and mind calm and balanced through various Yoga and meditation techniques. Everyone understood the essence of life and started living in the present with mindfulness. We understand that as we advance there is erosion of values which is leading to corruption, wars, unhealthy lifestyle, psycho-somatic diseases. The aim/role of Yoga is to harmonize the mind, body and spirit which will help in making a better and happy world."

Her journey of surviving from the virus through yoga

The moment Ankita could sense the first symptom of fever and body ache, she shares that she quickly self-isolated myself in a room. The next step was to get herself tested as soon as possible to know the actual status of my condition.

She adds, Since that time the cases were rising in Mumbai, it was getting more difficult to get a home visit booked for the RT-PCR test. But, I continued my self-isolation which meant I was away from my family members completely. My food and all essentials were kept outside my room .I washed my utensils/clothes myself during my quarantine period. Finally, after 2 days once the test was done, I got a call from BMC stating that I am Covid Positive.That very moment was difficult but as Yoga taught me to accept the situations, I accepted this fact gracefully. As human beings are social in nature,self-isolation may lead to negative thoughts and depressive feelings if the mind and body is weak. That is the time, one has to give that mental jerk.

I did the same to myself. My body was extremely weak so lying down on my bed I used to meditate and give a lot of positive affirmations to myself.I started with very gentle lying down breathing. Slowly and gradually, I gained that WILL-POWER and started feeling better both physically and mentally.During my quarantine time, I planned to make my Video Series of my covid journey from positive to negative so that I could motivate and help others during their tough phase."

Maintaining healthy lifestyle during the pandemic

• Healthy Diet- fresh fruits, nutritious food

• Staying Hydrated (Warm water,Lime water for Vit C and fluids)

• Regular Steam

• Taking charge of your Mind (strong will power)

• Gentle breathing practices/ Pranayamas for better lung capacity as it impacts the lungs

• Light meditation with lots of positive affirmations

• Keep your mind busy with some light activities( writing, painting, listening to good motivational speakers, music)

• Regular check on your body temperature, Pulse rate, Oxygen levels.