New Delhi: Yoga is like a daily dose of sunshine for the body and soul. A refreshing reset button. It is not just body-stretching, it is soul-stretching. Or as Riti Sabharwal says, ‘A secret ingredient for a healthy life!’ Yoga for Riti is like breathing. Her journey started very young as her parents were active practitioners. “I was fascinated by the twists and turns; the stretching and breathing techniques … It intrigued me. I learnt it from my parents but was not a practitioner like them. The real experience of depth of yoga came to me during the coronavirus lockdown. I found bliss and happiness amidst torment,” she says, while striking Vraksasana, the tree pose.
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Another reason for Riti to inculcate Yoga into her daily routine was to treat the hormonal and gut health issues she faced frequently.
With Yoga, she formed a routine for herself she never had earlier. She added,
We women, we prioritise everything but ourselves. From children’s well-being, husband’s health, to in-laws’ lifestyle, everything is at the top of our list but our well-being. Yoga made me realise a major gap in my life-self -care.
Riti also strongly recommends inculcating Yoga among children.
I cannot stress enough on how important it is to introduce children to Yoga. It is a holistic approach to a child’s physical as well as mental well-being.
Her son, Abhivir, has been practising Yoga with her for about a year now. He is 13-years old and has mastered some of the toughest poses already. It is a routine, the mother-son duo wakes up before sunrise, rolls out their mats, and starts their practice. Abhivir says,
My mom has introduced me to several poses. We stretch like cats and stand like trees. It is so cool to see what my body can do. And after we’re done, I feel calm and happy.
Riti feels this is a reward for her. She says,
With each practice, I have learnt to honour my body and embrace the journey of self-love and acceptance.
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NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which in its Season 10 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In a world post COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental well-being, self-care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
