Most of us want to transform ourselves physically, but of course we are unable to do so. Why? We have many excuses that we repeatedly tell ourselves to convince our minds that we are victims to our unhappy physique. Gym seems too exasperating and tiring, and other forms of exercise we are oblivious to. We need an expert to guide us but then again we slave ourselves to our justifications; which is a very wide spectrum ranging from having to move out of the comforts of our home to monetary restraints. We can come up with all kinds of defense mechanisms to shield our laziness and yet complain about our health problems. All we need is to visit our Indian roots. Yoga- a spiritual and ascetic discipline is a simple way to achieve a healthy regime within the four walls of our home. It is a source of being more productive, calm, happy, relaxed and stress-free. The same can be achieved by keeping a few simple things in mind:-

1. Time & Place: Traditionally speaking, early morning and Yoga is a match made in heaven. However, given our busy lifestyles it rests entirely upon you to choose the most convenient time-slot that you can allocate to solely yourself. A morning session is the most favorable as it ensures you have the best start to the day. Furthermore, choose the most comfortable and spacious part of your house to practice Yoga privately. It should be a place that helps you gain a certain sense of positive vibrations/energy and with time your energy/warmth shall also emanate to fill that particular space with more positivity. Make sure that spot remains consistently steady for you to do Yoga as a daily-routine practice. If the time remains varying make sure the place in which you practice is the same spot and vice-versa.

2. Athleisure & Essentials: Keep your Yoga attire simplistic and comfortable. Nothing too tight and body-hugging. Yoga requires a lot of stretching and tight-clothing could play against that. Further, Yoga preaches having to keep a steady mind to meditate, and if constant attention has to be given to the clothes it could be a big distraction! Also, make sure you are practicing Yoga using a proper Yoga mat. It is inexpensive and does great benefit to maintaining your postures as opposed to when Yoga is practiced on the ground or any normal mat/carpet etc.

3. Empty Stomach: Before you begin, make sure your stomach is relatively empty. There is no point of performing any kind of an exercise on a full-stomach. Make sure there’s a gap of at least 4 hours in-between your meal and your Yoga-session.

4. Practice in groups: If possible make sure you practice Yoga with your family. It helps to inculcate a healthy habit within your family and makes it more fun. That way you can remain motivated & disciplined to be consistent with this custom and break lethargy.

5. Break The Monotony: Doing the same postures everyday can make you feel a certain monotony which could be one of the major reasons for you to give up on such a healthy regime. Yoga is a lot more than that. It has a varied spectrum including Pranayam (breathing exercises), meditation etc. Make sure you cover different techniques to help you to keep at it constantly like a routine-task.

6. Push Yourself: Fitness, at the end of the day, is about pushing your limits and reaching out for more. Be varying in the kind of postures you do and test your limits by stretching a little bit more and aiming for postures that could help you improve your range. The same goes for various meditations and breathing exercises.

7. Warm Ups: It is important to place significance on staging before actually starting off with Yoga. Make sure you warm yourself up by doing some brisk exercises to even some cardio to get your blood flowing, so that you can perform asanas with more vitality.

8. Be Reasonable & Patient: Yes, push yourself but don’t let that drive you unreasonable. Be gentle with your body and be more patient to realize the stage when you are able to go up a notch higher than usual. Also, be patient. It is not a race; be patient and gentle with your body to organically help it to become more flexible and fit in due course of time. Practice a 15-minute process of ‘Dynamic Yoga’ by Sneh Desai including pranayam, stretching and sajag yog nindra each day to get rid of any diseases or to get desired fitness.