Yoga as taught by a hundred year old man.

“Like a flower bud, human life has the potential to blossom fully. Blossoming of human potential to fullness is yoga….” are the wise words of Sri Sri Ravi Shanker, the founder of The Art of Living Foundation.

Yoga is not merely a form of exercise for the body but a path towards total harmony of body, mind and spirit. It is ancient wisdom for a healthier, happier and more peaceful way of living that ultimately leads to self-realisation.

On Saturday, the 13th of June 2009, from half past seven in the evening to ten o’clock at night, AOL members and the public learned Sukshma Vyayama from Lai Mee, an Art of Living teacher.

All the exercises came from a ninety-nine year old man sent by Sri Sri Ravi Shanker to share the knowledge of these exercises with the world. That man taught this yoga exercises at Butterworth in 2008. It was a number of simple exercises that had taken this man into such excellent health for so many years. The exercises were done from the head to the toes. It started with a head massage and a breathing exercise to help strengthen the memory. Then there were exercises for good eyesight. The ninety-nine year old young man did not need spectacles. His hearing was also good and there were exercises for that too. So that he could still share his secret of youth to people throughout the world, that young old man had tongue, teeth and jaw exercises to keep his mouth in good shape. After that, there were neck, shoulders, hands fingers and feet exercises. There were some exercises that could overcome constipation, improves digestion and prevent arthritis.

At the end of the programme, the participants took part in three different laughter and a smile.

What are the benefits of yoga? It helps one to relax; thus releasing tensions and negative emotions. With the movements in various directions, joint flexibility is improved. What is even more amazing is that joint stiffness and pain could go away. No more pain getting up from the morning squat at the toilet bowl. Isn’t that great? Of course, with every joint and muscles in the body attended to, posture is better and the greater muscle balance is achieved, alignment of body is guaranteed. Just like the tyres on one side of your car having to be worn out faster due to poor alignment, the discs at the joints get worn out too when there is muscular misalignment. With the circulatory system in excellent condition and every part of the body fine tuned with proper exercises, the internal organs, the digestive system, the endocrine system and every other system have to be in tip-top condition. When such perfect condition is in force, we can expect nothing less than increased energy levels, clarity of mind, a sharpened intellect, better focus and concentration resulting in better memory.

That, my dear friends, is a lot to be gained from just some simple exercises, almost every Tom, Dick and Harry can do.

For further information, go to the nearest The Art of Living Centre. Such centres are established in more than one hundred and forty countries throughout the world. And these centres are run by volunteers, some of the best people in the world who are always willing to offer help.

(The Art of Living Centre in Sungai Petani is at number 12, 3rd Floor, Jalan Pahlawan, Taman Legenda Indah, Sungai Petani, Kedah. It’s at one of the shop houses on the road from Village Mall to Swiss Inn.)