February 2016 Woman At Work Digital

COVER STORY
Patanjali Yogpeeth
There should be firmness, not stubbornness; bravery, not
rashness; compassion, not weakness
- Baba Ramdev
The Kripalu Bagh Ashram on the
banks of the holy Ganges was
built in 1932 by Swami Kripalu
Dev Maharaj. He, alongwith another
spiritualist Swami Shraddhanand,
organized a renaissance of sorts where
they sought to revive India’s history
and rich spiritual heritage. It
was Swami Ramdev, popularly
known as Baba Ramdev who
made the organization famous
and reached out to millions of
commoners across the country
and outside and established the
Patanjali Yogpeeth as a
spiritual movement to reckon
with.
Baba Ramdev had spiritual
leanings from his early years.
At the age of 14, he studied
Sanskrit and Yoga. Patanjali, as
an exponent of Yoga, Sanskrit
Grammar and Ayurveda
continued to exert its influence on him.
He then met Swami Balkrishna, who
was a schoolmate and shared his
ideologies. Together, the two of them
embarked on the task of demystifying
and popularizing Patanjali’s Yoga and
restoring people’s faith in the efficacy
of ayurvedic medicine.
Patanjali Yogpeeth can be credited
with the wider acceptance of yoga as
countless people realized that their
serious ailments were getting cured with
the practice of Pranayam. Their ‘shivir’
or camps are attended by thousands of
people across the country. Today
people of every age, section, caste and
religion have made yoga part of their
daily routine. As you go for your
morning walk, it is hard to miss groups
of people - young and old, men and
women- in society gardens and
community parks, practising Pranayam
which is the core practice of the
organization.
"Several years ago I got a stroke and
had multiple problems due to high
blood pressure. I got introduced to
Pranayama about 4 years ago through
my neighbour. Within months of
practising Pranayama daily, I was
completely off all my medication for
blood pressure, depression and sleeping
disorders. Even my doctor could not
believe the results and was surprised to
see that everything was magically back
to normal. Pranayama has been a
miracle for me and my family. I
continue to practice it daily and
looking to get certified so I can help
others get the benefit that I was able to
receive,” says Babita Pardeshi who
owns an IT Company. She says that it
helped her not only to
recover from her
ailments but also calmed
her down mentally.
According to her, '“You
see, it’s just not my BP,
it helped me to cope up
with my busy schedules
too.”
Baba Ramdev and his
team has ensured that
yoga and ayurveda get a
complete makeover for
modern day living and
are flagbearers of sorts of
‘Make in India’. They
have democratized yoga and ensured
that it is within the reach of all people,
rich or poor. For millions of
youngsters and middle aged working
men and women, saddled with modern
day illnesses, Baba Ramdev’s brand of
yoga has been the Ram-baan (magic
cure) they have been looking for.
Courtesy: wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga
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| February 2016