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Way of life

Rajiv Ahuja
Head, Corporate Communication,
Khimji Ramdas

Circa 1996, while in India, Rajiv Ahuja was feeling the stress and tension of the rat race. Someone recommended that he try Art of Living (AOL). He describes the first course he attended as ‘life-transforming’. “It made me more productive, more efficient, and more creative.” Soon he felt that he had got so much from AOL programmes, which combine breathing techniques, exercises and meditation, that he ought to give back to it. After undergoing the requisite training, he became an AOL teacher in 2000. He speaks with obvious enthusiasm about the facets of the journey since.

“I really enjoy the deeper meditation and the silence. There are levels of the course that I like doing every year because of the overall experience they provide.” What works for Ahuja is how the programme has grown, mainly through word-of-mouth. He talks about how it makes a positive difference first at an individual level, and then creates a ripple–effect to bring about changes at a societal level. “Society means nothing if individuals are not taken care of.” The tool has certainly become an important part of his daily routine. And it makes him feel like he is part of a larger, more involved community. “Before AOL happened, I used to feel like there was something missing. But not anymore.”

The PH factor

Sunil Gandhi
Managing director
Al Kay’s International

Sunil Gandhi describes himself as someone who has always been spiritual. He veered towards pranic healing about four years ago to broaden his horizons along those lines. Pranic healing is done by sending energy (prana) from the practitioner’s body to diseased or affected parts of another person’s body. The cleansing and energising techniques work on the body’s energy field through the chakras or ‘energy-centres’.

Says Gandhi, “It creates a positive shield that increases personal as well as professional productivity.” He has done basic as well as advanced courses in the therapy, and started out helping people with minor aches and pains, before moving on to more complex problems. “It is really about using the power of a positive thought process. To me, that is a very exciting concept. And that is the kind of thing that opens many doors for you.” He does less of it now than he used to because it tends to be draining, if it isn’t accompanied by the right amount of meditation. “And there is negative energy to deal with just as there is positive energy,” he explains. Meanwhile, the attitude that pranic healing prescribes is what Gandhi suggests will come in handy in dealing with inevitable work pressures. He even uses it to motivate people who work with him, so that they perform to the best of their abilities. “It is the difference between telling someone ‘You have to achieve these targets’ and ‘You will achieve these targets’.”

One with the discipline

Anwar Sonya
Artist co-ordinator
Ministry of Education

Curiosity about yoga, after observing some Indian friends practising it, led Sonya to learn the basics himself. That was about six years ago. “Even then, I found it very interesting and wanted to learn more about it.” But he never got around to learning more at the time. Meanwhile, he dabbled with karate, which was not his cup of tea at all, and thought more and more about yoga.

The breakthrough came about a year ago when he visited India and got talking to a yoga teacher. He did an introductory course, then a follow-up to it, and then an advanced course. He also found a lot of his problems, such as insomnia and chronic tiredness, disappearing. “Yoga makes you very self-aware, both personally as well as professionally. You understand very clearly what is good for you and what is not. I have given up tea and coffee and cigarettes since I started.” But Sonya maintains that practising yoga, comprising breathing exercises and postures, is not about becoming an ascetic. “It leads to understanding what is good for your physical and mental health. Its main benefit is that it makes you stretch yourself to reach for a better way of life.” Sonya is on his way to becoming a yoga teacher himself. “I would have done this sooner but I have been busy with a lot of things. But I have finished the first phase of the process and hope to start on the second phase in some time. When I teach, I will appreciate it more.”