from The Yoga Institute
Sometimes, despite our best intentions and taking all necessary precautions, we cannot escape life catching up with us. This is what happened to Kamana Pereira who contracted Covid-19 while going about her duties – taking care of a sick father-in-law in the hospital, and doing her work and household chores, which included buying groceries at the market. At one such occasion out, Kamana came back with an uninvited guest – the coronavirus.
Initially, she did not feel anything out of the ordinary and carried on with her life. The first time she noticed something strange was when she was cooking and could not smell the garam masala any more. She also had a splitting headache, which she tried to cure with home remedies. A few days later, a throat infection followed that would not go away even with repeated salt water gargling. Soon, she lost her voice and then also her taste completely. That is when Kamana realised that something was off and got tested for Covid-19. The result came back positive.
It was in 2014, she was introduced to The Yoga Institute when she did the 1 Month TTC. Her job, marriage and then a child kept her busy and though she stayed rooted to yoga through her mother, it was not until 2018 that Kamana rejoined The Yoga Institute. She redid her 1 Month TTC and then started as a teacher with the Institute’s BMC project. In November 2019, Kamana joined the 3 Month TTC. Right in her busiest time, when she was coordinating the 21-Day Better Living course and various asana classes, is when Covid struck.
Amazingly, not only did Kamana not panic, she also continued doing her asanas and working throughout – except for a week when she just rested. “The asanas kept me rooted,” says Kamana who started her treatment with a round of antibiotics from the municipality and then changed her diet after consulting with Hansaji and Praneeji. “I gave up non-veg, which was difficult because of the family,” recalls Kamana.
But now, instead of chicken and the like, she had soups, salads, boiled sprouts and lots of water and curd. “I changed to a completely sattvic diet with lots of raw vegetables, fruits and fruit juices. I now have only fresh food, nothing from the fridge and have put away my microwave,” recounts Kamana. “This has given me a different kind of taste.”
For mental strength, Kamana referred to Hansaji’s videos, which advised her not to go into a frenzy but to stay positive. “I couldn’t meditate at the time but I chanted,” remembers Kamana. “Spiritualism helps.” Even when it got quite bad – “my body felt like somebody was breaking me from the inside” – Kamana kept on working and keeping her mind busy and on the worst days, when she could not do much, she still did Shavasana and kept her spirits up with Nishpanda Bhavana. Soon, Kamana fully recovered and is back to doing her duties at home and work.