Many of us think we are managing our day-to-day life well; we are functioning. But what happens when there is a spoke in the wheels, when the well-oiled machine comes to a standstill? Do we have enough substance to fall back on? The current Covid-19 pandemic has unveiled our shortcomings.
Smt Tripti Tandon joined The Yoga Institute in 2018 as a yoga student initially and then she became part of Annam Brahma, feeding the needy. She also joined the 1 Month TTC. Since then, she together with her husband Atul, has been giving out healthy, Sattvik breakfast meals to hundreds of people daily for three years now. She also gets up at 5 am every morning to prepare tiffin lunches for her husband and daughter before joining asana class at the Institute and then volunteering for Annam Brahma. By 8:30 am every morning, Tripti has already done her part for society, for herself and for her relationship.
“I am just so grateful for the opportunity given by The Yoga Institute to do something useful. My husband and I get to spend one hour together every morning before the hectic day starts and we have met so many nice people, both among the team of volunteers and also among the people who come for the free meals,” gushes Tripti.
Over the years, Tripti and Atul have built such a strong foundation of gratitude, useful service and counting the blessings that they have instead of complaining about what they don’t, that when Covid-19 struck first Atul and then Tripti in March of this year, they never lost their positive attitude.
“I just believed in God and surrendered. We were also in touch with the doctor via online consultation, so that we did not have to step out. Meals were arranged for us and Hansaji called us every day to check how we were doing,” recalls Tripti.
With so much of mental, physical and moral support, there was only a week of migraines, bodyache and throat pain and a month of general weakness before Tripti was back to her regular self, probably stronger by the experience, and never losing her positive outlook.
“One has to do something for others,” says Tripti. “That is the most rewarding. Also, a good start to the day with some asanas, pranayama, and some quiet time is important.” Being an epilepsy sufferer herself, she cautions though that asanas and pranayama should be done to one’s capacity only. “Thanks to the yoga way of life, I have become more aware of my condition and sit down whenever I feel dizzy. Stress is also less because I understand where it was coming from. This has also improved my sleep. Yoga is a way of life,” she concludes.
