Youth face constant pressure to excel at studies, get a job, manage relationships, and deal with numerous other problems. Armed with yoga and meditation, youth say that sailing through turbulent times is as easy as sitting calmly for 20 minutes! Let's see how youth and students are using yoga as a tool to overcome life's challenges.
Yoga As A Time-Management Tool
Grades, studies, sports, fests, parties - college life buzzes with so many activities! The trick lies in balancing all these with ease. "I saw a tremendous rise in my energy levels with regular yoga practice. I study, party, travel, yet have a relaxed and tension-free mind," shares Sugandha Narula, Yes!+ course participant. Yoga and meditation can keep your energy levels high through the day so you can complete daily tasks at a faster pace, adding extra hours to your day!
Goodbye Exam Stress
Don’t you think it is easier to memorize the lyrics of a song than remember all that you studied? Regular practice of yoga techniques can improve your focus and memory. Neethi Dalvi says,“The YES!+ Course (Art of Living Course for youth) has helped me tremendously. My grades have improved and I have more clarity of thought. I can face crisis positively.”
Say NO To Peer Pressure, Be Yourself
Everyone wants to ‘fit in’ a particular crowd, due to which they may end up getting themselves into bad habits. 'Friends' might force you to have a smoke or drink to look cool. What starts off as curiosity ends up becoming an addiction. Yoga helps you to easily let go these dependencies. Regular practice of yoga can give you a natural high. You may not feel the need to get intoxicated on artificial stuff. “Spending nights in smoky clubs and partying on drugs used to be part of my life before. When the knowledge of yoga came into my life, I felt a natural high and continued to practice regularly, but would not stop my bad habits. As the yoga practice continued, I found that my drinking and drug-taking reduced until they completely fell off,” shares Plakor Kovacevic, YES!+ and Sri Sri Yoga teacher, who overcame his habits of drinking with continued yoga practice.
Fit As A Fiddle With Yoga
Why Practice Yoga And Meditation?
- Improved concentration
- Quicker decision-making
- Relaxation
- Inner peace
- High confidence
- More focus
- Ease in handling responsibility
- Increased strength (physical & mental)
- Better memory
- It’s fun!
A fallout of addictions and sedentary lifestyle is loss of good health. Regular practice of yoga techniques, in combination with healthy food, can help restore your health. Yoga can aid in alleviating illnesses, as it helps increase immunity. Priyanka Agarwal, Yes!+ course participant says, “Six months back, I had significantly high blood pressure (BP) and I swore to do my practices daily. My BP normalized within a month and at the same time, my vision improved. Being a medical student, I say it's a miracle but I understand it is an increase in prana (life force energy) which healed me.”
Attending Interviews Can Be A Cakewalk
“The YES!+ Course has given me tremendous confidence to attend interviews,” says Bhakti Kadagad. Wouldn’t it be nice to not have butterflies in your stomach and be full of confidence when you go for interviews or while giving a presentation? In the YES+ and YES! Courses, you learn specific breathing techniques to improve your focus, concentration, and confidence. And you thought yoga was only yoga postures!
Cool With Your Kith And Kin
Managing a relationship while studying is a real challenge. Sometimes fights and break-ups tend to distract you from studies and other activities. Santosh, an engineering student says, “Meditation has helped me overcome the grief of my break-up.” Regular practice of yoga can help you become resilient, while daily meditation can calm an agitated mind.
Many people share that with regular practice of yoga, they get less angry and even if they do, negative emotions stay for shorter periods of time. Yoga techniques and philosophy equips you with life skills: how to deal with people, emotions, and other stressful issues. Mausam Maru shares, “After doing Yes!+, my ability to tackle problems has improved. My relationship with friends, parents and colleagues has become better.”
Youth is a time for fun and activity! And what better friends than yoga and meditation to help you enjoy it better?
YES! and YES!+ Workshops
The Youth Empowerment Seminar (YES)! and YES!+ are fun and challenging life-skills and leadership workshops that provide young adults with practical knowledge and effective tools to reduce stress, manage negative emotions, and develop social and leadership skills. The YES! Course is open to teenagers between the age group of 14-18 years, while YES!+ is for youth aged 18-30 years.
