Born to a family of Ayurvedic doctors and yoga enthusiasts, Logeshwari Naveen always felt an inner calling for yoga, right from the age of eight, which, she tells us, is the ideal age to start practising yoga. “It is only after the age of eight that your mind and body can really focus,” explains this 27-year-old yoga consultant and counsellor at The Arya Vaidya Chikitsalayam and Research Institute, Coimbatore. Right off the bat, Logeshwari informs us that yoga is no less than an addiction for her. And we aren't blind to this fact considering she's currently pursuing her PhD in the ancient Indian discipline. “I began my research three years ago on the utilisation of yoga with family therapy using psychological variables,” says Logeshwari, who has enrolled at the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University, Chennai.
Bearing witness to Logeshwari’s dedication to yoga, we wonder aloud if she has always been this committed to it. She replies, “My uncle Jeladharan S, who is my inspiration, was a disciple of Guru Mani Swami from Sadguru Yogasramam, Chittur, Kerala. As my family has been deeply connected to yoga for many years, I was lucky to attend the free Sunday classes held at the ashram. When people saw me perform asanas as a kid, they would applaud me and I also won many prizes at the school-level. This was my sole motivation to practise yoga till Class X. After that, I had second thoughts about choosing between becoming a doctor and a yoga consultant,” she shares. No prizes for guessing which one she chose. But what caused her to change her mind? “My uncle was a radiologist at PSG Hospitals, Coimbatore. He once met someone from Kerala who was diagnosed with AIDS that he contracted through a blood transfusion. My uncle took him to his guru who instructed him to change his lifestyle and practise a few asanas. Believe it or not, that person is still alive today. This made me realise the greatness of yoga,” says this Mangalore University postgraduate in Yogic Science.
Now that Logeshwari is a practitioner of yoga, she does not worry about work-life balance because yoga is not a job for her, it’s her source of satisfaction and happiness. “I work for about eight hours a day and I barely take a break. But when you are so engrossed in people and the spiritual aspect of yoga, you don’t need a break,” she beams. "When you have job satisfaction, are convinced about the fact that your help is changing lives and you have your family’s support, everything falls in place. Fortunately, I’ve always been encouraged by my family. Even though I’m seven months pregnant now, they don't me from working because they are aware of the benefits of yoga,” says Logeshwari, who did her undergraduation in Advanced Zoology and Biotechnology from PSGR Krishnammal College for Women, Coimbatore.
Despite how long the discipline has been prevalent in India and the well-documented effects of regular practise, Logeshwari feels that people are yet to recognise the true value of yoga. “There are people who think that yoga is practised only for weight loss or as a form of treatment. Yoga is a way of life that can be cultivated as a habit,” she concludes.
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