Yoga , as we know , is a scientific tool of human transformation. Yoga means Union. It is a very sophisticated way of aligning the human geometry with the cosmic energy and geometry to derive benefits and it helps oneself to transcend our physical nature and move to higher dimensions in life. The science of Yoga was offered by Adiyogi , also known as Shiva to his 7 disciples many thousand years ago in the Himalayas . Since then it spread to other parts of Bharat and today we see it has got a global reputation. Many studies all over the world have proven its benefits and relevance. Quite amusing to see , that what this civilization knows since generations , the West spends a billion dollars to do research and arrive at the same conclusions.
Anyways , coming back to our story , Yoga aligns our body , mind and other aspects and helps to achieve complete well being . If started at an early age it yields greater benefits. Since the body is lean and flexible at this stage of life, it can be trained the way we want and if done under proper guidance it can have life long benefits. And one little girls from Vidarbha in Maharashtra is a shining example of this.
Nafisa Bohra is a 8 year young girl from the Yavatmal city of Maharashtra and holds 3 world records in Yoga to her name. She is also called as a “ yoga prodigy “ by the media . She is a student of Yavatmal Public School , grade III. Her mother told ‘The Hitvada ’ that she is a bright student in her class and is always a topper apart from practising yoga as a sport. Surely yogic science has helped her in excelling in academics as well. Nafisa’s parents introduced her to yoga as a sport when she was just 3 years of age. They sent her to Nandanu Yoga & Naturopathy Treatment center in Yavatmal for classes. She slowly developed interest in the process and under the expert guidance of her instructor Shri Premdas Pakde , she improved her performance. Her mother Rubina also mentioned about one of Nafisa’s records wherein she performed Surya Namaskar for 1000 times and received a special prize.
For her other records , Nafisa did a 55 minute continuous Padma Shirshasan without making any movement , staying still at one place. The next record saw her doing 3000 steps of Bhadrasana while maintaining a Shirshasana pose for 1 hour straight. Her first world record was created when she did Padmasana for 2.45 hours , without any movement. Impressed with her enduring feats , ABYM Yoga Book of Records based in Jaipur declared Nafisa as their Brand Ambassador for Maharashtra. This organisation conducts and monitors yoga performers and documents their achievements. All the yoga postures are time consuming and physically demanding , specially when a young person is doing them. But Nafisa assured her parents and the team that she will do them without any hesitation. Her parents signed some documents to that effect taking full responsibility for the child , if anything went wrong in the process. The events was live streamed on Facebook and received a good response. A cheerful Nafisa gives the credit of her success to her parents , school and her instructors. We wish Nafisa all the very best for her future plans and would definitely love to see her performing at even bigger platforms.
It’s really good to see the ancient and scientific practice of yoga being adopted world over by people of all cultures and faiths. Yoga is a universal science and is relevant to every aspect of human life , irrespective of religion , gender and any such background . Through this article I would like to urge each one of you to take its benefits and start practising yoga , under proper guidance. It’s the biggest tool of human transformation available since thousands of years.
But , keep in mind always , that yoga is not just about twisting your arms and legs ; it can harm you very badly if done in a wrong way . It’s a technology to human transformation that helps to achieve a balance in your body , mind and energy systems . So do it well and as per the standard protocol – there are no shortcuts here and it takes time to get good results.
All The Best !
( With references from The Hitvada Report by Anupam Soni dated 30 April 2021 )