Yoginis of Instagram: Hit the fitness button on International Yoga Day 2018

But, that thought soon disappeared as I started scrolling down my Instagram feed. A splurge of stunning pictures of women performing yoga asanas hit me. Who are they, and what do they actually do? I had discovered the Yoginis of Instagram, and they left me awestruck.

Meet these five young girls, who have been tapping yoga to soothe their minds and tune their bodies! With a set of spiritual asanas (postures) that strengthen muscles and joints, they not only promote the holistic way of living but also inspire the gen-next to follow in their footsteps.

The pull towards yoga

“My stint with yoga started with a doctor’s directive. I gained a lot of kilos and had many lifestyle diseases like Vitamin D deficiency, sinus, migraine and back pain. I started yoga in February 2013 with zero expectations. Even as many friends discouraged me and called it boring, there was a new challenge and a new learning everyday,” Akanksha Thapliyal (@indianyoginiakanksha) says.

It was the work stress that pushed Teju Dhoot (@anahata_yogini) to pursue yoga. “I felt the need for a slower but an intense workout routine that would help me to maintain my physical health and improve my mental health at the same time,” she says. Meanwhile, Namrata Sudhindra (@yogininam) was “hooked” to it ever since she walked into her first class. “I discovered yoga almost 20 years ago, purely by chance. Walked into my first class and have been practicing twice a day ever since!” she says.

Why be a yogini?

“I grew up watching my family’s faith in the healing science. However, the passion was ignited when I started practicing with my Guru, late Dr Davinder Singh Virk. Soon, I saw my colleagues falling prey to lifestyle diseases at a very young age. At that time, I decided to quit my job and went back to my roots to be a yogini,” Manisha Kharbanda (@theindianyogini) says.

For Chandni Wadera (@dancin_yogini), movement is very important! “I have always been into fitness as a dance instructor. It might sound unreal, but one day I woke up and felt I needed to start yoga. I try and incorporate the moves in my practice and so, I am a ‘dancing yogini’. ”

Go-to yoga asana

“Honestly, each asana allows my body to flow in a different way but Padamasana is a part of each of them. Even if I am not in the right frame of mind, I always just sit in Padamasana and close my eyes. It immediately calms me down,” the “dancing yogini” says. However, Teju feels Malasana helps her “feel grounded and carry the gratitude” and Uttarasana teaches her to “be more loving, caring and compassionate”. “I try to remain grounded and focus more on breathing and alignment in the postures. I specialize more in the Hatha style of yoga.”

“I love the Prasaritta Padottanasana. This is a standing asana for which you have to keep the legs straight, racing forward. There should be a gap of three to four feet between your legs. You have to try touching hands with the ultimate head down. This asana helps in stretching the whole body and rejuvenating the central nervous system,” Akanksha says.

Manisha loves to sneak in a headstand as it keeps her “playful” and gives her brain an “instant power dose”. Namrata says her favourite asana is shirshasana. “It centres me, calms me, energises me, all wrapped up in one! I do love arm balances and twists as well.”

The goodness of yoga

“Yoga was always there. Before it was in me, it was around me,” Manisha says.

“Yoga helps bring a sense of being which is very liberating for me. For me, my practice is ‘my time with me’. Of course, I feel angry, sad, jealous like we all do, but now I have started reasoning better,” Chandni says. Teju feels the soulful practice has gifted her “self discipline” and “self awareness”.

“Since the day I joined yoga, I lost more than 10kg, built good muscular strength and flexibility. But, the major change that happened was within. Mentally, I am more focused, calm and my will power has remarkably increased.” Akanksha says. Yoga changed Namrata’s relationship with her body, food and people. “Yoga is my life! I live and breathe it,” she says.

Bringing a change in lives

“My dad has been practicing yoga every day for the past 30 years and his clarity and patience has always inspired me,” Chandni says. Teju sheds light on how adapting it into her life her personal growth inspired those around her to incorporate healthy habits like balanced eating, mindfulness and meditation.

The founder of BrahmYog, Manisha feels that she had felt the transformation much before. “It was a mix of personal, social and peer success stories that kept nurturing the thought of a ‘disease-free world’. It was the vision of my Guru and shall remain my mission in this lifetime.”

“Yoga has the power to transform people mentally and physically. My students often tell me how their sugar levels came back to normal, thyroid was balanced, back pain was healed, depression got cured all because of regular yoga practice.” Akanksha adds. A yoga teacher, Namrata recalls the lessons learnt on the mat — right from patience to persistence and perseverance.

Internet trolls and hate messages

“My policy with haters is to ignore and keep doing what I love to do,” Namrata blatantly says. “People need to understand that yoga is not a display of stunts on the Internet, it is for a higher purpose. It is a union of body and mind,” Akanksha adds. Teju also agrees, calling it a “challenge”. “It is certainly not easy to keep yourself updated with the fast growing Internet life, and one needs to be mindful of the content,” she says.

However, for others, it has been a happy journey online. “Honestly, the yoga community has only been welcoming and loving to me till now and only what a yoga practitioner would say matters to me,” Chandni says.

Manisha perfectly sums up her experience through a beautiful sanskrit quote. “Yogi and yogini are carved out of practice and persistence. Clicking cool pictures and posting them doesn’t do justice to yoga. We need to substantiate the aesthetics with substance,” she says, adding, “Yoga doesn’t permit me to recognise people as ‘trolls’. There are people who have realised the purpose of life and there are people who are still attempting at it. The message of yoga would always be ‘Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah, Sarve Santu Niramayah’ or simply put as ‘May all be happy, may all be free from illness’.”

No, yoga doesn’t need you to give up on your cell phone or party zone. Take inspiration from the Yoginis of Instagram and channel your fitness rush into something meaningful, even if it is on Instagram, this International Day of Yoga!