I want to give you some first hand account of the difficulties I am facing while practicing yoga to cure my Allergic Rhinitis. Oh, did I tell you that I suffer from Allergic Rhinitis?
Well, yes. I am allergic to dust, dog hair and some specific pollen. I am also aware that many kids and adults alike suffer from Allergic Rhinitis. And I am not going to give you some escapist advice that stay away from dogs, cats, pollen, dust and smoke. I won’t do this because I do not believe in escapism. I am strictly against it. I am a fighter and I want all of you to be the same.

The good news is that you can overcome Allergic Rhinitis and all sorts of allergies by disciplined practice of yoga, especially Pranayam – the breathing exercises. I am not going to recommend any medicines nor am I going to tell you to stop going outside. But yes, I am going to ask of you some discipline. I need at least 20 minutes of your time daily and then we can go on to 40 minutes but starting with 20 minutes daily is a commendable feat in itself. I used to do Yoga (Pranayam) as a kid when I first encountered this problem. Having tried numerous medicines and having been to many doctors, it was in the end decided that the best way to counter this problem was to stay away from dogs, dust and pollen. The problem was that as a kid this is not at all possible. I had a dog in the house (I am a big time animal lover and enthusiast. To try to keep me away from animals was close to taking a chunk of my life away from me), I went to school where we had to indulge in outdoor sports. After being tired of everything I turned to Yoga in desperation. The most important thing I had to do was to put my belief in Yoga and that it worked.
Long story short, I practiced for a few months and my life had improved beyond measure. Then I stopped caring and stopped doing Yoga. This was a big mistake. So now the situation is that every 3-4 years during a particular time I suffer from severe cold, running nose and breathing problems.

As part of 2013 resolutions I have decided to practice Pranayam daily and I have recently started to do so. I have identified Anulom Vilom (alternative nostril breathing) and Kapalbhati to be useful in allergy problems.

So far so good.

It is recommended to do these exercises at least 10 minutes each daily. Here’s the problem I am facing – I am finding it extremely difficult to sit in one place for 20 minutes !!

I can sit at one place for hours if I am studying for working on my laptop or talking to someone (although I consider gossiping extremely boring!) but to sit in one place and practice Yoga? It was just not happening till today ! When I found out a hack for it.

Here’s what I do – I love music and I have decided to take it’s help, maybe just initially. I put on songs and practice Yoga alongside. It has worked today and will work every single day. I am sure of this because I can sit in one place listening to songs to all day long. Ha! well, that’s only what I did in college !

I have discovered a fault in myself – lack of patience. And I am working on it by practicing Yoga and hacking Yoga practice by taking help of music. I will, at some later stage, turn the music off and be just on my own. Patience is very important for everything in life – for studies, for work, for persevering, anything and everything. A mind that cannot force a body to be still for a meager 20 minutes cannot be expected to do any great things in life.
I am working on building patience, discipline and good health through Yoga.

What you up to?