Change of Heart
Prabhat always wanted to win. His parents, teachers, and friends said that he did not know how to accept defeat. The fact was that he could not bear losing, not even at marbles. He felt so good when he won that he never wanted to give up that feeling. On the contrary, losing made him feel terrible. He thought that losing was the worst thing that could happen to anyone.
If Prabhat sensed that he would lose a game, he would not play it. He would take part only when he was sure of winning, even if the game lasted only for a minute. You could not stop him from playing the kind of games he was really good at, like badminton.
A new student joined Prabhat’s school, and his name was Surya. Surya was an excellent badminton player. Prabhat waited for the last Friday of the month. Last Friday was significant. This was when the coach conducted friendly matches in the games period. The teams were decided on Monday and it was no surprise when Prabhat and Surya were chosen to play a round against each other. Prabhat was given the responsibility of keeping score for their match. On one hand, Prabhat prepared for the match with great seriousness. Surya, on the other hand, seemed relaxed, not taking the things seriously at all. He walked about the
defeat: loss
terrible :
unhappy
on the contrary :
just the opposite
sensed: had
known
significant:
important
conducted:
organised whole time, smiling and cracking jokes about all sorts of things. But on Friday, at the badminton court, Surya was a real phenomenon. He won points again and again, laughing and joking all the time. However, Surya was paying so little attention to the match that Prabhat managed to change the scoreboard while his opponent was looking elsewhere.
Prabhat managed to win by cheating. He made a big thing of his win, but it did not matter to Surya.
“It’s been fun. We should play again some other time,” said Surya.
phenomenon:
someone who
has special
qualities On that day, everyone was discussing their game and how Prabhat had played so well. Surprisingly, Prabhat could not sleep well that night. He had won the game but he did not feel as happy as he usually did. What was surprising was that Surya did not feel bad about losing. What was more surprising was that Prabhat saw Surya playing basketball the next day. Surya was so hopeless at it that he could not score a basket for ten minutes. Yet, he enjoyed playing the game. His happy smile never left his face.
Prabhat kept a close watch on Surya for some days. He was great at some things, terrible at others but what was common was the enjoyment. He enjoyed everything equally. As Prabhat went on with his observation, he realised that to enjoy a game, you did not need a scoreboard to keep a tally of your scores. Neither did you have to worry about winning nor losing. You needed to enjoy the game for its own sake. What matters is trying to do well, and enjoying every moment of it.
Prabhat learnt something through the observations every day, soon realising the change in himself. He had even begun playing hide and seek, and felt sad whenever it was about to end. He also started joking while playing badminton. Soon, the other students started talking amongst themselves, “Good fun playing with Prabhat, that fellow definitely has a great sporting spirit.”
kept a close
watch on:
observed
hopeless:
having no skill
in something
The Winner
Evenings,
we play ball
next to the creek
in our neighbour’s field.
We run so fast
can’t
even
catch
my
breath.
When blue dark turns to black,
cold grass aches our feet,
trees creep close—
game’s over.
Night wins!
Georgia Heard
Yoga–A Way of Life
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual practice
that originated in ancient India. The word
‘Yoga’ comes from the Sanskrit root ‘yuj’, which
means ‘to join’ or ‘to unite’. This symbolises the
unity of mind and body; thought and action;
harmony between human and nature. It is a
holistic approach to health and well-being.
Sage
Patanjali
presented
the
ancient
tradition of yoga in a systematic way in ‘Yoga
Sutras of Patanjali’. He described yoga as the
means to make the mind quiet and free from
all distractions.
Yoga has become increasingly popular
around the world due to its many health
benefits.
originated:
started
harmony:
balance
distractions:
disturbances
Here are some of the benefits of yoga—
• Yoga postures (asanas) help to stretch and
strengthen the muscles, increase flexibility,
endurance and balance. This can improve
overall physical fitness. This can also help to
reduce body pains, such as lower back pain.
• Yoga involves breathing techniques and
meditation, which can help to calm the mind
and reduce stress and anxiety. It relaxes
the mind, improves the quality of sleep and
increases concentration.
• Yoga has been shown to boost the immune
system. It can improve heart health by
lowering blood pressure and improving
circulation.
• Yoga can aid in weight loss by burning
calories, and maintaining health.
anxiety:
worry
boost:
increase
endurance:
capacity to
continue
without giving
up
Yoga promotes a sense of overall well-being.
This is the reason why the benefits of practising
yoga are internationally recognised. The World
Health Organisation (WHO) on 20 June 2021,
launched an App called WHO mYoga. The app
contains a collection of videos and audio files to teach and support
yoga practice. The aim was to have an easy-to-use and free tool
for people across the world to encourage them to practise yoga.
We can start practising yoga at any given moment of time. We
must remember that when we practise yoga asanas (postures),
we do not just stretch the body. The mind has to be with the body.
This is the reason why it should be practised without distractions.
If each stretch is coordinated with the breath and awareness,
our practice will become a yogic practise.
haṭhasya prathamāṅgatvādāsanam pūrvamuchyate
kuryāttadāsanam sthairyamārogyaṃ chāṅgalāghavam
Being the first accessory of Haṭha-Yoga, āsana is described first. It should be
practised for gaining steady posture, health and weightlessness of body.
Source: Haṭha Ῡoga Prad-ipikā
हठस्य ्ቚथमाďत्वाादासनं पूर्वमुच्यते।
कुर्या्ቈदासनं स् थैर्यमारोग्यंयं चाď÷ाघवम् ।।१९।।