Monday motivation: Shilpa Shetty shows Padmasana is perfect 'tune out' in chaos

As the healthcare systems across Indian states collapsed in April amid the alarming spike in Covid-19 cases and death, a heartwarming and incredibly overwhelming gesture came from the youth who got down to verify and deliver oxygen cylinders or refills, medicines, tiffins for patients, hospital beds and update on other resources. Acknowledging their sheer humanitarian work this week is Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty Kundra who penned a note of hope for the “complete strangers.”

Serving the perfect fitness motivation this Monday with her message of hope in these youngsters robustly helping people desperately in need of Covid-19 resources, Shilpa inspired fans to to take a break amid the chaos and “tune out for a while” in the midst of the current panic situation with Yoga’s Padmasana or lotus pose. “We’re all reading about the actual situation around us and it is absolutely devastating. This news plays on the mind all the time and leads the mind to very dark places (sic),” she expressed in the caption.

Shilpa added, “But then, there are posts and news about complete strangers helping people desperately in need of help. People who are cooking meals for COVID patients living alone, volunteers driving down to people needing medical assistance, and doctors providing information & guidance via online sessions. So reassuring! (sic).”

Encouraging even those who felt helpless and could do nothing, Shilpa stated, “If we can do something for someone, we definitely must! But if not, don’t panic excessively. Tune out for a little while, inhale deeply, and believe that it will get better from here. Live in the NOW. Together, we WILL overcome this. We will walk through this time towards a better tomorrow. Faith and hope are what we need right now (sic).”

The picture that Shilpa shared, featured her nailing a simple Padmasana in the backdrop of hills and looked too serene to set us craving for a getaway immediately. “Overthinking will destroy your happiness and your mood. It’ll make everything worse than it actually is,” Shilpa captioned it while adding, “Take a deep breath, exhale, and have faith. What’s meant to be, will be (sic).”

Method to nail Padmasana or Yoga's lotus pose:

Sit on the floor or on a Yoga mat with legs stretched out and spine erect. Bend the right knee and place it on the left thigh with the sole of the feet point upward and the heel close to the abdomen.

Repeat the same step with the other leg and place your hands on the knees in mudra position. Keeping the head straight and spine erect, close your eyes and take gentle long breaths in and out.

To promote a meditative state, breathe in and out deeply through your nose during this pose and switch legs by spending equal amounts of time with the opposite positioning. Since a lotus pose or Padmasana is not readily accessible to many practitioners, especially for people with tricky knees, half lotus is pretty comfortable and a good substitute of yoga’s most iconic postures.

Benefits:

This pose helps promote good posture and maintains flexibility in one’s gluteal muscles along with the deep rotator muscles of hips. Since any vigorous activity like running can tighten the piriformis, half lotus pose helps in stretching it.

The piriformis can also be tightened due to inactivity by sitting too much. This asana opens the hips and stretches the feet and ankles.

Precautions:

Padmasana should not be performed by those who have knee injury or any form of injury in the ankle or calf or those suffering from any back or spine discomfort or suffering from sciatica infections or weakness in the sciatic nerves.

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