In silence, I breathe

Mona

Meditation has appealed to youngsters like never before; be it ancient, stringent, practices like Vipassana or just tuning into Headspace, celebs or not, the young brigade is turning towards stillness, that of the mind, in order to deal with a world full of distractions and disappointments.

Stringent norms 

This engineer wanted to be a ‘bada admi’.  Getting to know that most mighty and successful folks share one trait in common – they meditate, he tried checking in with Osho; it cost money for the robe and expenses, so he looked for options. It was in one of Ian Wright’s blog that he read someone suggesting Vipassana course in India. As he thought high of Ian, all of 25, Rahul Mittal showed up at Dhamma Salila, Dehradun. It was only once there that he realised the stringent norms — complete silence for 10 days, no dinner, and hours of meditation. 

“It’s now that I realise what a miracle it was to get a seat without registering for a course that’s got long queue of people waiting.” Eight years on, he seems to have broken the code between meditation and success. “I sure have higher capacity to work; along with inculcating patience, it has also made me creative and empathetic,” says this co-director of Prahit Technologies Limited.

High flying

It was an urge to be stronger, physically and mentally, that led Amandeep on to the path of meditation. “For long, there’ve been studies that most diseases are psychosomatic, I wanted to hone my mind and train my body,” says this 25-year-old ex-IT engineer who doubles up as a Krav Maga instructor and yoga trainer. He compares life before and post meditation as driving on a ‘road to flying’. When driving on road, you stop at signals, dodge the traffic or obstructions. Consider this - if you could fly over the road! “That’s what meditation does to you.”

Relaxed mode

When 23-year-old Simran Kaur walks into an Art of Living happiness programme as a teacher, people old and young are sure taken aback at first. For Simran, the first brush with meditation was reading about Swami Vivekananda when she was barely in class four. Till much later when she got introduced to Art of Living, she tried practicing on her own.  “Howsoever cluttered or hurried my day is, these 20 minutes of my relaxation time works wonders,” says this painter, who just finished her masters in physics. 

[email protected]

Soothing effect

In the ‘instant’ times, no wonder there are plenty of apps to cater to young professionals looking for some quick stress relief. Himanshu Vasistha, founder MindVis, tried Calm and Insighter before settling down with Headspace. “The overall look and feel of the app is soothing in itself,” he says. Iranian actress Elnaaz Norouzi banks on what the quick relief meditative apps have on offer. “In a car, waiting at an airport lounge or during makeup, soothing music or guided meditation helps you stay calm.”

Celeb zone

As much as yoga, meditation also has been made fashionable by celebs. Right from Shilpa Shetty to Malaika Arora, Kareena Kapoor Khan to Tiger Shroff to Sidharth Malhotra... all have embraced the ancient practice. Even their Hollywood counterparts have taken to it. Kristen Bell banks on 10 minutes of meditative yoga to get past the little irritants of the day, while Katy Perry banks on ‘Transcendental Meditation’ to stay sane through her high-flying life.