In a festive rush? Try Bollywood’s vitamin calm!

There’s a lot to be said about stillness and calm, and the benefit it brings. Which is why it may be just the thing you need in this rushed, frenzied run-up to the festive season. All it takes to get that is to sit down in a corner (or any space that you like) and meditate. An ancient practice, mediation today finds its way into people’s lives across the globe and can do everything from ease conflict, to reassess tough situations, build focus and bust stress.
It’s no wonder then that people have mapped it out in their daily lives. Take Parineeti Chopra, who seems to be a huge believer. She likes to meditate every day and even posted about it on her Instagram account. The actress, who’s shooting for her upcoming film in Nepal, posted a picture of herself practicing meditation with a gorgeous snow-covered backdrop and captioned it, “Daily meditation is my secret.” Clad in winter gear with her pink jacket, black tights and winter boots, she looks the picture of calm. Parineeti’s not the only one though, check out other stars who like to meditate for different reasons...
‘Will enable you to enjoy the festivities without a burnout’

Neha Ahuja, health expert and founder of a wellness studio, shares why taking time out to meditate is so essential. She says, “We invest so much energy preparing for festivals and many times, our health takes a backseat owing to all the stress, tension and excitement the festive buzz creates. We forget that how important our physical sense of balance is. This is where yoga and meditation come into play as they help you to find stability in midst of activities — both physically and mentally. Maintaining a routine practice will enable us to enjoy the festivities without a burnout.”
She adds, “Practice meditation for 20 minutes every day, which will help maintain your equilibrium and balance. This could be done through breath work or watching one’s breath or via guided meditation. You can also meditate to the sounds of nature, which can be very calming. Chanting is another powerful tool that helps to clear the noise in the brain.”
9 out of 10 people, who try and meditate, fail at it: Expert
Yoga and wellness expert, Bijay Anand elucidates. He says, “Mediation is incredible; most people who have never meditated, read or hear about it and sit down to meditate, but 9 out of 10 such people will fail at it. It’s important to include it in your day, but to be able to do this, you also have to take control of your diet and sleep right. There’s a whole process of understanding meditation. If you’re eating junk foods, sleeping late, waking up late and generally living a sedentary lifestyle, your mind will never be able to calm itself and this negative energy will not allow you to find your peace. Also, practicing yoga before meditation has a profound impact upon how easy you will find it to meditate after your yoga practice.”
The B-Town book of meditative therapy

Yoga lover Shilpa Shetty has often taken to mediation and even spoken about why she loves it. She shared, “Start your day or any new work with positive thoughts and intentions. Focus only on the good that comes your way to help amplify and manifest it to greater proportions. Make it a habit to choose positivity over doubt/ fear or anything that seems to derail your mind towards a negative thought. Be good, do better, and you’ll only get the best back!”

Fitness aficionado Jacqueline Fernandez added her take to it. She wrote in a post online, “Breath work (pranayams) are important especially now for our physical and mental well-being.”
Mouni Roy credits it with making her less anxious. She revealed in her Insta post: “Can’t begin to explain how yoga and meditation have helped change my mindset and brought a positive impact on my body... Replace the craving for bad with the good. One tiny change at a time. Together it’ll bring the physical and mental discipline, which will have a positive impact on your entire day. It helps me be way less vague and anxious than I used to be before (sic).”

Nature lover Dia Mirza also extolled the virtues of pranayam as she shared, “Aligning the mind, body and soul with a daily practice of breathing, stretching and meditating. Lucky to have this open green space so I can be with nature. Being with nature strengthens the immune system, sharpens our senses and improves general sense of well-being. Also brings joy.”
TIPS TO GET IT RIGHT

For those who find meditation difficult or impossible, Bijay shares some tips to help you settle down into the practice:
* Adopt the right posture: The correct technique of meditation requires you to sit up with an upright posture with your spine straight. The crown of your head should be higher than your forehead.
* Tibetan singing bowls: Playing the Tibetan singing bowls before meditating helps to cleanse your aura with powerful and healing sound vibrations. Surrender to the power of sound vibrations for a deeper meditation practice.
* Mudras: Though there are hundreds of mudras known to advanced practitioners, the chin mudra is the easiest of them all and is also one of the most powerful.
* Breath: As a beginner, it is normal for thoughts to enter the mind. Don’t get frustrated or disheartened. Just bring your thoughts back to your breath. Eventually, you will be able to stay with the breath and have a better connect, which is the purpose of meditation.
* Adopt a routine: The most important aspect of a good meditation practice is discipline and routine. You cannot meditate at any time of the day for a few days a week and expect results. Even if you take out just 10 minutes a day, if you fix a particular time for it, it will most certainly show you results.