Getting the Pose Right: Anjana’s Mindful Journey from IT to Yoga | Lifestyle Women

What is the strength of a software professional? It is probably their ability to quickly switch and learn. Anjana, a software engineer, made one such life change. She understood the immense value of mental well-being through yoga over the lure of a well-paid IT job. Anjana is now a certified therapist and yoga instructor. For her, IT and yoga are two different worlds.

Just before the COVID-19 lockdown, Anjana received a job offer from another company. She resigned from her job and took a short break before moving to a new place. However, when the world came to a standstill due to the COVID-19 crisis, those who were supposed to join new companies faced major challenges. Anjana found herself in a difficult situation as she had left her previous job but was unable to join a new one. Without a job and salary, she was under a lot of stress. It was during this difficult time that she first turned to yoga. A month of practice gave her immense relief from stress, which sparked a deep interest in yoga.

Systematic learning
During this time, Anjana came across an advertisement for a yoga course on a WhatsApp group. Without much thought, she enrolled as a student for a diploma course run by the State Resources Centre. She had never formally studied yoga, but had grown up seeing and hearing about it. Her uncle, a bank manager, was a yoga teacher. The course helped her to systematise her learning. It taught her how a yoga pose or Aasana relates to certain ailments or bodily conditions. It also gave her clarity on how yoga guides spiritual seekers on the right path. Anjana says that practising different poses and breathing exercises does not necessarily lead to a deeper understanding of these aspects.

Advanced Science
As part of the course, Anjana was able to understand both the theory and practice of yoga. After completing her diploma course in yoga, she pursued a masters in yoga from Annamalai University in Chidambaram. While spending a month there, Anjana had the opportunity to interact with several scholars and attend their classes regularly. This experience gave her a deeper sense of direction and a clearer understanding of how yoga benefits humanity.

It was only after Anjana started practicing yoga that she understood its true value. Her own experience was the most convincing proof of this. Although she loved her job as a software engineer, she felt it never gave her complete satisfaction. Completing projects gave her joy, but the stress that came with it was immense. In contrast, the joy and transformation she experienced and witnessed in others through yoga was profound. Many people called her to say that yoga helped them sleep well. Seeing such happiness and gratitude made her feel that life and her work had a significant meaning. This realization helped her choose between IT and yoga.

Significant changes
Currently, most of the patients who seek Anjana’s help come from the Naval Base Station Health Organization, where she works. Most of them come from the psychiatric ward and struggle with high levels of stress, anxiety, insomnia and depression. There are also patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Anjana says the transformations she witnesses in these individuals are extraordinary. She is confident that yoga can bring about significant changes, even in people who are labeled as mentally ill and struggling to live without medication.

Change of perspective
It has been four years since Anjana started teaching yoga. She has taught over five hundred people. When asked about the most important change she has observed, Anjana said it is the change in people’s perspective on life. Everyone notices this change directly and it is visible in most of them. People struggling with lifestyle issues often find relief with regular practice. Through yoga, they either get relief from their ailments or reduce their medication.

Yoga as a profession
Anjana strongly believes that teaching yoga can be a very promising profession. Apart from keeping you healthy, yoga offers financial stability. It is a profession that brings peace of mind and satisfaction, and Anjana vouches for that. There is a huge demand for yoga these days and new opportunities are constantly emerging. However, to succeed, one needs to be dedicated and not treat yoga as a job, she says.

The difference between IT and yoga is fundamental, and Anjana experiences this firsthand. When she said she was a software engineer, the conversation would often end there. But saying she was a yoga teacher evokes a different reaction and is very respectful.

Reaching milestones
Anjana says she has achieved personal milestones after taking up yoga. Introducing yoga into her routine led her to compete at the national level. In her IT career, she struggled with shortness of breath, neck pain, stress and various physical and mental strains. However, adopting yoga helped her overcome these issues, which she considers a major achievement.

Anjana now conducts yoga sessions at various IT companies. She notes that many people in these companies suffer from diabetes, hypertension, obesity, back pain and other issues due to prolonged sitting and stress. Yoga helps reduce stress and provides relief from both physical and mental ailments. It also improves time management, allowing people to complete projects on time without stress. Anjana stresses that yoga offers these benefits not just to IT professionals but to anyone working in any field.

Anjana, originally from Palakkad, currently lives in Elamakkara, Ernakulam. Her husband Santosh works in the IT sector and their son Jagadvid is a source of support for her. Even though he is in the sixth standard, Jagadvid manages all his activities on his own, she says. Apart from yoga, Anjana balances family responsibilities, dance, music, travelling and friendships. She enjoys all of them equally and feels no tension.