NEWSHe came, he stood, he mesmerized. We all knew Yogi Wajahat a.k.a Wajahat Ali Khan as a celebrity yoga expert conducing meditation sessions on various television channels. Little did we know that Yogi Wajahat was an inspiring public speaker who spoke brilliantly on yoga and kept everyone absorbed and captivated with his twangy one liners and humorous anecdotes. SSGC was honoured to have Yogi Wajahat as a guest speaker in a special session organized by Sui Southern Gas Women’s Association (SSGCWA) called ‘An inspirational journey with Yogi Wajahat’. Famous celebrity Jia Ali who is also a yoga enthusiast was also invited to share changes yoga has brought to her life. Yogi Wajahat found instant connection with the SSGC audience who turned out in droves to this program. Zuhair Siddiqui, MD and Yusuf J. Ansari, DMD (Customer Services) and Rahat Kamal Siddiqui, Project Director (LNG) were also in the audience and thoroughly enjoyed the proceedings as Yogi Wajahat brought freshness and vigour in his talk, adding humour and wisdom to his talk, in equal measure. Asma Butt, Vice President, SSGCWA, who, along with her team, organized a thoroughly absorbing show, was the event emcee.
The guest speaker effectively co-related yoga with religion, quoting wherever relevant from the Holy Quran. Yogi Wajahat revealed that yoga, derived from Sanskrit word ‘Yug’ or ‘keeping things together’ has over 84,000 postures, all of which are meant to help attain a state of permanent peace of mind in order to experience one’s true self.
The guest speaker effectively co-related yoga with religion, quoting wherever relevant from the Holy Quran. Yogi Wajahat revealed that yoga, derived from Sanskrit word ‘Yug’ or ‘keeping things together’ has over 84,000 postures, all of which are meant to help attain a state of permanent peace of mind in order to experience one’s true self. However, it is not just serenity that a yoga practitioner seeks, but escape from typical medical conditions. For instance, as he explained, yoga significantly reduces systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels in hypertension patients who regularly practices yoga and meditation therapies. Similarly, controlled movements of a yoga practice can help decrease chronic pain and joint swelling in both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis sufferers, the yoga expert stressed. He said that the choice of words that ooze positivity rather than negative connotations can help one derive positive energy and thinking. The audience was pleasantly surprised to find out that Yogi Wajahat was 55 since he did not look a day older than 45. The strict yoga regimen that he pursued so religiously can be attributed to his youthful looks and healthy body and mind. Yogi also emphasized on using one’s words carefully by removing all the negative elements in one conversation. He said it is important to derive one’s energy from positive words. Earlier, Yogi Wajahat recounted his early years, which were inspirational to say the least. He said he lost his father early and was sadly enough branded a yateem (orphan). However, instead of being browbeaten by circumstances, his mother decided to get education to escape from the tough life ahead. Not only did she study in the same class as he but later she went on to become principal of many schools. ‘My first yoga of my life was my mother since she introduced me to life,’ Yogi remembered. Yogi Wajahat revealed that he was an engineer by profession but his mind was never into engineering. Yoga was my real love which soon became my livelihood,he recalled. He said it is time we bring back yoga back to the Indus valley civilization from where it actually started many centuries ago. After Yogi Wajahat’s inspirational talk, it was Jia Ali, also a student of Yogi Wajahat who took the floor to speak on the goodness of yoga. She said that as a member of The Art of Living, she has found internal tranquility by practicing yoga regularly. In this day and age, when actresses proclaim to be eternally 18, she surprised many by saying she was just 42. Was it yoga that did it for her? She let the audience be the better judge. Jia hoped that the audience can practice what the celebrated yoga has spoken about and advised that it is not just important to seek education but wisdom too. ’Bring discipline into your life and all the stress and anxiety will disappear’, she suggested to the audience. Lucky draws were held after the speeches and winners received prizes from the two celebrities. In his concluding remarks, Yusuf J. Ansari, DMD (CS) said that there was no harm in adopting many of the guidelines suggested by the yoga expert since there was nothing to lose anyway. He announced that since March 30 was the day when SSGC turns 25, SSGCWA has arranged for a cake for advance celebrations. On the cue, Ms. Asma Butt invited senior officials including Shahbaz Islam, DGM (HR/OD), Asif Ansari, DGM (E&D) and Salman Siddiqui, CM (CCD) to join Mr. Ansari and two guests on the stage for cake cutting ceremony.
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