In lockdown, engineer masters yoga mudras to control thirst

Vadodara: At the crack of dawn, she rolls out her mat and sits down in a yoga mudra. Tuesday was no different for Nazneen Kachwala, who took up yoga during the lockdown to achieve two purposes — self control and also learn a newer skill while being at home.
“I come from a conservative family but when I explained the benefits of yoga to my parents, they understood it and supported me,” said engineer Nazneen, who claims she has been following this routine ever since the lockdown began.
After performing yoga mudras, she observes roza at her residence on Ajwa Road and also offers namaz every evening. “I also do sukshma kriyas, recite Om chants while meditating along with Surya Namaskar,” said Nazneen, who added that her primary aim was to gain self control so that she could the stringent fast with ease during the holy month of Ramzan.
“And it has helped me immensely,” gushed the 30-year-old, who said that with the help of the particular mudra she now no longer gets affected by thirst whole day long. “I have been observing roza for years now. However, it was always difficult as I used to feel very thirsty. I came to know about the yoga techniques and mudras that can curb my thirst. But I never got the time to practice these mudras earlier,” said the woman belonging to the Alavi Bohra muslim community.
Talking to TOI, Nazneen said: “After the lockdown, when I began working from home, I decided to practice Khechri Mudra and since it was much ahead of Ramzan, I knew it would help me greatly. In this mudra, the tongue has to be rolled back to touch the tip of the uvula. It is very difficult and requires lot of time, patience and practice. But once learnt, the results are amazingly satisfying.”
“After days of hard practice, I can now fast all day without getting parched. Whenever I feel thirsty, I immediately do this mudra along with Sheetali Pranayama that helps me cool down my body. I am able to focus on my work even while fasting all day,” said the enthusiast who also learnt yoga at Yoga Niketan.