YogMantra | Why A 27-Year-Old Lawyer Says Yoga Helped More Than Her Gym Routine

For 27-year-old Abha Pendse, a Mumbai-based lawyer, weight gain had become a constant companion. Long working hours, erratic meal times and work stress, had all contributed to her gaining 15 kilos over five years. She had slipped into Grade I obesity and was stuck.

Two months ago, she joined a gym, which helped stop the weight gain. But weight loss still didn’t happen. Meanwhile, her parents had returned from a Yoga therapy centre in Bengaluru and urged her to try it as well, and she agreed.

After one week at the centre, she had lost about 600 grams—a small beginning but encouraging because the trend had reversed. Importantly, for Abha, the experience was “the first time I understood health”.

Yoga As Complement To Gym

Since returning, Abha continues

to do both Yoga and her gym and explains why. “At the gym, it’s mostly cycling or the elliptical—cardio for 45 minutes, which gives me rhythm and discipline. In Yoga, the 50 minutes combine multiple elements like breathing, stretches, jogging, relaxation. Since it is all in one session, it feels complete. I find Yoga more engaging than the gym, which is one-tone and so, a bit monotonous,” she says.

The Offline Yoga Experience: Structure & Exposure

Abha had earlier experienced online Power Yoga classes during the pandemic and explains how the offline programme was quite different.

“From the moment you arrive, there’s structure. The daily schedule included Asana practice, Pranayama, various guided meditations, interactive lectures on Yoga philosophy, and a few naturopathy-based sessions. There was also fresh air, healthy food, and friendly interactions with people,” she says.

What stood out most to her was being exposed to multiple dimensions of Yoga instead of only physical postures and breathing practices.

Total Yoga: For Balance, Not Just Exercise

A set of lectures during the week introduced Abha to the idea of balance across physical, emotional and intellectual layers of the human system. She recalls a session where a senior teacher talked about the Anatomy of Yoga—the Panchakosha framework, with its five sheaths of human existence.

The teacher explained that according to yogic philosophy, humans possess two ‘higher’ layers: intellect and bliss. This differentiates them from all other living beings, who operate on only three levels—the physical, pranic and mental.

“This idea changed how I viewed the Yoga programme. It made me understand for the first time that well-being is built across so many layers,” Abha shares. For someone who was accustomed to thinking in terms of calories, steps and workout minutes, this perspective was eye-opening.

Another lecture that stayed with her was about balance. “A senior guru quoted a verse from the Bhagavad Gita and explained how balance, through inner righteousness, emerges from within us. I realised Yoga would teach me how to become a balanced human being—not just lose weight or overcome specific stress.”

Physical Yoga That Ended the Weight Plateau

Her day included three movement sessions, the morning one being the most intense.

Among the various Asanas taught, Abha took a liking to a dynamic sequence, which is a cycle of:

• Bhujangasana (cobra)
• Parvatasana (mountain)
• Chaturanga Dandasana (plank)
• Shashankasana (hare pose)
• Ashtanga Namaskar

This was repeated 5–6 times, with the last round being about holding each pose for a few seconds.

Eye strain from long hours on screen was also addressed through eye packs and barefoot walks on grass. These practices help restore pranic energy lost through the eyes, according to experts.

An Early-Dinner Routine That Worked

Abha was advised dietary changes, too. The health of the abdomen plays an important role in controlling weight, she was told. And that she should try to have:

• one fruit-based meal daily, and
• dinner before 7 pm

“I expected the long overnight gap between dinner and breakfast to make me dull the next morning. But I woke up fresher than usual, which has convinced me to tweak my routine back at home too.”

Ganbarimasu!

What began as an attempt to lose weight has become a long-term shift in how she approaches daily life.

Her WhatsApp ‘about’ says: Ganbarimasu! “It means ‘I’ll do my best’ in Japanese. “I got it from the TV series Takeshi’s Castle,” she says, laughing. “I believe in helping myself by combining the best of the resources available.”

The author is a journalist, cancer survivor and certified yoga teacher. She can be reached at [e-mail].