Vrinda Mehta's workshop is about training mind to be happy

Vrinda Mehta. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

It's a balmy November evening and we are sitting at Bandra's Otters Club with fitness instructor Vrinda Mehta, who has helped the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Karan Johar, Kajol and Tabu get in shape. But, we are not here to discuss Bollywood celebrities or body dynamics. Our preoccupation, much like hers, is about the mind.

After being in the industry for two decades, Mehta has launched a workshop that has been at the back of her own mind for long. In all the years that she trained people, Mehta had a niggling feeling of having left out a major aspect of fitness - the inner world we inhabit. "Your world could be perfect from the outside, but if its crumbling inside, you're heading towards a disaster. All we were doing was patchwork, without tackling the root, which is why you see more people plunging into depression, or committing suicide," she says.

Here, she teaches you to how to manifest good health, wealth, fulfilling relationships and a successful career; all of it while being happy. Much like the Secret, we think. Except, Mehta aims to unearth the science behind the Secret through quantum physics; the function of subatomic particles and electromagnetic waves and the intriguing ways in which they operate. While this may sound like heavy-duty concepts (thankfully simplified and made palatable during the workshop), the techniques, we learn, are simple.

The here and now
"Firstly, it begins by being grateful for being alive - just the fact that we are watching this sunset. The fact that we might not be here to see it tomorrow, should make us value this life," she says. In fact, it's funny how with this line itself, we start to feel more alive. You begin to notice things you didn't before, like the yellow chrysanthemums growing nearby and the patterns of the bark of a tree.

Breathe easy
A small, innocuous act like focusing on your breath and breathing right, can have a lasting impact on your state of mind, believes Mehta. Practicing Pranayama - comes from the Sanskrit words prana (breath or life force) and yama (control) - can help you get a grip on your mind.

Happiness is constant
"It's important to believe that you are happy, even life has its peaks and dips. Trust me, your brain is a fabulous computer. It has a user, which is the mind. Once you train your mind to be happy under any circumstance, happiness can be carried wherever you go," she says.

While the concepts may not be earth-shatteringly new, it's Mehta's version that makes all the difference. Her scientific explanations to abstractions inspire you to believe. While she may teach us the techniques, the results will appear only with practice, she insists. Repetition, then, is the key.

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ENTRY: Rs 3,500 for 3 hours
CALL: 9820219785

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