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Project Pavitra, is an initiative of the Social Projects team of The Art of Living. It’s ninety minutes three-day programme, which has been well received all over the country. The team covers all aspects necessary to facilitate women to experience their period with pride, dignity and comfort. They harness the power of knowledge with time-tested techniques of Yoga and Meditation to bring about lasting changes in the attitude towards the experience of menstrual cycle amongst participants. This is an initiative that empowers both the trainers as well as participants by building women’s agency to drive individual, economic, social transformation with informed-decision making abilities.
The training was conducted by Ms Sakshi Pandey and Ms Anjali Shah. Ms Meghana [II Sem BBA] introduced both the trainers to the audience and they were welcomed with flower bouquets by Dr Veena K N, Dean -DSBA and Prof Nikitha Sreekantha, HOD.
Ms Pandey is an Engineering Graduate with an MBA from IIT Delhi. She has two years of experience in the corporate world. She now manages the national operations for Project Pavitra from The Art of Living International Centre. She is an expert master trainer for this program. She also conducts training of trainers as well as master trainers’ country wide.
Ms Pandey was assisted by Ms Anjali Shah who is a lawyer by profession and is a team member of Project Pavitra.
The three- day programme was conducted from 28th Jan’19-30th Jan ’19 on the IV floor of B Block. The topic was ‘Holistic Health & Nutrition’.184 girls benefitted from this programme. Two batches were made. One batch attended the morning session and the other batch attended the noon session.
Ms Anjali began the introductory session with an ice breaker; wherein, the students introduced themselves stating a behaviour of theirs that they consider weird. Once the ice was broken, a feedback form was circulated to each participant; on one part of the form the participants jotted down their knowledge on all aspects of menstruation.
Then the topic of menstruation, usually considered a taboo subject was touched upon by Ms Sakshi. She stated that the whole menstruation process is quite beneficial to the health of the girls as all the accumulated toxins get released during that time and it’s time to stop believing in the myths associated with the word. The girls were told about the phases in the menstrual cycle in detail, the resultant changes in one’s behaviour, the average length of the menstrual cycle, which can vary between women and from one cycle to the next and the common menstrual problems.
With the help of examples, Ms Pandey explained how the quality of life depends on the state of mind, how the way a person perceives depends on the state of energy levels, and how negative thoughts come back to an individual without one’s intention /notice. Therefore, it’s important to think positive and handle one’s emotions without supressing or controlling them.
The next day, Ms Pandey discussed the dietary intake with the girls. She mentioned the kind of food one can have before and during menstruation and also the food one can avoid by stating the reasons for doing so. One should include a lot of greens and green leafy vegetables in one’s diet. She stressed on the intake of iron and food that has rich source of iron content. Food with sources of Vitamin C was also linked with iron as that enhances iron content in food. She also listed food items readily available in every home that can help one regain lost nutrients. On physical activities and menstrual cycle, she stated that gentle stretches and breathing help cool the body down in preparation for rest. Light walking or other light cardio can be done. One may be surprised to find that a woman can be more physically active and at a greater intensity at certain times of the month than at other times.
Since YES + program is incorporated in the first year UG level at DSBA, she suggested that the girls continue with Sudarshan Kriya and simple yogasanas as that empowers one physically and emotionally. She also made the students practise them on the third day. She taught the students the right way to do Pranayama as even that helps in reducing menstrual tension and health problems related to menstruation.
At the end of the three- day workshop, the girls understood that a woman’s menstrual health is crucial to her well-being, and also to the well-being of her family and community. The training also helped them realize the wisdom of Yoga and Ayurveda in enabling them to deal with good menstrual hygiene practices.
Harshitha
II Sem BCom ‘B’
