It’s great that you’re considering yoga. Before your first class, having a few essentials in mind can help you feel confident and get the most out of the experience. Yoga is much more than stretching—it’s a holistic discipline that connects mind, body, and spirit through postures (asanas), breathwork (pranayama), and sometimes meditation.
Choosing the right class is key. Most studios offer beginner-friendly options labeled as “Beginner” or “Gentle” yoga. Among the common styles, Hatha and Vinyasa stand out. Hatha yoga involves slower, more static holds that allow you to get familiar with the poses. Vinyasa, on the other hand, is more dynamic, linking movement with breath in a flowing sequence. If you prefer a slower, more mindful pace, Hatha might be your best starting point.
When it comes to clothing, opt for something breathable, stretchy, and comfortable. Think workout clothes that allow for a full range of motion without being too loose. Many studios provide yoga mats, but having your own ensures better hygiene and comfort. A water bottle is a must, and you might find a small towel handy, especially if you’re sweating during the session.
Plan to arrive about 10 to 15 minutes early. This gives you time to settle in, find your space, and speak with the instructor if you have any injuries or concerns. It’s also a good idea to avoid eating a heavy meal two to three hours before class, so your body can move freely.
During class, the most important thing to remember is to listen to your body. Yoga is a personal journey—not a competition. If a pose feels uncomfortable or painful, ease out or ask for a modification. Your instructor is there to help. Always focus on your breath—it’s the anchor that keeps you grounded and present.
After class, take time to hydrate and check in with how your body feels. It’s normal to experience some soreness, especially if you’re engaging muscles in new ways. Many people report a calm, centered feeling after yoga—this is part of its beauty. Stick with it, stay consistent, and over time you’ll start to experience not just the physical benefits, but the mental clarity and emotional grounding that yoga can offer.
Written by Intern Queeny George M.H , Team Allycaral
In a shocking and heartbreaking incident, Shankar, a 40-year-old professional, died of a sudden cardiac arrest just minutes after texting his manager to request sick leave.
At 8:37 am, Shankar sent a message to his manager, KV Iyyer: “Sir, due to heavy back pain, I am unable to come today. So please grant me leave.”
His manager responded casually, treating it as a routine request: “Okay, you take a rest.”
Barely ten minutes later, at 8:47 am, Shankar collapsed at his home and passed away from cardiac arrest.
Netizens React with Shock
KV Iyyer shared the incident on X, and the post quickly went viral. Social media users reacted with grief, disbelief, and concern:
“Shocking indeed and also very tragic considering his age and family. May his aatma attain sadgati. Om shanti.”
“Extremely tragic. Also, nice of you to visit him personally. May his soul rest in peace.”
“Sir, in cases of cardiac arrest, no medical aid can help. It’s just like a sudden electricity shutdown. Very tragic.”
Colleagues described Shankar as “healthy and fit.” He avoided smoking and alcohol, lived a disciplined life, and had been with his company for six years. He is survived by his wife and young child.
Rising Cardiac Arrest Cases in India
This case has reignited concerns about the growing incidence of sudden cardiac arrest among relatively young and seemingly healthy individuals in India.
According to cardiologists, lifestyle stress, undiagnosed heart conditions, and lack of preventive screening contribute to these cases.
Unlike a heart attack, a cardiac arrest often strikes without warning, making immediate CPR and emergency response critical.
Shankar’s sudden demise is not just a personal tragedy but a wake-up call for professionals across India to prioritize health over work and deadlines. Experts stress the importance of:
Regular health check-ups
Awareness of symptoms like chest pain, unexplained fatigue, or back pain
Learning CPR to respond in emergencies
As tributes pour in, Shankar’s story serves as a painful reminder of the fragility of life and the urgent need to address India’s growing heart health crisis.
Yoga is a rich and varied practice that offers multiple paths to physical health, mental clarity, and spiritual balance. Choosing the right style can transform your experience and deepen your benefits.
Hatha Yoga, often regarded as the foundation of all yoga styles, focuses on holding basic poses with steady breath control. This slower, more meditative approach emphasizes alignment and body awareness, making it ideal for beginners or those seeking gentle practice.
Vinyasa Yoga, known as “flow yoga,” links breath and movement to create dynamic sequences often accompanied by music. Its creative and vigorous nature builds strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular health, appealing to those who enjoy a more energetic practice.
Ashtanga Yoga offers a highly disciplined routine with a fixed sequence of poses performed with specific breath techniques and gaze points. It builds stamina, strength, and mental focus, ideal for practitioners looking for challenge and consistency.
Other styles like Restorative Yoga and Yin Yoga focus on deep relaxation and connective tissue flexibility through passive, long-held stretches, often using props for support.
Finding your flow in yoga involves exploring these styles and listening to your body’s needs. Whether you seek calm, strength, flexibility, or mindfulness, the diverse world of yoga has a practice waiting for you to embark on a fulfilling journey toward well-being.
From his early days as a professional footballer to becoming one of Goa’s most sought-after strength and conditioning coaches, Manish Malik has consistently followed one principle: excellence through preparation. Today, as he shapes the athletic future at Sporting Clube de Goa, he is also dreaming bigger — of a Goa where talent thrives on science, structure, and smart recovery.
Manish’s journey into strength and conditioning didn’t begin in a lab or gym — it started on the pitch. As a professional footballer, he was always curious about the deeper mechanics behind peak athletic performance. But like many athletes, he found himself confused and unaware about how and what to train. Over time, this curiosity blossomed into a genuine passion for sports science.
He came to realize that while talent and technique are essential, it’s the physical preparation — strength, conditioning, and recovery — that often decides whether a player can deliver consistent performances week after week. Football, being closest to his heart, naturally became the arena where he wanted to make the biggest impact.
A New Chapter with Sporting Clube de Goa
Manish’s coaching career took a defining turn when Sporting Clube de Goa, one of the most respected football institutions in the state, offered him an opportunity just as the club was promoted from I-League 3 to I-League 2. It was a pivotal moment — both for the club and for Manish. The timing felt right, and the club’s long-term vision aligned perfectly with his own goals.
What drew him to the Goan football network wasn’t just opportunity — it was the spirit of the sport in Goa. The football culture here is vibrant, emotional, and deeply rooted in its communities. Manish saw an opportunity not just to train athletes, but to elevate the entire ecosystem by blending that rich tradition with structured, science-backed training methods.
Science Meets Tradition
At Sporting Clube de Goa, Manish approaches strength and conditioning with a careful balance of innovation and tradition. Every training program begins with a deep dive into the player — their position, style of play, injury history, and current fitness level.
From there, he designs personalized plans that take into account the demands of the league — Goa’s intense heat, frequent travel, and high match density. His priority? Building explosive power, recovery capacity, and physical robustness — without compromising freshness across the season.
“Periodization is everything,” he says, explaining how his plans are structured to help players peak at the right times.
But it’s not just about pushing players harder — it’s also about knowing when to pull them back.
Recovery is Non-Negotiable
For Manish, recovery is just as crucial as the training itself. Without it, players can’t adapt, progress, or stay injury-free. That’s why his recovery protocols are as personalized as the workouts themselves.
From active recovery sessions and mobility drills to ice baths, sleep tracking, and even mindfulness practices, each method is carefully chosen based on the athlete’s unique needs.
“Every body is different,” he emphasizes. “So every recovery plan should be too.”
Blending Technology with Coaching Instincts
Manish is a strong believer in combining old-school fundamentals — discipline, strength, mobility — with modern sports science tools.
He still uses traditional sprint drills and strength routines, but now supplements them with data from GPS trackers, force plates, and jump mats. These tools help him quantify external load (distance covered, sprints), internal load (heart rate response), and neuromuscular feedback (asymmetries, power output).
“Technology doesn’t replace coaching — it sharpens it.”
Individualized Training, Team-Wide Results
Despite coaching a full squad, Manish treats each player as an individual. Pre-season assessments help him understand mobility, strength, endurance, and injury history. Based on this, he tailors training loads — a winger may need repeat sprints; a central midfielder may focus on aerobic capacity.
This attention to detail is especially critical in Goa, where many young players are naturally talented but lack structured strength training backgrounds. Personalized programming not only improves performance — it builds confidence.
Beyond the physical, Manish recognizes the mental pressures young Goan athletes face — juggling sport, academics, family expectations, and often, self-doubt.
As much as he builds physical strength, he’s equally focused on instilling discipline, consistency, and belief.
“Helping them believe in themselves is half the battle,” he says.
That mentorship — often happening off the pitch — might just be his most meaningful work.
Injury Prevention: A Year-Round Priority
Injury prevention, for Manish, starts long before the season begins. His programming emphasizes movement quality, mobility, and prehabilitation — routines that reduce risk before issues arise.
By monitoring workloads and staying in constant communication with the medical team, he ensures that small issues are identified early and never spiral into season-ending injuries.
Most importantly, strength work doesn’t stop after preseason — it’s integrated throughout the year.
A Vision for Goa’s High-Performance Future
Manish’s next big dream? Establishing a world-class high-performance center in Goa.
A space where both professionals and grassroots athletes can access the kind of facilities and expertise that were once only available in big cities. This center would feature:
A fully equipped S&C gym
Physiotherapy and rehab spaces
Ice bath and recovery rooms
Sports massage therapists
A nutrition café
And a team trained in sports science and mental performance
“We already have the talent,” he says. “Now we need the support system.”
If Manish could design the perfect facility, it wouldn’t just be about the equipment. It would be a place where athletes feel supported holistically — not just physically, but mentally and emotionally too.
A training ecosystem where performance, recovery, mindset, and community coexist — giving every athlete the chance to reach their highest potential.
Changing the Game — One Athlete at a Time
Since stepping into Goa’s football landscape, Manish has seen a tangible shift. Players are investing in strength work. Clubs are open to recovery protocols. Data is informing decisions. And most importantly, the next generation is hungrier, smarter, and more focused.
His ultimate goal?
“To see Goa recognized as a hub for athlete development — where footballers from across India come not just for the love of the game, but for the quality of training and support.”
With professionals like Manish Malik leading the charge, that future feels not just possible — but inevitable.
Sara Tendulkar, daughter of cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar, is stepping into the wellness and entrepreneurial spotlight with the launch of her very own Pilates studio. Known for her love of health, nutrition, and fitness, Sara announced the exciting news through her Instagram, sharing that the dream she had long nurtured has finally become a reality.
The Pilates studio, scheduled to officially open on August 21, represents more than a business venture. In Sara’s own words, it is “more than just a studio — it’s a community built with care and passion.” Her announcement was accompanied by a heartfelt note and glimpses of the new space, which has already started generating buzz in the wellness and social media circles.
Sara, who holds a degree in nutrition, has consistently used her online presence to inspire healthy living. Whether it’s her personal fitness routines or insights into nutrition, her posts reflect a deep commitment to wellness. The studio is seen as a natural progression for someone who not only practices what she preaches but also connects with a large audience that values authentic health journeys.
Despite being in the limelight due to her family legacy, Sara has carved her own path. Apart from being a registered nutritionist, she also serves as a director at the Sachin Tendulkar Foundation, focusing on impactful initiatives in health, education, and sports. This new venture adds another meaningful layer to her work, as she blends her professional expertise with her personal passion.
The Pilates studio is designed to be a welcoming, community-focused space that invites individuals to prioritise their physical and mental well-being. For Sara, it’s not just about movement — it’s about building a place where people can feel seen, supported, and motivated.
With the official launch set for August 21, anticipation is high among her followers and fitness enthusiasts alike. As one of the few celebrity wellness entrepreneurs in the space, Sara Tendulkar’s new venture could become a benchmark for mindful, inclusive fitness in India.
As the wellness world continues to evolve, Sara’s step into the entrepreneurial arena reflects a shift toward passion-driven, purpose-led businesses — and her Pilates studio might just be the beginning of many more initiatives to come.
