22 June, 2015

Yoga goes global



June 22, 2015, 8:53 am IST Ashali Varma in No Free Lunch | India | TOI
The 21st of June will for all time be International Yoga Day. For the United Nations to declare this is at such short notice is not only unprecedented but also a stunning soft-power success for India. When Modi spoke about yoga at the UN General Assembly in September, there were the usual critics in India who thought it was out of place in a speech meant for world leaders. They were proved wrong once again. Modi said that “yoga embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfilment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and wellbeing.” 
In suggesting June 21 as the International Day of Yoga, Modi said that as the longest day in the northern hemisphere and as the summer solstice it has special significance in many parts of the world. The Indian ambassador to the United Nations followed through with a proposal and 175 nations joined in as co-sponsors — the highest ever for any resolution in the 193 member states of the UN. This proves that India has really arrived on the global scene thanks to Narendra Modi.
Unfortunately, even on this occasion where 193 countries came together to celebrate this day our own politicians could not be united. The Congress and some other parties played spoiler saying it was just a public relations exercise but even if it is, Indian soft power going global should be a time for unity and rejoicing in India — not back stabbing. How weird and anti-national can political parties in India get? Don’t they know that they are constantly letting down the very country and the people who give them votes? Making yoga controversial is like saying anything intrinsic to India is bad and should not go global. How sad is this. But then parties like this would sell India to the enemy in a jiffy.
Getting back to yoga going global, it is time for India to take the lead in promoting it. So far it was never a government effort but individuals who took yoga abroad. Madonna and other celebrities took it to another level by making it popular and B.K.S. Iyengar had a lot to do with that. In the United Sates, Yoga is an 87 billion dollar business. But it is practiced differently in different places.
After trying my best to learn yoga taught by foreigners abroad, I was shocked and troubled by the disparities in the various centres of yoga that are proliferating all over US and Europe. From the very popular Hot Yoga popularized by Bikram Choudhry, which has 24 postures and only two breathing exercises to self-styled yoga teachers who have done a quick course in India and think they are experts. Hot Yoga is more like sweat exercises as it is done in a room with the temperature at 40 degrees and the humidity also at 40. It can be quite detrimental to the health but is a way to lose weight fast. It has nothing whatsoever to do with combining mind and body and creating a sense of oneness with the world and nature.
Pranayama, which means the breathe of life and has several breathing exercises, which end with meditation is hardly given any importance and is actually one of the most critical aspects of yoga.
I went to several teachers before I lucked out when I came back to India. I was introduced to Shastriji who got the title due to his extensive studies of the Vedas in a Gurukul. Santosh Kumar was referred to me by a friend six years ago and it was about the best that could have happened to me health wise. From curing back pain to sinus problems to even getting good results with Parkinson’s Disease, the yoga that Kumar taught me was so different from my experiences abroad and even in India that I was quite upset about its misrepresentation and how the stories I had heard of yoga causing health problems or slip discs were due to bad teachers not the science itself.
For instance, Kumar was stunned to learn that most teachers never taught me Pranayama. They focused on Surya Namaskar and stretches. I also learnt that yoga is not one size fits all as is commonly practiced. For instance, if you have high blood pressure there are some exercises that can even be bad for you. For heart patients and even people suffering from cancer, Pranayama is a must. His very first question when he comes for a yoga class is “How are you feeling today?” If one has developed a muscle cramp, or back ache or headache he will attend to those first tailoring the exercises to fix the problem. Anxiety, depression, asthma can all be cured with Pranayama if done right daily.
On a trip to Washington I searched the internet for a yoga class that would help my friend who was suffering from cancer. Unfortunately all I could find was the Hot Yoga classes while she basically needed Pranayama. I felt so frustrated and dismayed that I could not find anyone who taught the beneficial yoga as I had come to know it. Several studies have come out in the west of how yoga benefits people with chronic illnesses and even children suffering from cancer. They are in less pain and have a more positive outlook when they practice this science.
The fact that this aspect of yoga is not given much importance in classes abroad is unfortunate as it has the most benefits especially for countries where the stress levels are high and even children are treated for depression and anxiety. Imagine how much the drug companies would lose if teachers like Kumar were available in the US.
We really need to do more to set up centres of excellence in yoga abroad. Since yoga classes are very lucrative for the teachers it need not even be a government initiative but a non resident Indian venture capitalist could do this especially now when the world is open to it and has recognized the fact that yoga taught properly can have amazing health benefits.
However, the government does need to standardize yoga practices and teachers first just like it does medical science and doctors. Yoga practitioners need to be properly qualified before they teach classes or India could well lose the advantage to dubious self- proclaimed yoga teachers abroad who can so easily give a bad name to the science by harming learners more than curing.
DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

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