Yoga for healthy living

GUNTUR: A glance at the cross-section of people attending a yoga camp at Wolf Hall in Guntur tells the tale of how health conscious people have turned. Many are seen trying out yoga asanas - in all sincerity -- to reduce weight, blood sugar levels and blood pressure or to keep themselves fit to keep these ailments away.

Enjoying the early morning chill, Manthena Satyanarayana Raju, the yoga exponent began his classes with enthusiasts listening to his words in rapt attention. Organised by Avagahana, a socio-cultural organisation, and the Manthena Satyanarayana Raju Charitable Trust, the programme was aimed at dispelling myths on asanaas, said Avagahana secretary Konda Sivaramireddy. "In books on yoga jargon and pictures of very difficult mudras are used and this keep the public away from yoga," Mr. Raju said. "I did not understand the benefits of asanas for many years," he added.

The yoga exponent differentiated the asanas from yogasanas. While asanas were about the physical well-being, yogasanas were all about physical and mental health of a person.

It was not as though there were only elderly people at the camp. There was a right mix of children and women and men of all ages. Mr. Raju's style of teaching was attractive — it was interspersed with humorous anecdotes.

The key element of an asana was concentration, which was missing while people indulge in activities like walking, aerobics, exercising at the gym, etc. "While walking, people talk with their neighbours about everything under the sun and there is a disjoint between their mind and body. The same is the case in a gym or an aerobics class, where music is usually dominant," he observed.