Today is International Yoga Day and as always, people will decide to stretch their arms, twist their necks or do whichever yogic poses they are comfortable doing.

I was sitting in my father’s balcony watching the morning walkers when he remarked that the profile of walkers has changed over the years. In his younger days, the only people he saw walking were groups of pensioners who would amble along , chatting away and stopping to pick flowers for their daily prayer .

Gradually, women joined in and soon the pensioners changed to middle aged couples. The morning exercisers then morphed into runners sporting neon coloured joggers and fancy sneakers . And most recently the Yoganics have joined them scurrying around earnestly with Yoga mats tucked under their arms .

What is undeniable is the fact that Yoga has now become a household word the world over and like it or hate it, Yoga is here to stay. Much like malaria and tuberculosis and the most recent scourge of humanity – CoVid 19.

Till two years ago, words like virus, pandemic, social distancing, and quarantine were found mainly in dictionaries. But today even my six-year-old grandson uses them in everyday speech.

After all, with so many people scared of activities that involve close contact with others, etc., Yoga has suddenly acquired universal appeal because it is one activity that can be done in one’s home. It can be done without any equipment. It can also be done without prior knowledge thanks to the millions of YouTube instructions available online. And thanks to Mr. Modi, yoga is no longer a dirty word.

Besides being a way to pass the time during this pandemic ( if you had any free time that is) it was also a healthy way to live and build immunity.

Funnily enough, because of the load of housework in the initial stages of the pandemic when my household staff had fled to their villages, I didn’t find time to do much Yoga. My usual practice of 10 minutes was condensed to some cursory stretches while in bed and two asanas before I seized the day.

When I managed to catch a Yoga class which was being Zoomed live, I considered myself lucky. But this was at best twice a week. However, now with things returning to some kind of rhythm, I find my Yoga a wonderful way to keep fit.

But not all people take to Yoga mainly because of the several myths associated with it :

Yoga is a Hindu exercise

This by far is the silliest excuse I’ve heard for NOT doing Yoga. Especially from non-Hindus.

One day, I ran into Dr. M, a scholar of religious studies (and somewhat of a fundamentalist in the religion he practices), reduced to half his size and devoid of all his bluster that characterised him during pre-Covid days. Of course, I was quite shocked to see him walk rather despondently down the Club verandah. When pressed, he confessed that he had had a health issue and was advised to de-stress.

Yoga, was the answer to de-stress, especially the least physical of them – the Pranayam.

Immediately, I seized my chance and told him to do Yoga as that was the best stress buster. But I was stunned that this learned and spiritually enlightened man said that this was simply out of the question because Yoga was a Hindu exercise system and contrary to his beliefs!

Besides, he couldn’t bring himself to say, Om. When I told him that it was as ridiculous as dubbing callisthenics Christian, he relented and said perhaps he could try saying Ooo instead?

Yoga makes you lose weight

At the best of times when I did Yoga every day ( a really long, long time ago), I could only do around 15 Surya Namaskars ( i.e. 2 x 15 ) at a stretch. Of course, I didn’t lose any weight because I was already thin to begin with but as soon as the weight began to pile on I was tempted to try a free trial class of Power Yoga. No sooner were we warmed up than we began doing Surya Namaskars at such a frantic pace that left me completely breathless! All that I achieved at the end of the session was a pain in the lower back.

However, Surya Namaskar which is a fluid movement of 7 asanas is a complete and rigorous form of Yoga. If done correctly and regularly, you will remain slim and trim. BUT you cannot start off with 108 and you also have to watch what you eat as is the case in any regimen that you adopt strictly to lose weight.

Yoga is only for girls and sissies.

I don’t know how this myth came about because most of the Yoga classes that I joined had a fair number of men. In fact, one of the better classes I attended ( Iyengar’s Yoga school) had MORE men than women. The instructors were men too . In one class, I suddenly found one of them winking at me, upside down, from the opposite side of the room while we were in the middle of an Adhomukhoshwanasana. I nearly gagged when I saw that wink especially since the man was as old and greying as I was!

Western Women are better at Yoga

This was the most ridiculous bit Yoga trivia I’d heard at a Yoga talk during a famous dietitian’s book launch. Rujuta Divekar who is undoubtedly a fitness guru said that Western women could do an unaided headstand from day one while we Indian women clung to the wall for all of our lives. This she attributed to their innate independence and our reluctance to stand alone. She also said that Indian women were better at forward bends because we were used to always giving in and being accommodating. Conversely, Western women were better at standing poses and couldn’t bend very well because they were stronger and more rigid and firm in their views. This didn’t detract me from attempting her exercises which really help time poor people like me to get fit .

Yoga is a cult

This I find is pure nonsense . I have over the years joined several Yoga classes and have never found myself in a cult. My Yoga teachers have always been mainstream people who took to Yoga purely out of interest and passion. Undoubtedly, there were some classes that began with a prayer or a series of Oms but many began without a Yoga prayer or mantras. And definitely none of our Yoga teachers preached any kind of philosophy.

In fact attributing exercise to religion is foolish – almost like saying running is African simply because many runners are African or Kung Fu is Buddhist.

essentially Yoga is not a mere exercise system but a holistic exercise system that is easy on the body and great for the spirit.

So get out your yoga mat and stretch those muscles to good health

Om, shanti, shanti, shanti hi.

Happy Yoga Day and ciao