Yoga Day today: It’s mats instead of dumb-bells for fitness, wellness
LUCKNOW In January this year, IT expert Kuldeep Solanki subscribed to a six-month gym membership, as a New Year resolution to get into shape before his marriage scheduled for later in the year. Solanki’s plans suffered a jolt when Covid-19 broke out and his gym, like all others and all other establishments, was closed. Gyms continue to remain closed even in Unlock 1.
But Solanki didn’t give up on his plans. He missed the dumbbells, kettlebells and the weights but found a new way to stay fit. “On the advice of my father, I started practising yoga in lockdown at home. It looked boring and tedious at first but it felt exciting and much simpler when I actually started doing it,” said the 30-year-old.
Along with Solanki, almost half his gym buddies have shifted to yoga to stay fit. “Our gym instructor, who kept in touch with us through Zoom, also started doing yoga himself, and now invites his yoga instructor friend to our weekly zoom meeting,” said Solanki laughing.
Shruti Sehgal, another gym enthusiast, who lives in Mahanagar, moved to yoga in lockdown and plans to continue with it. “The workouts at the gym don’t give mental peace which I experience while doing yoga,” she said. A post-graduate student of Lucknow University, she said that most of her friends now practise yoga “which I never thought would happen, given the way we used to make fun of it,” Sehgal added.
According to Gym owners, close to half their regular clientele has started practising yoga during lockdown.
Kamlesh Srivastav, owner of Starline Fitness Gym in Gomti Nagar said, “People have started practising yoga at home. The simplicity of it and the need for very little or no equipment has made it easier for people to practise. Many of our customers have suggested converting one floor of our gym into a yoga studio.”
Srivastav has already started work to implement that suggestion and is also planning to launch yoga packages for customers in the coming days.
The management of smaller gyms have also received similar requests in the lockdown.
Pankaj Rana, who owns a small gym in Arjunganj, has a religious following of teenagers preparing to get into the Indian Army. Pankaj uses a mix of field exercises – running, jumping – and some gym workout to train them for the tough recruitment rallies. But during the lockdown he changed their regimen to include yoga along with field exercises. “The boys now practise yoga to warm up for their run. I conduct another session before calling it a day,” said Pankaj, adding that he is satisfied with the results.
Tej Bahadur Sharma, a certified Yoga practitioner claims that the International Day of Yoga has helped spread the popularity of yoga, and more and more people will make yoga a part of their life in the coming days. “Unlike traditional exercises that focus on a part of the body, yoga impacts your entire body, your mind and your soul. It is less like exercise and more a spiritual act that makes it easier for you to understand yourself and develop a balance.”
Meanwhile, the district administration has directed its officials to observe the International Day of Yoga by practising yoga at home on June 21. The officials have also been asked to upload a video of them practising yoga.
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