Yoga is gaining popularity with an increasing number of people practising it. At present, there are more than 3,000 yoga practitioners at the Nehru-Wangchuck Cultural Centre in Thimphu.
The centre conducts free yoga classes to interested individuals from 7 till 11 in the morning and 4 till 7 in the evening. Each class is conducted for 40 minutes.
When the centre, first started providing Yoga classes in 2010, there were just 10 to 15 members in each class, now the number has increased to 50 members.
Sangay Dema, 37, has been practising yoga for five-year. Apart from practising yoga at the centre, she also teaches yoga in Paro.
“My friends told me about yoga but that time I was not interested. Later I decided to join after my mother died of cancer and also, I was bedridden due to back fracture. After doing yoga, my back is fine and I am doing well.”
Yoga is a group of physical, mental and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India.
“The extreme benefits are we can pull our mind from distraction and addictions. It’s also helpful in lifestyle diseases and disorders such as sugar, blood pressure and insomnia. Our livelihood, our thought pattern and negative thinking affect our health. So doing yoga pulls our mind from all the negative stuff,” K.V.S.S.N Murthy, the Yoga Teacher of the Nehru-Wangchuck Cultural Centre, said.
The centre also offers month-long scholarships to learn yoga in India.
Kelzang Choden
