The city of Bangalore boasts of a growing yoga community – one that is constantly challenging itself in different ways. In this scenario, the arrival and one year anniversary of Yoga Matters only seems natural. Yoga Matters, with the obvious pun intended, was started because it really mattered to the founding members – Radhika Chaliha, Avantika Poddar Arya, and Varun Arya. Radhika, a practitioner of yoga for 10 years, is quick to point out that the trio don’t exercise “ownership” over Yoga Matters.
Instead, they see it as a secular group that is more about concentrated effort and doing service. “This is more of a cause. We wanted to initiate practise with as many people as possible and take yoga outside the studio. Bangalore has the perfect weather to practise yoga outdoors. Yoga Matters also has a strong element of service attached to it as well,” she says.
Yoga Matters was started a year back to practise the discipline outdoors with one session every month in a suitable location. The event, open to all, is offered as an experience to both regular practitioners and beginners as well. Led by different instructors from across the city, the session is experimentation in style and form. “While I am mostly involved in teacher selection and social media, Avanika takes care of our design needs and Varun is in-charge of logistics,” says Radhika.
With different yoga teachers volunteering to lead sessions every month, the growing strength of the yoga community and its ability to support its members is evident. “I think yoga practitioners realise that as custodians of this practise, it is their responsibility to share this knowledge with those who may not have access to it,” says Radhika. “We didn’t create yoga. We are simply those who have practised it for longer and have gained deeper knowledge. It is our duty to give back,” she adds.
Radhika, whose own Vinayasa style is practised under the brand Kiki’s yoga, took to yoga when she noticed certain mental shifts upon practise. “Apart from the physical changes, the mental shifts had me interested. As a psychological student, this shift in behaviour led me to taking on yoga as a subject,” says Radhika. She began her tryst with yoga by balancing her job as an HR professional and yoga student. “After practising yoga in Mumbai, Rishikesh, and Mysore, Radhika’s last job in the HR world brought her to Zela Health Club, where she also decided to start teaching.
“In 2011, when I was in Mysore for Yoga, I was the only Indian in a class full of foreigners. I was the odd one out and it felt strange to be the only Indian in the group. It’s then that I realised – urban Indians, whether they were sportspeople, cyclists or mountain climbers, were not aware of the yoga system of asanas. Everywhere else in the world a healthy awareness was building, but urban Indians seemed unaware. And, with that I decided to work towards spreading yoga in urban India,” says Radhika.
In the last one year, Yoga Matters has seen an average turnout of 35-40 participants at every class. This Sunday, the group is celebrating its one year anniversary with a special session at Cubbon Park. Four teachers – Mark Scott of Auroville, Namrita Sudhindra of Nikaya Yoga, Vinay Kumar Jesta of Vinay Jesta Yoga and Radhika – with distinctly different styles, will take turns to lead the class. The session will begin at 8.30 a.m. in the verdant surroundings. Over 130 participants have registered so far. “It promises to be a lot of fun. Just remember it’s not a class, but an experience,” says Radhika.
For more information on the Yoga Matters session on July 27, 2014 at Cubbon Park, go to: https://
www.facebook.com/yogmatters
