International Yoga Day celebrations in Hyderabad saw the health-conscious turn up in big numbers but it was the 9,000 cadets of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) performing at the Parade Grounds who conveyed the most important message when they showed how yoga could become part of modern day living, in just about 36 minutes.
Like sessions organised by the Central and State governments, the cadets were guided by the ‘Common Yoga Protocol’ designed by the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy.
The protocol mandates a session start with a few stretches followed by loosening exercise involving the neck, trunk and knee, before performing ‘asanas’.
Cadets then performed the 15 ‘asanas’ organised into standing, sitting, prone and spine postures, including ‘Setubandhasana’ that required the cadets to raise their torso while supine with legs folded at the knees.
As parents and others who performed yoga on the sidelines watched, the children completed the session in just over half hour, despite the constant drizzle and morning chill.
“I now realize it is possible to have a complete mind and body workout in just half hour,” said Hemlatha Kaveri, mother of two girl cadets.
Arjuna Award winner and former Indian volleyball player V. Ravikanth Reddy, who was at the Parade Grounds session, said that yoga’s benefits could be reaped by both the young and old.
Several government and non-governmental organisations held yoga sessions across the city.
The Indian Army held sessions in Bolarum and Mehdipatnam garrisons. Sessions were also held at Basavatarakam Indo-American Cancer Hospital.
