Sabina from Tajikistan had not heard of yoga when she enrolled for an MBA at the University of Mysore. But today she is excited about it and wants to integrate yoga into her daily life as a stress-buster.
Similar is the case with Sodoo from Mongolia or Emmanuel from Kenya.
They are part of nearly 100 international students of the University of Mysore who are being introduced to yoga as a way of life that can be integrated to their daily routine.
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These students will not pay anything to learn yoga unlike those who come to Mysuru in search of gurus and reportedly pay an exorbitant amount to learn the discipline.
This is an initiative of Sri Pathanjali Yoga Shikshana Samiti (SPYSS), which wants to spread the discipline to foreign students of the university for free to popularise a slice of Indian heritage and culture among them.
At the camp, students learn the basics of the discipline and other aspects of Indian culture.
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“I learnt about yoga only after coming to Mysuru and am keen to learn this as a discipline to bring in inner harmony and balance in my life,” explained Ms. Sabina.
It is a similar story for Mr. Emmanuel, who is also the president of the International Students Federation of the university.
“Yoga has been practised and promoted as a physical exercise with focus only on the asanas or postures. We want it to be an integral part of life to promote peace,” says A.R. Ramaswamyanna who is the yoga master.
“Yoga has gone commercial in recent decades and this is our effort to curb it of its commercial influence as it is a way of life which should be freely available to anyone across the globe,” said the trustees of the samiti.