‘All yoga practitioners should study classical texts’

President of Yoga Practitioners’ Association of India, argues for standardisation and quality checks for yoga

K. Krishna Bhat, president of Yoga Practitioners’ Association of India, argues for standardisation and quality checks on yoga and its practitioners. The former chairman of the Department of Human Consciousness and Yogic Sciences, Mangalore University, was the first one to hold such a post in the country and the university was the first to offer a two-year post graduation (M.Sc) in Yogic Sciences from 1998. Mr. Bhat, who has over three decades of experience as a yoga teacher and practitioner, spoke to The Hindu on the occasion of the fourth International Day of Yoga.

When did the government take note of yoga in India?

When Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister, the government organised a conference on ‘yoga, science and man’ in New Delhi in 1974, under the leadership of Dhirendra Brahmachari. As a 24-year-old youth, I had attended it. Later the government introduced yoga in Central schools. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given it a push.

How can standardisation be brought in yoga practice?

All practitioners should study classical yoga texts like

Hathapradipika ,

Gheranda Samhita ,

Patanjali Yoga Sutra ,

Shiva Samhita and allied texts like

Yoga Bindopanishad and

Prashnopanishad and practice accordingly. A learner will have to approach a qualified teacher or instructor and not anyone else.

Is mixing yoga with aerobics and other physical exercises a healthy one?

Both should be practised separately. Please note that physical exercises increase pulse rate, flow of blood, breath rate and temperature, whereas yoga does the opposite. It calms down everything. By mixing, you get the benefit of neither. If one practises yoga in the morning, physical exercises can be done in the evening. There should be reasonable gap between the two.

Do we need a regulatory body to ensure standardisation in yoga teaching and its therapeutic application?

Yes. Bending body in all flexible ways is not yoga. Yoga goes with proper breathing and posture. When it is taught to people it should be done properly.