They are young, feisty and all set to flaunt their yoga skills

Sreya who says she wants to be a world champion cannot keep the excitement to herself.
Three of the participants who will represent Kerala at the 8th edition of the Asian Yoga Sports Championship   Vincent Pulickal
Three of the participants who will represent Kerala at the 8th edition of the Asian Yoga Sports Championship  Vincent Pulickal

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:Sreya who says she wants to be a world champion cannot keep the excitement to herself. So can’t Varsha T Shibi. The duo will be pairing up for the rhythmic category in the 8th edition of the Asian Yoga Sports Championship at the Jimmy George Indoor Stadium. They could be seen evolving into some of the toughest of postures all easy-breezy and with an abandon that has to be seen to be believed.

Seventh-standard student Sreya S Nair is among the five malayalees who will represent India in the championship. She is also arguably one of the youngest trained yoga coaches in Kerala. When Sreya was small, she would contort her flexible body into complicated positions.Unsure of what she was doing, her parents took her to a martial arts class. It was only later that they learned she was indeed mimicking yogic postures.

If it was a moment for revelation for Sreya, it was health issues that drove Arun Anandan and Hiba Mariyam into yoga. A taekwondo practitioner, Arun turned to yoga after sustaining an injury to his knee during a fight. “I was advised rest for a few months and it was then that I started learning yoga as a means to aid in speedy recovery. And it did,” says Arun.

“I checked out the videos from YouTube and learned everything from it. My father is a taekwondo coach and he used to guide me,” recalls Arun. Meanwhile, for Hiba, it was breathing issues that made her practice yoga. All elated to perform on the stage, Hiba says, “It gives a sense of happiness to perform on-stage and flaunt the asanas we have mastered,” she says.

It is not just the yogasana category which will see a representation of Kerala, but the rhythmic yoga and artistic yoga will see the students fight it out with elan. “In Kerala, the opportunities are immense for the students. Sports yoga is entirely different,” says Alex, who will be performing in the artistic category. “These are a set of parameters to be followed while performing the Asanas, but when it comes to artistic yoga, we get to improvise, tweak and style it accordingly,” he adds. The participants are following a strict vegetarian diet. “It aids in more flexibility. I guess it could be because a vegetarian diet aids in proper digestion,” says Alex.

The youngsters have their own reasons for discovering yoga and are dreaming of pursuing yoga as a career.“See, I want to be a yoga teacher when I grow up,” whispers Varsha.“This is a sport you can perform throughout your lifetime. There is no other sport like this, where there is no age limit,” Arun adds. The participants are also aware of the injuries they could be subjected to if yoga is not performed properly.
 “We always ensure that we do the complementary pose for each asana. And that the pace in training in maintained every day,” says Hiba.

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