BENGALURU: The British Parliament, currently going through a phase of turmoil with the resignation of Prime Minister Theresa May, will take a collective deep breath on June 21 and listen to a yoga guru talk of Karma, Bhakti, Jnana and Raja yoga from a scientific perspective.
Delivering the talk on the occasion of World Yoga Day, will be city-based yoga expert H R Nagendra. The 77-year-old guru is one of India’s shining examples of yoga practitioners who have gained a following that spreads across the globe. In fact, he has been trying to preach the benefits of yoga much before the push to popularise yoga by the previous NDA government in 2014. Incidentally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi considers Nagendra to be his yoga guru as well.
Nagendra, a mechanical engineer and the Chancellor of the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandana Samsthana (S-VYASA) deemed university in Bengaluru, also spoke at the United Nations last year in New York. Even today, he begins his day at 3.30 am with yoga and breathing exercises which continue till 6 am.
Nagendra spoke of the benefits of yoga, as well as his most popular student. “Yoga helps one destress and is most useful when the mind is in great tension. Pranayama (a form of yoga) is the most useful in such cases. Everyone must practise yoga regularly, at least for 35 minutes,” he said.
On Modi, he said, “His sincerity and dedication, sparing time amidst his busy schedule has made him so great.”
“He is moving towards the goal of yoga, bliss coupled with relaxation, humility, efficiency and what not,” Nagendra said.
Speaking about yoga in today’s age and the increasing interest in the science, he said that training centres had to be regulated in his view. “The Yoga Certification Board of Ministry of AYUSH has started the process of certifying yoga instructors and teachers. There is a need to regulate training centres.”
Besides his more well-known students, Nagendra also takes out time to help others looking to learn yoga. He has guided a number of PhD scholars at S-VYASA, where they conduct research on yoga. He continues to work closely with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) as
well.
He says that his doors remain open to all those genuinely interested in learning and reaping the benefits of yoga.