HYDERABAD: "We were compensating for all the sleep we have been missing out on,” said a bunch of laughing Class XII students post the yoga practice held in Army Public School, Bolarum as part of the international Yoga Day.
But jokes apart, one of them explained smiling, “Our exams are on and in the past one week there has been something or the other going on in the school. It has been like study, work, run, practice… So, this was a nice refresher.”
The event was organised by Jyoti Tewari, a Psychology teacher, health and wellness officer and counsellor of the school together with Abha Rao, the PE teacher with the help of a corporate trainer and yoga instructor hailing from Maharashtra, Mukta Karmuse.
Jyoti Tewari explains the thought that went into the event, “We believe in holistic development. We place a lot of emphasis on the emotional health of children and there cannot be a better way than yoga when it comes to the emotional health of children. These days there is a lot of emphasis being laid on EQ as well as IQ. When we make them practice yoga, the unification of body, breath and mind takes place and as a result, children improve holistically, they blossom.”
Yoga is part of the syllabus in physical education in the school. With over 3000 students from Class I to XII, the school alters the syllabus to suit the age and needs of the students. Abha Rao elucidated, “For juniors, we make it as much fun as possible - animal poses for instance. So, it’s more interesting for them. This keeps it interesting for them and we are able to keep up their concentration. As they grow older, we need to develop their focus also. So, we try to internalise their practice so they can work with their body and mind together. So, slowly, we increase the intensity for children.”
A healthy turn from routine
Children from Classes III and above switched from their usual assembly routine to observe International Yoga Day at Army Public School, Golconda. “In today’s generation, in the modern day, life has become so fast-paced that people don’t have time for themselves. It is very important to look after yourself. Yoga must be taken up whenever possible so that people can unwind from their busy life for their health and well-being,” said Vidya Muralidharan, Principal addressing the students.
The day started with their daily prayer followed by students spreading their yoga mats to sit down for meditation. The school’s Yoga teacher started instructing the students with simple asanas which the students obediently followed. Soon after a refreshing session of simple yoga and exercises, the kids dispersed to their usual classes.