KOCHI: The general emotion towards Yoga and its benefits on health is slowly changing. Youngsters have started practising yoga on a large scale for a healthy life, mentally and physically. Pradnya Patil a Nasik-based yoga practitioner and trainer is helping more people make the best out of the ascetic practice. He provides yoga lessons to people from all age groups and helps them understand and treat yoga as a way of life.
A Guinness World Record holder for conducting the longest yoga marathon, Pradnya was recently at the Indimasi Ayurveda and Yoga Village, Nedumangad, for a collaboration project that focused on introducing yoga to children. Pradnya began her practice when she was six years old, under the tutelage of her grandfather, Narayan Pawar who was also a yogi.
But after she got married, Pradnya rarely had a chance to practice yoga. “I grew up in a family where the ascetic discipline holds a prominent place. So, I was naturally inclined to it. Later, after I separated from my husband, I was busy with the responsibilities in life and taking care of my two children,” says Pradnya. She became an entrepreneur and took her company to great heights. She ran an SSI unit that does powder coating and fabrication.
But, her life turned around in 2012. Deteriorating health caused her to join the yoga treatment course at Viswa Naturopathy Yoga Clinic, Nasik. Her willingness to learn more about the discipline led her to pursue M A in Yoga at Nagpur University.
“In 2015, after winning an International Yoga Championship, I thought of teaching yoga and spreading its benefits to more people,” she says. Training elderly and emotionally struggling patients at Dilasa care centre at Nasik, Pradnya realised that the magic of yoga and wanted to heal more people with it. “It is a lifestyle, and should be a part of your life every day,” she says.
Health and discipline
Speaking further on her world record, Pradnya says, “For two weeks, I was on a liquid diet, to control the stress on my digestive system before performing the asanas. I performed yoga and Pranayama for 103 hours continuously”. She is on a mission to create a holistically nurtured generation through yoga practice.
Her project titled ‘Yadnya’ focuses on teaching yoga to school students. So far, she has trained over one lakh children in Nasik. “The programme is for children between 10 and 16 years of age. It focuses on the brain, spine and digestive system. I am planning to expand the project to other states like Karnataka and Kerala,” she says.
Healing science
Nestled on the hills of Poovathur in Nedumangad, Indimasi is a healing village which employs ayurveda, siddha, yoga and kalari to promote a healthy life. Led by Guru Yogi Shivan, a disciple of Shivajyothi Dharmananda, Indimasi combines traditional healing practices and Yoga to cure illnesses.