VIJAYAWADA: International Yoga Day has been bringing together thousands of practitioners for the past five years. However, the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus has forced many to stay indoors and celebrate the day at home. Ever since the United Nations proclaimed June 21 as the International Day of Yoga on December 11 2014, the number of people involved in practising yoga has visibly increased. Several yoga instructors across the city opined that yoga and breathing exercises in the current Covid-19 situation have been the biggest factor for the increase in number of people turning to yoga.
“Several people are taking yoga classes because they are bored at home and want to spend time productively. Either way, it is beneficial,” opines Richa Bhargav, one of the yoga instructors in the city.
Stating that lockdown has given an opportunity to people to turn to yoga, who could not practise it earlier, due to their busy schedule, she said, “I used to teach yoga to 35 students. Now, the number has increased to 107. More people are showing interest in online classes.”
“From what I have observed, many people are not willing to pay high fee to learn yoga as it doesn’t look as fancy as going to a gym. But I charge only per subscription for online classes. With one subscription, the entire family can learn yoga,” she explains. Richa also conducts online classes for NRIs. “Many of my students asked me whether I can conduct yoga classes for their friends and family members who stay abroad. I liked the idea and started taking classes. Now, the subscriptions are only increasing,” she adds.