NAGERCOIL: Covid-19 laid waste to dreams and composure for countless people, and peace of mind became scarce. Determined to do her bit and then some, 30-year-old PS Naveena attempts to allay this distress of people through yoga and meditation. She takes up yoga classes, and travels to homes for mentally-ill persons and intellectually challenged persons to teach them the discipline free of cost.
Naveena hails from Putheri in Nagercoil, and has graduated M.Sc Chemistry and B.Ed courses. After teaching in CBSE schools for a few years, she left for Nigeria along with her husband P Senthil Kumar, a civil engineer. There she learnt the value of yoga and took up a sojourn to Papanasam in Tirunelveli district to learn Kriya yoga and Hatha yoga. Naveena returned again to India in the early months of 2020.
At Rishikesh in Uttarakhand, she also mastered Vinyasa yoga and Astanga yoga. By then, the pandemic had struck, and the whole country broke into a cold sweat. Naveena travelled back to Nagercoil and resolved to help people alleviate their stress through yoga. According to her students, the yoga classes have immensely boosted their immunity, and brought them peace of mind. "People who come to my classes pay me whatever they can, and the whole amount then goes to feeding the destitute. Rejuvenating people gives me great happiness and this is now the aim of my life," the 30-year-old said.
M Krishna Kumar, the in-charge of Sri Saradha Devi Anbu Illam (children's home) at Kanniyakumari, noted that Naveena had been visiting the home twice every month since last year and teaching the children yoga free of cost. V Ignatius, founder of Annai Asharam (rejuvenation home for mentally-ill persons) at Thovalai, also hailed the yoga teacher's services at the home. "She takes no money for this yeoman service, and instead offers money to the needy," he said.