LUCKNOW: It was nothing but sheer amusement as 11 jawans of Remount Veterinary Corps (RVC) stood standstill, sat sturdy in Padmansana while performing 30 other yoga mudras with utmost concentration on the back of horses they ride daily to mark international Yoga Day in Saharanpur on Friday.
Last year also, the troops of India Army had performed Yoga on land, sea and air. This year the asanas were performed by the jawans on the campus of Remount Depot and Training School under the guidance of Yoga Guru Padmashree Bharat Bhushan and Yogacharya Anita Sharma. Bharat Bhushan had trained the entire team for the performance.
Equestrian Yoga includes specific asanas which can be performed on the back of horses who are supposed to stand static without the minutest movement during the entire performance.
As per Col Mangal Singh, commandant Remount Training School (RTS) & Depot, Saharanpur, this was for the first time in India or perhaps the word that such a performance of asanas took place on international yoga day.
The team of 11 jawans was led by Major Ashish Singh and they performed asanas including Padmasana, Bhujang Asana, Dhanur Asana, Parvat Asana, and many others on the horseback. Col Singh claims that the team has been practising for the last two months for the show on International Yoga Day. The team of riders included Sawar Neelkamal, Vaibhav, Manpreet Singh, and eight others.
Last year, while the ITBP jawans posted in North-East had performed River Yoga, an all women’s team of Indian Army officers had scaled Mount Bhagirathi to accomplish a feat by performing asanas at an altitude of over 19,000 feet to mark the day. Moreover, Indian Air Force paratroopers had performed asanas like Vayu namaskar and Vayu padmasana at 15,000 feet.
The Remount Veterinary Corps (RVC) is one of the oldest branch of Indian Army set up in Bengal in 1779 as ‘Stud Department’ to be renamed in 1920. Based in Meerut, it is Indian Army’s that wing which breeds, rears and trains animals (dogs, horses and mules) for various functions.