Yoga is way of life for Jaipur youth

JAIPUR: Teenagers’ love for yoga is not just restricted to a day. An increasing number of teenagers in Jaipur have made yoga a way of life and they practice yoga on a daily basis. Many of them have claimed that the celebrations of International Yoga Day on June 21 attracted them to this ancient practice and it soon became a part of their daily routine. Several young boys and girls prefer yoga over gym and some of them opt for a blend of both.
Rushil Chatterjee, a 19-year-old BTech student said, “Weightlifting and other exercises at the gym stiffen my body muscles.So to help relax the stiff muscles I perform yoga thrice a week.” A class XII student, Sunandan Tandon was introduced to yoga at school and he practised it daily which helped him to deal with academic stress. “Yoga has improved my concentration. I wake up early to begin my day with yoga,’’ said Tandon.
Like Sunandan, Payal Khandelwal, a 16-year-old science student, has been practicing yoga for the past four years. “I was in class VIII when I first went to a yoga camp with my mother on June 21. She practices yoga daily and gradually I also started practicing with her as it improved my concentration and made me fit,’’ she said, adding that she had joined a yoga class in her neighbourhood.
Most yoga classes and trainers admit that there has been a rise in the number of youngsters coming to them. Neeti Sharma, a yoga instructor at a popular gym in the city, said, “There has been a huge rise in the number of teenagers coming for yoga classes in the past couple of years. Earlier yoga was considered only for the elderly.” Dr. Manoj Kumar Patel of National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA), said, “Yoga has gained popularity among youth and they attend most classes.’’