What's Dwarka's fitness fad this summer? Yoga!
Enter any park in the morning and you are sure to come across groups of people stretching and bending in unison. Some yoga sessions are led by teachers from Patanjali Yoga Samiti, Satya Sai Seva Sansthan and Bhartiya Yog Sansthan, while others are at it on their own.
But why now, all of a sudden? Isn't it too hot to be outdoors, let alone exercising?
City Spidey caught up with some of the yoga enthusiasts in the parks of sectors 4, 6, 10 and 12 to look for the answer. Our very first observation was a large number of children and women in these parks. And the spike in this demographic was due to the fact that summer vacations were on. Well, summer vacations are good for health, then!
Rakesh Mehra, one of the yoga teachers from Bhartiya Yog Sansthan and a resident of Saksham Apartments, has been teaching people for years. His yoga sessions are held at the DDA park in Sector 10.
"Yoga's popularity has gone up over the years," said Mehra. "You can say it is a lifestyle trend, doing yoga in the mornings. Of course, the summer vacations have also allowed more people to participate. Usually, we have about 25 people at our camp but these days the number's gone up to 40."
But is that the only reason for its newfound popularity?
"Earlier, yoga was considered something that the old would practice," said Mehra. "But thanks to the number of yoga teachers these days, people are aware of its health benefits and now even youngsters are embracing it."
Manmohan Gupta, the yoga teacher from the Patanjali Yoga Samiti camp at the Sector 4 park, behind Rajasthan Apartments, has another reason to offer for the spike in yoga enthusiasts. "Yes, people are definitely more inclined to take up yoga these days, as they understand its health benefits," said Gupta. "However, the sudden spike could be due to the fact that International Yoga Day [June 21] is just around the corner."
We spoke to some of the yoga enthusiasts.
"I love yoga and want to help make it more popular," said Advocate PS Singh, a resident of Rajasthan Apartments, Sector 4, who has been attending the yoga sessions in his sector for the past few days. "Yoga should be part of everybody's lifestyle. We are trying for a regular yoga class for judges and lawyers at the Dwarka Court."
Advocate KS Bhati, president of both Federation of RWAs of Sector 9 (FORWAS) and the Ganpati Apartments managing committee, has been practising yoga for years. "Yoga is an integral part of our society," said Advocate Bhati. "And it has definitely become a trend now. There are people practising yoga all across the sub-city."
