Yoga can bring India, Pakistan closer, says Pak yoga guru

AMRITSAR: Yoga’s benefits are not limited to just a sound body and mental health, but can play a cardinal role in dispelling prevailing cynicism between India and Pakistan and bring people of two nations closer to each other in an healthy environment.

To mark the International Yoga Day, Pakistani Yogis held separate Yoga sessions in various cities of Pakistan. While talking to TOI over phone from

Islamabad

on Wednesday yoga guru Sumaira Servat informed that since this year the International Yoga Day fell in the holy month of Ramadan, no mega yoga camps were organized but almost every yoga guru in Pakistan held special sessions to mark the day.

In Pakistan, she informed that women were more inclined towards yoga than men. “Due to fasting not many people are coming out for Yoga,” she said.

Owing to yoga’s popularity and acceptance both in India and Pakistan, she said Yoga could play a major role in bringing people of two countries closer and shedding differences

Sumaira, who specializes in prenatal and postnatal Yoga techniques, said many women were even not aware of the significance of Yogic exercises before and after pregnancy.

“It gives me lot of relief when I see women learning yoga to keep themselves and their generations healthy” he said. Stating that yoga was the perfect way to firm women’s body, build strength and gain flexibility during and after pregnancy, she said she had also worked as prenatal and postnatal Yoga teacher.

She informed that she had been teaching Yoga for past over two decades and nurture a dream to meet living legend

Yogacharya BKS Iyengar

. “One day I want to meet

Iyengar

sab and do asanas with him , this is my life’s dream and I know Allaha will fulfill my dream” she said.

She informed that she learnt yoga from a Parsi women Nilofer Mehta Morya in Karachi before undergoing formal training and watching videos of Iyengar and other yoga gurus.

She was excited to hear the news that Indian yoga guru Baba Ramdev was willing to visit Pakistan and hold an event. “It will be a godsend opportunity for all Yoga lovers in Pakistan to do Yoga under the personal guidance of Ramdev”.

In recent past, Ramdev had said that he wanted to go to Pakistan to perform yoga and had even claimed that he had an invitation to visit Pak and hold a Yoga session.