“Yoga is a light, which once lit, will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter will be the flame.” The International Yoga Day was organised by School of Education, CHRIST (Deemed to be University) on 21 June 2018, Thursday. Students gathered at the central block at 8 30 AM to celebrate and practice yoga under the guidance and demonstration of Dr.Balachandran K, Head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, CHRIST (Kengeri Campus) and an energetic Yoga practitioner. The Australian students from La Trobe and RMIT Australian University were also present to learn about the Indian spirituality and Yoga.
The session began with the Introduction of Yoga where Dr.Balachandran K stated that Yoga is not just about the physical exercises or postures but also about internal rejuvenation of the body and peace of mind. He said that Yoga is a way of life. He mentioned the Ashtanga Yoga which consists of Yama (restraints), Niyama (observances), Asanas (body postures), Pranayama (control over breathing), pratyahara (detachment or control over sense organs), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (Meditation) and Samadhi (contemplation). He also discussed how Yoga is better than other exercises as it has no negative effects on the body if we stop practicing it.

After this introduction, he explained and demonstrated the suryanamaskar and later all the students followed him. He guided us not to strain our body in any case and practice Yoga only in presence of a Guru. After Suryanamaskar, he taught the three sitting postures: Sukhasana, Padmasana, and Vajrasana. He advised the students to keep their back straight when they sat or stood as it was beneficial for the body posture in the long run. The other Asanas like pawanmukta-asana, Sarvanga-asana, Halasana and pashchimottan-asana were performed. He also discussed the benefits of each asana and took special care that students would not give a jerk to their body while they practiced Yoga. Practicing Yoga in the right technique is essential otherwise it can have an adverse effect on the body.

At the end he made the students do Shavasana and explained how relaxation was necessary after practicing Yoga. Hence International Yoga Day was indeed a rejuvenating experience for all under the expertise of Dr.Balachandran K. He conveyed a strong belief that we all should practice yoga regularly which would increase our concentration, make us healthier and enable us to focus in the direction we wish to go.
In the light of the same, students and teachers learned the importance of Yoga and those who practice it regularly will be able to impart to their future students in the schools.

Student coordinator
Rajvi Trivedi

Faculty Coordinator
Jacqueline Kareem