Visakhapatnam: Hard as it may be to believe, Visakhapatnam-based Ashwin Patel’s idea of a comforting holiday is getting up at the stroke of dawn, twisting like a pretzel on a yoga mat, and leading a healthy, vegetarian lifestyle. At least five to six times a year, he takes a couple of days off from his busy schedule as an entrepreneur of a plywood solutions company, to attend a yoga retreat. “Coming from a business family, my work entails long stressful hours of meetings with clients.
There was a time when the high stress showed up on my body,” says the 25-year-old and adds, “Yoga has helped me immensely in getting my energy levels up, and the peace and quiet of the yoga workshops and daily sessions work as a great stress buster.” He has attended several yoga programmes organised by the Art of Living over the past four years. “Now I can’t imagine a day without yoga. Even if I am on a holiday or attending a wedding elsewhere, I make it a point to start my day with yoga,” says the young entrepreneur.
Patel is among scores of people who are taking to yoga with fervour and have made wellness one of the fastest-growing tourism sectors in India, projected to cross $18 billion by 2020. Worldwide, yoga is estimated to be an $80 billion industry.
According to the government’s Make in India report, the wellness industry in India is worth Rs 490 billion. On June 21, world over yoga practitioners will commemorate the International Yoga Day.
An increased awareness towards wellness and health-related activities has augmented this trend that has trickled down from the metros to tier-2 cities such as Visakhapatnam.
It could be seen in the zeal with which a bunch of youngsters came to participate in an hour long yoga session organised by Art of Living on Wednesday in the city as a curtain raiser to the International Yoga Day.
“The awareness about yoga has grown by leaps and bounds. About six years ago, we had just four centres in the city for yoga workshops. Today, Art of Living has spread across the city with 15 centres and over 10,000 members,” says Kavita Dabbiru, yoga trainer, who has been practising the yoga for the past 13 years.
An Assocham study said the demand for yoga instructors is expected to grow by about 30-35 per cent in a couple of years. “Corporates and business firms are facing the problem of stress among their staff members and yoga is not only the greatest stress buster, but is also an effective therapy option,” the report said.
Supporting the statistics, Ms Kavita said the technique of yoga goes beyond just the physical realm, which is one of the main reasons why the world over yoga has found such mass following.
“Yoga goes much deeper than just the body. The meditation techniques have helped many overcome chronic issues of depression, blood pressure and diabetes. It brings about an overall well-being of the mind and body,” says the yoga trainer. Kavita starts her day at 4 a.m. with a set of yoga asanas, sadhana and meditation.
“Yoga has made me stay connected with my inner being in a way that I couldn’t have amid the mayhem of city life,” she sums up.
Courtesy: The Hindu
