CHICAGO: A New York educated Yoga instructor Sofia Hellqvist now becoming Her Royal Highness Princess Sofia of Sweden after marrying Sweden’s Prince Carl Philip (third in line for the throne) in a lavish ceremony at Stockholm Royal Palace on June 13 is yet another indication that ancient Yoga techniques practiced in India are slowly getting world wide acceptance.
This is despite an orchestred opposition from religious bigots many of whom have opposed Surya Namskar on religious grounds claiming that this violates their religious code. Many a narrow sighted politician is succumbing to this pressure. Some of the so called Indian leaders seeking to buttress their image as secular leaders are in the forefront supporting them and the impact is also being felt in Chicago where the Indian Consulate headed by Dr Ausuf Sayeed has organized one day International Yoda Day celebrations at Odium Center in Villa Park
Sofia studied yoga in New York City and became a certified yoga instructor in the same studio. She then started her own yoga center in Manhattan and launched a yoga gear collection “Drop of Mindfulness”, co-designed by her.
According to US National Institute of Health, Yoga may help one to feel more relaxed, be more flexible, improve posture, breathe deeply, and get rid of stress. Yoga is the repository of something basic in the human soul and psyche.
Rajan Zed, president of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that Yoga, referred to as “a living fossil”, was a mental and physical discipline for everybody to share and benefit from, whose traces went back to around 2,000 BCE to Indus Valley civilization.
According to Patanjali who codified it in Yoga Sutra, yoga was a methodical effort to attain perfection, through the control of the different elements of human nature, physical and psychical.
Kanubhai Brahmbhat
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