Yoga & Ayurveda centres picks momentum in Kerala as tourism reopens amid COVID-19 pandemic

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, yoga and Ayurveda centres have added momentum to medical tourism in Kerala following the reopening of the tourism sector in the state. Many people have taken up yoga as a measure to boost immunity amid the pandemic.

Recently, Pradnya Patil, the first Indian woman who won the Guinness World Records for doing yoga continuously for 103 hours, is on a two-day visit to the Indimasi Healing Village in Kerala as part of her efforts to understand more about curative yoga. While sharing her personal experience about the importance of yoga she said that yoga will be vital as an immunity booster in a post-COVID-19 world.

"I was exposed to Yoga from my childhood but did not practise it regularly. There was a phase in my life when I suffered health issues and during that time I turned to Yoga seriously. It really helped me tide over my physical as well as mental trauma. I did yoga for 103 hours and recorded a Guinness World Records as a way to reach out to the masses. My intention was to make yoga popular," she said.

Even though her record was later broken by another woman from Tamil Nadu, Patil's spirits are still high as she now makes efforts to make people realise the real benefits of yoga.

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'Yoga fine-tunes body and mind'

According to the founder of Indimasi Yoga, Shivan yoga fine-tunes the body and mind and simple breathing exercises could go a long way in boosting immunity, especially during the pandemic. He added that the gurus of yore developed yogic disciplines and Ayurveda as branches of science. It has scientific explanations and yoga is not mere acrobatics. It has a deeper meaning and a purpose, he added.

Shivan further said the scientists worldwide have observed that the COVID-19 is caused by a virus that mutates. He also said that post-COVID-19, many people are preferring to do Yoga and were realising its importance.

"But our body equally mutates by nature (that is why it is called "sareera" in Sanskrit which means 'something that keeps on mutating'). If these two mutations can harmonise, the virus can act as a natural vaccination against other powerful microbes, which can attack us in the future. Yoga can make that happen," he added.

He also advised that performing yoga for 30 minutes daily and consuming simple herbal mixtures that remove excess mucous can work wonders as all disease will be kept at bay. "All diseases are born from mother nature. She herself will show the remedy too. By doing curative yoga, be it any disease, you can find the remedy from within yourself," he added. 

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(With ANI inputs) (Image-ANI)