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Photo: M. Moorthy

Picture of concentration Relaxing through yoga

For the next one hour, they watched their breathing, spun out their postures, all in perfect silence. The weekly yoga classes at a maternity hospital in the City have become an integral part of their antenatal care. “A sizeable number of nursing homes have begun yoga classes for antenatal and postnatal mothers. Doctors are beginning to realise the role of yoga in assuaging the labour pain and reducing the complications,” says P. Vijay Kumar, Director, Amirtha Yoga Mandiram.

Yoga for women has evolved into a discipline in itself. The tutors have customised yoga for women, with certain inclusions and omissions in asanas. “We concentrate on certain postures that strengthen the pelvic muscles. We teach them ways to deal with stress-borne diseases,” says J. Chandrasekaran of Padmam Yoga Academy and Research.

The rising number of diseases has perked up the popularity of yoga among the women. Mr. Chandrasekaran blames lifestyle changes for the increase in the ailments. “Westernisation has seeped into our household work, too, rather fast. We no more bend our knees to its full capacity and have become chair-ridden. The habit attracts arthritis, especially among women,” he says.

Sedentary lifestyle apart, multi-tasking and domestic pressures are too much for women to cope without proper mental grooming. Arthritis, digestive disorders, asthma, high and low blood pressure are psychosomatic ailments, which affect emotional cortex.

Emotional disturbances among pregnant women are high, for sheer reason that the foetus growth brings in drastic physical changes. “With measured breathing practices, women will learn the art of synchronising mind and body. They will gain a glow in face along with toned up body,” Mr. Vijay Kumar says. He teaches ‘secular meditation’ or ‘vipaasana,’ a mind relaxing technique for women.

With unremitting practice, yoga could be a quick remedial system for obesity and disrupted menstrual cycles, Mr. Chandrasekaran says. Three months was all required for him to bring down the bad cholesterol and sugar level in a middle-aged woman. “Yoga can do wonders in treating ailments when practiced in a right way,” he assures.

But it is too early to make tall claims, counters S. Dharmarajan, a holistic health educator. Having been a guest faculty at Holy Cross College and yoga therapist at SOC-SEAD De-Addiction Centre, Dr. Dharmarajan finds that many who turn to yoga fail to practise in the long run. “People must learn to accept that yoga can only be complementary therapy and results aren’t as dramatic as ‘sweating out’ exercises.”

So what makes it score over other forms of workouts? “It strengthens every neuromuscular junction without external help. You don’t need a dumbbell to tone your arms. With yoga, the toning up of body becomes a supplement to good health. It builds up your energy after practice and you wouldn’t need to look for an energiser, as you do after hard-hitting drills.”

Doctors, too, endorse that antenatal mothers, who practices yoga, can endure pain better. Says Indira Rengarajan, a gynaecologist, of Sri Lakshmi Nursing Home: “yogic postures tailored for pregnant women stretches the pelvic muscles to great extent. This increases the flexibility of the muscles during delivery. Women also learn to breathe in regular intervals without holding it for long.”

If you have been counting the number of asanas you repeat, you are on the wrong track. Yoga is all about endurance and not repetitions. The aerobic-like counts while doing asanas would backfire, Dr. Dharmarajan forewarns. “Deep exhalation and inhalation are key concepts of pranayama. Novices should resist holding their breath. Vashishta yoga doesn’t believe in retention of breath and insists on profound exhalation for cleansing the lungs.”

He discourages women from assessing their health based on Body Mass Index (BMI). “Girls are obsessed with obesity. They must learn to draw a line between fat and fitness. Flexibility must be the indicator. BMI is not a fool-proof method to evaluate fitness. Yoga may not be a tool to reduce weight radically. But it could check intake of food and correct the digestive system suitably.”

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