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ShareAs parents rediscover the benefits of yoga, a generation of New Age children are getting initiated into an age-old health regime
It's little more than a cubbyhole off Warden Road, but it's hoping to become one of the rallying points for the most wonderful little revolution Mumbai has seen in a while.
Around 20 children - the oldest one not more than seven-- eagerly follow the instructions of their yoga teacher Shraddha Setalvad.
"All right, c'mon, your talk time is over.Let's see who's the best shirsh asana baby," she says, clapping her hands. It's a sight to behold as she makes the little people twist, turn and obey, using a bewitching mix of friendly banter, an occasional sharp word, a mythological tale and lots of encouragement throughout the hour-long session.
Yoga is gaining quick ground among children that suddenly everyone's wondering why we didn't think of it years ago. "But back then, it didn't occur to us as an option, did it?" counters jewellery designer Shibani Agarwal, who has brought her daughter Amaya--barely two and half--to the class, and she's happily trying to imitate the other kids. "When you're small, you're that much more agile and flexible," she notes.
Both Madhoo's daughters, five-year-old Keia and seven-year-old Ameyaa, are more or less yoga regulars now. "Yoga isn't just exercise, it's a holistic way of life--what you eat, what you think," says the former actress. "Earlier there was no structure to getting physical. It was just 'go out and play'. Now yoga is a great option for the kids."
For Neerja Birla, yoga began as a self-driven inspiration that has percolated to her children--Ananyashree, Aryaman Vikram and Advaitesha. "There's nobody in my family who is much into yoga, but I've made it a daily part of my life now. As parents, once you realise the benefits yoga gives, you want the children to get started early into it," says Neerja, adding that even her husband, business tycoon Kumar Mangalam, puts in two sessions
a week.
Even for the Birlas, there's more to yoga besides the obvious physical and emotional spinoffs, like making the body flexible, shaping up and calming the mind. "I would imagine since it primes you for meditation, if you are aspiritual seeker, yoga takes you towards it," she says.
Entrepreneur Gayatri Ruia says she regrets her almost estranged association with yoga. "I come from a Maharashtrian Brahmin family, so I've been around yoga and Sanskrit shlokas since childhood," says Gayatri, whose daughters Tarini (4) and Sharanya (6) are students at Shraddha's yoga school. Unfortunately, she herself hasn't been able to fit in yoga into her schedule for some years now. "I have first hand experience of its benefits and though I do meditate, my work and kids leave me no time for yoga. I think I just need to get up an hour earlier than I do," she sighs.
s_saumit@dnaindia.net
