Anybody can do Yoga: Differently abled persons join the International Yoga Day movement

While people from across the world performed Yoga on Monday, June 21, on the occasion of International Day of Yoga, not many would have spared a thought for the differently-abled community. Being confined to what are now homes-cum-workspaces has had a debilitating effect on even able-bodied persons, so what about the plight of those with restricted mobility since birth?

It was to address this very social cause that the Dhiman Trust, which works for the challenged community, organized a Yoga workshop for the differently-abled in Chennai city. Run by Shobanaa Dhiman, a fashion show director who had earlier curated shows featuring differently-abled, transgenders and plus-size models, the Yoga day event was meant to promote the physical and well-being of the challenged community.

"We had persons on wheelchairs, crutch/walker users, polio patients, persons with motor issues and intellectual challenge, so adequate precautions were taken to ensure utmost safety. Owing to COVID-19 we kept the numbers low, some of the participants were even para-athletes and sportspersons, whereas the rest were commoners. We arranged Dr. Anand Jyothi, general Secretary for TN Paralympic sports association to handle the training," Shobanaa told Zee Media.

Supporting over 10,000 individuals, which includes hundreds of special achievers among the differently-abled community, the Dhiman trust conducts activities in Kanpur, Lucknow, Hyderabad and Bengaluru among other cities.