Stretch your limits
Usha Albuquerque

HOW the West was won—that’s the story of yoga. As more and more people in the western world turn to alternative therapies such as yoga, we in India are beginning to appreciate and follow one of India’s richest traditions. Yoga has traditionally been the art of living a healthy life. It has been a major healer in ancient India. Be it a physical ailment or mental, the cure for all has been found in yoga. In today’s age of stress, people are turning more and more to yoga for mental and physical relief.

Yoga is a fit choice

Moreover, people around the world are becoming more health conscious. And turning towards more natural methods to stay healthy. Yogic therapy comprises a wide range of mind/body practices, ranging from postural and breathing exercises to deep relaxation and meditation for promoting positive health and well being as well as helping particular medical conditions. Yoga today is considered far superior to all exercises, because in yoga the emphasis is not just on exercises but balanced diet as well.

It is widely acknowledged that yoga has provided cures for diseases like diabetes, asthma, arthritis, heart disease and several others. Yoga has also helped put drug addicts back on track, and contain the spread of certain cancers.

While yoga therapy has been in existence for thousands of years, the yoga that we see and practice presently is just 80 years old, an offspring of the union of traditional yoga with modern medicine. Yoga cures both, the mind and the body. Professional yoga, therefore, offers several work options.

The two main areas are those of teaching yoga for exercise and physical fitness, and yoga in research and in curing diseases. If you want to be a yoga teacher, you must have all the required knowledge on yoga. And as far as curing diseases is concerned, you must know which asana cures which disease.

Diabetes, spondilitis and vertigo are some of the diseases that can be easily cured through yoga. More emphasis is laid on a short-term treatment if a patient wants a cleansing process, while for a physical problem emphasis is laid on asanas and breathing exercises. Along with breathing exercises, meditation is also practised. And in cases of mental problems, depression or anxiety, there is more stress on the asanas, than on meditation and breathing exercises.

Yoga instruction has today emerged as a major career option, so a study of the principles of yoga can help us understand the subject more deeply. There are also many scriptures on yoga, much has been written about these scriptures, and the many schools of yoga that have emerged, that to understand the right techniques of practising yoga, it is important to study these scriptures.

Training in yoga is essential because if the exercises are not done properly, it can be equally harmful. Proper training includes awareness of all the principles behind yoga.

Today, in India there are over 35 colleges that offer graduate and postgraduate courses in yoga at over 35 recognised universities and 15 yoga learning centres.

Graduates in any discipline can do courses in yoga. The main subjects of yoga theory include anatomy, philosophy, exercises, meditation, and theory and principles of yoga and meditation, etc. A large component of the training is practicals, which include various asanas such as shatkama, yogasana, suryanamaskar, pranayam, meditation, and so on. A certain amount of knowledge in Sanskrit is considered beneficial too since most of the literature of yoga is in Sanskrit.

If you wish to make your career as a naturopath or a yogic expert, you can opt for Bachelor of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences (BNYS), which is again a five-and-a-half-year bachelor’s degree. Science with biology is a preferred option for this course, and selection is based on marks scored in the entrance exam.

The work possibilities in this field are limitless. On completion of training you can opt for private practice or you could work with an established practitioner. With the growing demand for classes in yoga, this is quite a lucrative business today. For this the only investment required, is a clean place with a healthy environment. Open space is ideal. Space permitting, you can start your own training centre, or health and fitness centre. Other options include working in schools and colleges as a teacher of yoga.

Yoga is increasingly being followed in the corporate sector as a means to relieve stress and promoted fitness. Yoga teachers are in great demand by such organizations to undertake classes for all groups of employees, as well as to conduct workshops and other programmes on healthy living, diets and exercise.

Those qualified with a BYNS can practice yoga as a medical practitioner, or work as therapists and researchers, towards curing diseases and ailments. With the technological advancement that India has made, a lot of drug and pharmaceutical companies are setting up R&D centres in India. These research organisations hire people as consultants or scientists to work in their respective fields. A qualified BYNS can also seek employment under the Central Government Health Scheme and in state government and municipal hospitals and dispensaries all over the country.

While a career in Yoga may not follow the traditional professional path it can be the ideal option for those with a passion for health and fitness. Success in this field as in most others, depends on the dedication and hard work invested. If you enjoy Yoga as a practise, have benefited from it and are committed to sharing your knowledge and expertise with others, a career in yoga will enable you to find success.

The writer is a noted career expert