For the people of Kuravilangad, there has never been a better time to roll out their yoga mat and take a deep breath.
As Kottayam finds itself in the middle of a COVID-19 community spread, people residing in the village here are now discovering from the comforts of their home the combination of breathing and stretching exercises to stay fit . Thanks to Yogayanam, a unique project initiated by the Kuravilangad panchayat in association with the government Ayush wellness centre here.
Live-streaming
The training classes, divided into eleven video sessions, are being live-streamed by the local body through its official youtube channel. From its humble beginning as an alternative to the live yoga classes at the wellness centre, the initiative is fast catching up with 375 out of the 3,900-odd households in the local body joining for the sessions in the first week itself.
The classes, live-streamed at 4 p.m everyday, are led by Sumi Sreekantan and Ranjana P.R, respectively the Medical Officer and Yoga demonstrator of the wellness centre here. Those attending the sessions are required to practise these exercises the next day morning.
Commenting on the project, P.C.Kurian, president of the local body, said life had hit a pause in the village since the lockdown and with the influx of NRI families.
“At one point, the number of households in quarantine within the panchayat went as high as 146. Starved of public contact, people had been spending an abundance of time in front of screens and this was when we decided to introduce yoga as a remedy for stiffness and calming their minds,” he said.
The programme, according to him, has been immensely helpful for the women and elderly, besides the people in quarantine.
Key attractions
“The element of convenience offered by such video sessions has been one of the key attractions of this project. With more and more people expressing interest to join the classes, we plan to follow up the initial session with more training classes till the public life returns to normalcy,” added Mr.Kurien.
