Demand increases for Yoga teachers of Rishikesh in foreign countries

Rishikesh is the yoga capital of India and it is exporting yoga teachers to Southeast Asia as well as China where the demand for yoga is at an all-time high. Right now, these is nearly 1,500 Indian yoga teachers in China and 70 to 80% of them hail from Rishikesh and Haridwar which are home to a number of yoga schools where these teachers have perfected their skills.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 7 March 2017.

One of the teachers who has been teaching yoga in China for over a decade now and learnt his asanas at an ashram in Rishikesh received the title of 'The Most Beautiful Yogi of China' last year. He runs his own studio 'WeYoga' in Beijing and has revealed that in spite of there being others who teach yoga, Indian teachers are the most preferred.
According to a report from Beijing, yoga is growing rapidly and becoming popular in China with the number of people involved in practicing it rising from 4 million in 2009 to 10 million in 2014. In 2009, there wee about 1.1 lakh professional coaches — both local and from across the globe — and thst number had shot to 2.3 lakh by 2014.


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Bhilai tries to set five world records in Yoga with one lakh people participating

Bhilai is attempting to set five world records with the participation of one lakh people in the presence of yoga guru Baba Ramdev. In order to motivate the participants, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh also performed a few yoga exercises.
The endeavor is taken to celebrate National Youth Day on the occasion of the 154th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 12 January 2017.

As per program, over one lakh people will perform the Surya Namaskar at one place together in an attempt to create the world record. They will also practice other yoga exercises like Kapal Bhati and Anulom Vilom (breathing exercises) to create yet another world record. Then will come the last two world records - by performing the Shurshashan and push ups.
The attempt to create the five world records at one go at a single venue is being made at Jayanti Stadium in Bhilai - 36 separate blocks have been constituted here for the participants. In addition, eighteen huge television screens have been put up on the ground to facilitate the monitoring of the creating of these world records.


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Another somersault of the Modi government - yoga removed from sports category

One year after recognizing yoga as a sport and placing it in the "priority" category alongside other sports like football, swimming, squash and chess, the sports ministry has reversed the decision. Yoga is no longer considered to be a sport.
It may be recalled that the proposal to recognize yoga as a sport had come from the department of personnel and training, which is under the PMO. The Prime Minister Modi had also led countrywide International Yoga Day celebrations for the past two years.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 24 December 2016.

It seems the department (of sports) has studied the matter and has decided that it may not be feasible to hold competitions in yoga. This has been conveyed through a letter from the ministry to the Indian Olympic Association and all recognized national sports federations. The reason is that yoga has various dimensions/ arms in which competitions are not possible. Hence, it cannot be termed as a sport.
The department of ayurveda, yoga & naturopathy, unani, siddha and homoeopathy (AYUSH) had given its go-ahead and within a matter of months yoga was recognized as a sport in September last year. Getting such a status meant all zonal and national competitions in the discipline would be funded by the sports ministry and, those who practice yoga would get a pie of the sports quota.


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Baba Ramdev to launch jeans as a part of his apparel brand Paridhan

Baba Ramdev has made a name for himself in the fields of medicines, toiletries and food products in his huge setup in Haridwar and, now, wants to launch jeans and office wear as a part of his apparel brand Paridhan. He is his own brand ambassador for Patanjali products and has plans to go global with factories initially in Bangladesh and Africa and eventually spreading wings to Europe and the US.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 10 September 2016.

Baba Ramdev does not have any share in the business he runs and he has admitted that the idea (of the apparel brand) started with some followers asking him for Patanjali yoga wear. That led to the thinking of a whole range of dresses for everyone. In his opinion, if we want to bring economic independence for our country from multinationals by promoting indigenous and natural products, then we should also be in the garments market.
He has added that we will make men's and women's wear, not just traditional Indian clothing but also modern wear like jeans. Being a Baba does not mean that he cannot marry modernity with spirituality - hence, the concept of desi jeans.


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Yoga in a flight proves costly for a South Korean tourist flying from Hawaii to Japan

A South Korean tourist returning from Hawaii with his wife wanted to do yoga in an United Airlines flight from Honolulu to Narita in Japan. He had been to Hawaii to celebrate his 40th marriage anniversary. But, he turned violent when he was not allowed to do the yoga.
He was in jail for 13 days and has escaped more jail time - but has to pay US$44,235 in fines.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 1 August 2016.

It seems the man, in his 70s, was arrested after he yelled at flight attendants, shoved his wife and headbutted two Marines when he was told to stop doing yoga on the flight. He refused to sit in his seat during the meal service. Instead, he went to the rear of the plane to do yoga and meditate. After arrest, he apparently told US authorities that he hadn't slept in 11 days.
His behavior made the pilot return to Honolulu.
US District felt that his actions constituted a violent felony and due to that, it is possible he may never be allowed to return to the United States. The man indicated that since he was in his 70s, he did not intend to travel to the US again.
The fine of $US44,235 to United Airlines was to cover the cost of turning the plane around, which included fuel costs and payment to passengers who had to return to Honolulu.


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KVIC brings out Yogasutra, clothes made of khadi for yoga exercises

The Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has launched Yogasutra which is a range of clothes and mats made from Khadi to be used while performing yoga exercises. It has been launched first in Gujarat and has been introduced by an Ahmedabad-based company that manufactures eco-friendly and trendy garments in Khadi. The collection includes unisex yoga wear tops and bottoms apart from a gamchha napkin and a mat. This has been reported in thestatesman.com dated 18 June 2016.

It is the coming together of two things purely Indian - the khadi and yoga. As the director of KVIC Gujarat has sumed it up - "KVIC is always keen to promote Khadi through its innovative usages. Yoga wear is the need of the hour. With growing awareness about the benefits of yoga and a special interest shown by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it was only natural that we introduce yoga wear." In his opinion, yoga was perhaps the only stream that did not have customised clothes to suit the modern practitioner and creating the Yoga wear collection was a step in the proper direction. With khadi clothes, Yoga exercises would be much more comfortable and meaningful. It was KVIC's contribution in the success of the International Yoga Day on June 21.


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Passenger of Japan bound flight turns violent for not being allowed to do yoga in mid-air

The plane was an United Airlines flight from Honolulu International Airport to Narita International Airport but it had to return to Hawaii because of a violent passenger who wanted to do yoga instead of occupying his seat. The pilot of the March 26 flight was forced to turn the plane around after hearing the passenger yelling at crew members and shoving his wife - this is as per the FBI's criminal complaint.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 1 April 2016.

It seems the passenger told the FBI that he did not want to sit in his seat during the meal service and, therefore, went to the rear of the aircraft to do yoga and meditate. He lost his temper when his wife and flight attendants tried to coax him to return to his seat. He even pushed his wife away and head-butt and bite Marines who were passengers on the flight. They were trying to get him back to his seat.
Moreover, he threatened to kill passengers and yelled that there is no god. He urinated on himself and was put on suicide watch at the Honolulu Federal Detention Center. The US Magistrate has ordered that the man be released on US$25,000 bond, but with certain conditions including not leaving the island of Oahu and undergoing a mental health evaluation.


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