Baba Ramdev's health graph dip puts shadow on his brand of yoga
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And the entire episode has left several yoga teachers and students wondering if Ramdev's rapid deterioration of health during the fast was a bad advertisement for the yoga guru as well as the traditional Indian wellness discipline.
Yogacharya Rakesh Kumar is facing a new set of questions from some of his students. Pallavi Malhotra, a student at Kumar's yoga and naturopathy institute, wonders if yoga's brand value has suffered due to the Ramdev's fast saga. "If someone of Baba Ramdev's fame felt uneasy in a week, what does it say about him and his brand of yoga? After all, sages in our country went without food for years," says Malhotra. That may be overstating the point but it is true that Swami Nigamanand, who passed away on Monday, had held out bravely for 68 days before he was forced fed by authorities.
Another yoga student Bharti Sharma doubts if Ramdev practices what he preaches. "I don't know what's the point of making these claims when you can't deliver. It's not just Nigamanand, there are other people, far older, who have managed to hold out longer than Ramdev," she says.
A senior yoga practitioner believes that Ramdev's inability to continue with his fast had more to do with his mental conditioning than yoga. "Yoga is not about fasting. It's about mental strength, which Ramdev has clearly shown he lacks. I don't know now how many see Ramdev as a yoga guru at all. Nigamanand probably had better control over his emotions and could therefore handle physical stress for a much longer period," says Garima Batra, who teaches aviplava yoga.
Another yoga teacher Bharat Singh agrees with that view. He points out that fasting is a matter of practice. "A person who fasts regularly can afford to stretch his or her limits, as the body is already used to periods of starvation. According to yogic philosophy, if you fast once a week for a year, then follow it up with twice a week next year and so on, then you can build up stamina. I don't know if Ramdev had been following such a regime," he says.
Ramdev's close aide Jaideep Arya attributes the decline of the yoga guru's health to unfavourable conditions and stress during the fast. He insists that the yoga guru's stamina is "extraordinary". "There were tear gas shells fired at him. He was in police detention for over 10 hours. Naturally it would affect his condition," he says.
Kumar makes a larger point. He says that research on yoga has only dealt with superficial issues of physical stamina so far. "Mental control is the real thing. Once you have that, your body is only an instrument. The ancient yogis went much deeper into yoga and could even channel cosmic energy. It takes years of practice and dedication," Kumar adds.
