A Pranayama course was going on in our sports
ground. About a hundred people were
sitting cross legged on the ground in the semi darkness, shivering slightly in
the early morning chill. I was walking along the walking track next to the
ground and could hear over the loud speaker, the trainer talking. He was
talking about the benefits of Pranayama, pausing every two to three minutes to
demonstrate ‘Kapalbhati’. (trademark owned by Patanjali) That is the usual pattern. I have attended
these courses and know how it goes. It is somewhat like this.
talk….talk….talk….ugh….ugh….ugh….ugh….ugh….ugh….ugh….talk….talk….talk….ugh….ugh….ugh….ugh….ugh….ugh….ugh….ugh….blah….blah….blah….ugh….ugh….ugh….
ugh….ugh….ugh…. If you haven’t attended
any Patanjali pranayama course till now, do attend one. It is fun.
According to Baba Ramdev, “Kapalbhati” is the sure shot remedy for any and every
ailment known to mankind. It is also a sure shot remedy for ailments which are
yet to be known!
If you have high blood
pressure, it reduces it. If you have low blood pressure it increases it. If you
have loose motions it stops it. If you have constipation it starts the process
required. If you are over weight it reduces your weight, if you are under
weight it increases your weight. Sugar, cholesterol etc etc are child’s play to
kapalbhati. So on and so forth.
The trainer tells these ‘facts’
in a very appealing way, explains the technique of ‘kapalbhati’ and demonstrates
it. The desciples try to follow and
learn. (Actually it does not matter
whether they learn or not as about 90% of the people who attend the course do
not care to practice it later!) They are given a few minutes to practice and
the talk starts again. This process goes on for an hour and the day’s session
ends.
Whenever anyone speaks about
Yoga, Pranayama, Ayurveda etc etc it is customary to exalt the virtues of these
practices, which were said to have been (by default!) part of our daily life in
the good old days, and decry everything supposedly ‘modern’. As I completed the
third round the trainer started on these lines.
“In the good old days people
used to eat what was grown locally and we were healthy. Now we eat everything
brought from out side, full of fertilisers and pesticides and we are always
ill”
“In the good old days we used
home remedies and local herbs to cure our illness. Now we run to a doctor for every
minor ailment and swallow chemicals.”
“In the good old days we did
our house work like sweeping, washing, drawing water etc etc and we remained
fit. Now we have machines or employ others to do them and lose out on the
benefits of such work.”
At this stage he got carried
away with the good old days - modern days comparison and said,
“In the good old days we
cooked and ate inside the house and went to toilet out side the house. Now, we
eat out side and go to toilet inside the house”
Just as he said the last word
he realized that he was talking against the ‘Open defecation free India’ initiative
of our beloved PM, a political blunder from the point of view of his
organization and tried his best to cover it
“Of course one has to use a
toilet inside the house but one should stop eating fast foods and other stuff
cooked out side which are harmful to health!”
I could visualize Baba Ramdev
nodding his head in approval!
Note : Before the
practitioners/followers of Yoga, Pranayaama, Kapalbhati and Baba allow their
sentiments to get hurt, I would like to state that I am a staunch supporter/practitioner
of Yoga and Kapalbhati. I have been practicing yoga for fifty years
and have reached the stage of three hundred Kapalbhati a day. (It is just an
ignorable side fact that I also take one tablet of Atorec 10 mg everyday to
keep my cholesterol in check!)
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