he way people live can directly impact their well-being. Life has gotten more hectic and stressful over time. People are always in a rush, hopping on to the next item on their to-do-lists while completely overlooking their mental and physical health. This unhealthy lifestyle can make a person feel hopeless, lazy and negative.

In Hyderabad’s Rani Bagh, at around 6:30 in the morning, there is a break in this pattern. It comes in the form of rigorous yoga sessions. Every day, about 20-25 people come to the public park for yoga, where trainers guide them through various exercises for about 30 to 40 minutes.

Ibrahim Soomro, who lives in Soomra Goth, Hyderabad, is a trainer skilled in yoga. He has been teaching yoga for free at Rani Bagh for the past two years. He says, “My only goal in teaching yoga is to empty the hospitals and fill the parks.“

“When we first started, there were only four or five of us. People jogging or exercising around us would laugh at us for some reason. Slowly, we convinced them of the benefits of yoga, and now they also do yoga with us,” says Soomro.
The yoga teacher says that his friend, Siddique Morio, taught him yoga and after that, he started doing it regularly.

When asked about the benefits of yoga, Soomro responds with a counter-question. “How old do you think I am?” he asks. “Around fifty is my guess,” I say.

He smiles and replies, “Sir, I am 70 years old. This is the magic of yoga. It keeps one fit.”

Soomro says that yoga helps reduce stress and worries. “It’s not always necessary to solve problems like depression with medicine, you can also feel better mentally with yoga. Breathing deeply in the fresh air in the morning helps with breathing problems and different yoga poses make your bones strong and your body fresh,” he says.

When a new member joins, everyone claps to welcome them. At the end of the session, the participants laugh loudly and make sounds. If a stranger sees them, they might think they are crazy, but this is ‘sound therapy’ to improve blood flow in the throat. The exercise also helps in controlling anger.

Fahad Ali, who is 36 years old, has been doing yoga for the last two months. He says he has noticed a big change in himself. “After doing yoga in the morning, my body feels relaxed, my depression disappears in those forty minutes and I feel energetic,” says Ali.

“I have diabetes and high cholesterol. Before doing yoga, my blood sugar was between 200 and 250, and my cholesterol was very high. It worried me. The doctor advised me to jog in the morning. When I came to Rani Bagh to jog, I saw people doing yoga and got interested, so I started it too. Now, my blood sugar stays between 80 and 100 and my cholesterol is also under control. Yoga has been very beneficial for me.”

Yoga is a Sanskrit word meaning strength. Yoga relaxes mind and body. The relaxation turns into strength. The more strength we gain, the more active we become. Yoga is very beneficial for our health and plays an important role in giving us mental peace. Yoga allows us to breathe in plenty of oxygen and provides mental peace. Experts say that doing yoga in the morning can reduce stress. Since yoga gives us a lot of energy, it is very important to do yoga for at least half an hour a day for good health.

The writer is an information officer in Government of Sindh. He has a keen interest in politics, poetry and philosophy.