Experts in the field of yoga and medicine here are unanimous in their opinion that introduction of yoga as compulsory learning, as part of physical education for the students in the state, will do more harm than good.
Sukumar Shastri, a yoga expert, asserts that there are some basic fundamentals which are to be followed while doing yoga. 'It should not be forcibly introduced as it may lead to mental stress,' Shastri says adding that girls should not perform yoga during menstruation.
The idea to introduce yoga in schools by the state government from the next academic year may have percolated from strong the endorsement by Union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss that yoga should be made compulsory for school students. Ramadoss oft repeated this view from October last year at various foras.
This has not gone down well with citizens and yoga experts, who question the rationale behind the decision especially in the light that the state has made no attempt to conduct a large, multi centric, randomized, controlled, blinded, long term prospective study about the benefits and adverse effects of yoga in growing children.
Ramadoss first made this statement in October last year, after attending a camp organized by yoga Guru Ramdev. Ramadoss said the health ministry was talking to the human resource department (HRD) to encourage school students to adopt a healthy life style.
Shastri says yoga should not be performed by children below the age of eight as they cannot do it systematically. 'Yoga is not physical training. While practising yoga, satvika (easily digestible) food is a must, which means non veg is restricted. Yoga should be performed two hours after having light food and four hours after having a heavy meal. Can this be followed by children,' asks Shastri.
Dr B S Kakkilaya, physician, says with the average age at menarche being 12 to 13 years in India, this may pose other problems for girl students and anxiety for their parents if yoga is made compulsory in schools. Quoting studies in the field, he adds there may be other serious physical complications to growing children if it is forced upon them.
Kakkilaya along with Narendra Nayak, president, Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations, and Dr K S Madhava Rao, psychiatrist, have written to Ramadoss to drop the proposal of compulsory yoga education for school children. They pointed out that it should not be taken up in view of the absence of unambiguous evidence about the benefits as well as safety of yoga in children, the difficulties for girl students in performing yoga and the absolute necessity to have well trained teachers rather than physical education trainers to impart safe and meaningful yoga training.
Yoga expert Gopalakrishna Delampady, who has been practising yoga for 30 years, says it should be optional and should not be made mandatory. 'It should be introduced only for those who are interested, that too from fifth standard onwards,' he says.
He maintains that yoga should be taught only by experts and not physical education instructors, who are imparted `quick fix training'. He fears that the large scale funds flowing into this may bring in untrained people causing harm to children.
By Stanley G Pinto
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
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