- The pertinence of ‘Yoga for Humanity’ in Sri Lanka’s current context
Beyond its immediate impact on physical health, the Covid-19 pandemic also exacerbated psychological suffering and mental health problems, including depression and anxiety, as pandemic-related restrictions were introduced in various forms in many countries, as per the United Nations (UN). This highlighted the urgent need to address the mental health dimension of the pandemic, in addition to the physical health aspects.
People around the world embraced yoga to stay healthy and rejuvenated and to fight social isolation and depression during the pandemic, the UN noted, adding that yoga also plays a significant role in the psychosocial care and rehabilitation of Covid-19 patients in quarantine and isolation, and is particularly helpful in allaying their fears and anxiety.
“The essence of yoga is balance – not just balance within the body or that between the mind and the body, but also balance in the human relationship with the world. Yoga emphasises the values of mindfulness, moderation, discipline, and perseverance. When applied to communities and societies, yoga offers a path for sustainable living. Yoga can be an important instrument in the collective quest of humanity for promoting sustainable lifestyle in harmony with planet Earth. In keeping with this spirit, the theme for this year’s Yoga Day celebrations is Yoga for Humanity,” the UN stated.
Brunch reached out to a few yoga experts to understand what it’s all about and how the yoga industry is faring in a country such as ours.
Benefits of yoga
Speaking to Brunch, instructor at Yoga Pilgrim Lodge Jeewanthi Perera stated that yoga’s main aim is to touch the spiritual body and then the mental body. Yoga helps deeply with balancing out a stressful life, explained Perera, who pointed out that multiple studies have shown that it can decrease the secretion of cortisol, the primary stress hormone.
Although the citizens of Sri Lanka have plenty to stress about these days, Perera added that stress is not necessarily caused by worry alone; even issues such as neck aches or back aches that occur regularly could add to one’s stress levels, which yoga can help ease. In addition to improving your mental health, practising yoga may reduce inflammation as well.
The health of your heart is an essential component of overall health; certain positions in yoga help get your blood pumping and supplying tissues with important nutrients. With the current medicine shortage in the country, preventive measures such as yoga are now greatly worth looking into.
Perera also stated that the relaxation techniques incorporated in yoga can also lessen chronic pain, such as lower back pain, arthritis, headaches, and carpal tunnel syndrome. In addition, yoga can also lower blood pressure and reduce insomnia.
According to Perera, regular yoga practice creates mental clarity and calmness, increases body awareness, relieves chronic stress patterns, relaxes the mind, centres attention, and sharpens concentration. Body- and self-awareness are particularly beneficial, because they can help with early detection of physical problems and allow for early preventive action.
“Yoga should be practised as often as you brush your teeth, for at least 20 minutes a day,” Perera said, adding that it shouldn’t be viewed as a chore, but something that brings your mind and soul together.
Yoga is such a mainstream way of staying healthy that several instructional videos can be found online, but Perera too has her own class for beginners and intermediates – check out @yogapilgrimlodge on Facebook for more information on how you can join her classes.
The local yoga industry
The Government has recognised wellness tourism as a key sector for investors; Sri Lanka was even ranked among the top five wellness tourism destinations globally, as confirmed by former Minister of Tourism Prasanna Ranatunga.
Although this aspect of tourism has potential, it has to be nurtured carefully in collaboration with industry stakeholders from both the public and private sectors.
Aaron Wick Yoga Founder and Annie Au Yoga Co-founder and Partner Aaron Wickramasekara observed that the yoga market in Sri Lanka is very vague; more often than not, people have the wrong idea. Wickramasekara added: “I will try to expose the tourists that come into the various styles of yoga and aspects of it as I possibly can. I’m trying to expand the market and expand the horizons of the local market.”
By doing this, he is able to create new jobs and new potential and change locals’ perspective as to what yoga is, and spark an interest in yoga.
He shared that it was really nice to see our country being placed back on top of this list last year, given that everyday there’s negative news coming up – and while this hasn’t changed one bit since then, we can only hope we will receive a similar position this year around too. “The lives of Sri Lankans are getting harder but it’s because we haven’t had tourists coming in; we have lost a lot of income which is driving the ripper down which makes the cost of living higher,” he stated.
He also observed that there are many cities in Sri Lanka that have started wellness programmes; they have taken the time in the last year to build certain hotels and resorts that are catered solely around the wellness aspect in Sri Lanka.
“These hotels and resorts will bring aspects that we haven’t seen in Sri Lanka and were only ever seen in the foreign market, and once tourism opens up, we will see a boom in wellness tourism in particular surrounding health, well-being, yoga and mindfulness,” he commented. He also added that these projects are not just for foreigners, but for the local market as well.
