Delhi’s Yogshala scheme stalled, but tutors still bending over backwards to teach yoga

Two years after the Delhi government’s free yoga programme was discontinued, several yoga instructors in Delhi, who were hired on a contract basis for the scheme, have now resorted to giving private lessons.

Two years after the Delhi government’s free yoga programme was discontinued, several yoga instructors in Delhi, who were hired on a contract basis for the scheme, have now resorted to giving private lessons.

Launched in 2021, the ‘Dilli ki Yogshala’ programme provided free yoga classes to the public, with as many as 17,000 people benefiting from the lessons across 600 locations in the Capital, as per government data. The scheme had also provided free online lessons during the COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdown to over 4,500 people.

The scheme, however, was halted on November 1, 2022, after the Lieutenant-Governor’s office did not approve its extension, according to Delhi government sources. Meanwhile, official sat the L-G Secretariat had denied the charge, stating that the decision to discontinue the scheme had been taken by the board of governors at the Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research University.

Manu Devi, a 40-year-old yoga instructor who took lessons in Malviya Nagar, said the scheme allowed her to teach women from different socio-economic backgrounds, who came to view yoga as a safe space. Now, Ms. Devi takes personal classes. “I understood that there is an interest to learn yoga in many colonies and societies, so I decided to start taking personal lessons, which are going well,” she said.

Another yoga instructor, Minakshi, also found many clients during her contractual employment at the yoga scheme. “After the scheme was discontinued, many people asked me to take up yoga classes. It turned out to be a secure source of employment as I wasn’t afraid of losing my job, and the private classes helped me earn a little more. However, I credit the scheme for helping me securing more clients,” Minakshi said.

“I saw many advertisements in newspapers where the government claimed they will restart the programme, but nobody contacted us. We hope it restarts, as it was beneficial for people,” she said, adding that she has not yet been paid for two months of labour.

She further added that at least two months of salaries weren’t paid. “I saw many advertisements in newspapers, where the Delhi government claimed that they will restart the program, the ads kept coming, but nobody contacted us, we hope it restarts, it was beneficial for people,” she added.