Govt.’s yoga classes helping people fight stress, get into shape

Women participants feel that the Yogshala has created women-friendly spaces

Neena Khanna, 53, who has been battling mental illness for 15 years, felt she could not cope with COVID-19 related stress when the second wave of the pandemic hit the country last year. 

That’s when the “Dilli Ki Yogshala” programme, launched by the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in December 2021, came to her relief.  

The programme provides free yoga classes to people in public spaces. Professionally trained yoga experts take sessions with small groups of willing learners in parks and community halls.

Ms. Khanna says she helped herself to a healthy lifestyle by attending these sessions and that it assisted her in maintaining her mental well being. Having lost some weight through the yoga sessions, Ms. Khanna says she’s happy to be able to go for longer walks.

Seema Dwivedi, 35, who supervises the south Delhi division of Yogshala, said the programme helped many people like Ms. Khanna fight pandemic-related stress, adding that people of all age groups have been coming forward in large numbers to join their programme. 

The government has put up billboards claiming that over 10,000 people are now regularly practicing yoga at 400 locations across the city under the programme. The government also says the programme has benefitted 4,500 COVID-19 patients, isolated at home, through online classes.

Mannu Devi, 38, a yoga instructor at Malviya Nagar Yogshala said that it was important to create spaces for women, from different socio-economic backgrounds, where they could practice yoga safely.