Scholar Wendy Doniger has written that the modern practice of yoga (meaning physical poses) is not ancient but a recent phenomenon. Patanjali's Yoga Sutra does not prescribe any poses and modern yoga came to India in the 18th and 19th centuries with Europeans.? T?hey were discovering the benefits of exercise, encouraged by books like Rousseau's Emile. Many dispute this fact and think yoga is ancient. Whatever the truth, the fact is that yoga is a practice that millions of Indians are familiar with. And it will be less difficult to find people who can teach yoga to school students than instructors in other physical things like athletics and gymnastics.
I learnt some of the benefits of yoga during a course with the Art of Living many years ago. The one thing that occurred to me was that through yoga, the body could be used to calm the mind. This was after a session of doing the breathing technique called Sudarshan Kriya. During this session, a photo of Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was put in front of the class. Those who wanted to, could bow to it, but it was not compulsory. I was not comfortable doing that and so abstained from the bowing. I was also not convinced by the witty answer the Guru had given to someone curious about why Ravi Shankar prefaced his name with two Sris. He said, according to the teacher of our session, that "three Sris were too many for him and one too few".
Anyway, I recounted this story to show that one can enjoy the benefits of yoga and take part in its group sessions without subscribing to any religious sentiment.
The government was this week compelled to drop Surya Namaskar from the various asanas, meaning postures, to be performed by schools across the country to mark 'International Day of Yoga' on June 21.? ?This came after opposition from the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, which said the Bharatiya Janata Party was compelling Muslim students to take up Hindu religious practices.?
?I think this is a pity because Surya Namaskar is a comprehensive asana and probably the single best exercise one can do, whatever religion or race you may belong to.? ?It involves a flowing movement of standing up, bending back, crouching, doing a push up and during all of this throwing the legs back and then springing it front.? ?The Surya Namaskar mixes? light calisthenics and body weight exercises.