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April 29, 2022 0

Senior officers from the Ministry of Ayush, Government of India, will be visiting Mysuru city today (Apr. 29) to explore the possibility of holding the main event of International Day of Yoga (IDY)-2022 in the surroundings of Mysore Palace or any other suitable venue in Mysuru, on June 21.

The officers will discuss with the officers of Mysuru District Administration and the Police about the possible venue of the event, its accessibility and security measures in case the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) confirms Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Mysuru and take part in the main Yoga Day.

In a communication to Chief Secretary P. Ravi Kumar, Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, New Delhi, has mentioned about his visit to Mysuru along with Kavita Garg, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Ayush.

The visit comes in the wake of Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha and Uttara Kannada MP Ananth Kumar Hegde urging PM Modi  to attend the IDY-2022 main event in Mysuru on June 21.

“A need was felt to find the feasibility to hold the main event of IDY in Mysuru,” he said, requesting the Chief Secretary to depute senior officers from State Government for a meeting in Mysuru on Apr. 29 at 12 pm. The letter to Chief Secretary was released to media yesterday.

The meeting will focus on the venue for the main mass yoga demonstration, availability of infrastructure, transportation facilities, accommodation, weather, event management, security etc.

Ayush Ministry Secretary has requested the presence of officers from the District Administration along with Police officials as the discussion will be centred around security of venue.

Focus on India branding

He said that the IDY-2022 that is being observed as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav will focus on India branding. “The IDY observation is based on a common yoga protocol demonstration. The main event is a mass yoga demonstration led by the Prime Minister every year from 7 am to 8 am,” Rajesh Kotecha stated in his letter.

IDY-2022 will be the eighth such celebration on June 21 and plans are afoot to make it a massive physical event as it is being held after two years of holding it virtually due to COVID-19. A series of meetings involving Ministers from various Departments has decided to celebrate this year’s IDY with added enthusiasm and vigour.

1,10,000 participants

In his request letter to the PM, Pratap Simha has stated that Mysuru, the birthplace of Ashtanga Yoga, is the perfect location to learn and practise this fairly dynamic form of yoga.  Mysuru has a rich history of contributing to the preservation, development and promotion of yoga practices through the teachings of great personalities like Pattabhi Jois and others. Several renowned yogic scholars and gurus have established bases here and nurtured the art to reach global levels, he stated.



April 25, 2022 0
What is Pranayama Yoga?

Prana is the Sanskrit word for ‘breath’ and Yama means ‘control’. As the name suggests, pranayama is the practice of controlling your breathing pattern in order to improve your physical and mental well-being. It involves inhaling, exhaling and holding your breath for a variety of different time intervals to remove carbon dioxide from your body and improve the flow of oxygen to the brain cells. This results in enhanced memory, focus and other cognitive abilities. People perform pranayama in conjunction with yoga poses, to reap better results from them. Any good yoga guru will, therefore, guide you on the breathing pattern for every asana he demonstrates.

How can I practice Pranayama yoga?

Pranayama is good for everyone irrespective of their age, but for some people, it’s all the more helpful. Those suffering from high blood pressure, for example, can greatly benefit from practising Pranayama regularly. By regulating your breath, you can lower your blood pressure. Moreover, Pranayama is a highly effective tool to lose weight. The increased supply of oxygen to your muscles boosts your metabolic rate, resulting in faster fat burn. There are various ways of doing pranayama. Mentioned below are some of the most popular ones:

Natural breathing

Natural breathing is the first step of pranayama. It involves becoming aware of your natural breath – and observing everything from its depth to its temperature. Without this awareness, you wouldn’t have the knowledge about which part of your breathing process requires more work.

Follow these steps:

  • Sit down on the floor in a comfortable position.
  • Keep your back straight and shoulders relaxed.
  • Gently close your eyes.
  • Turn your complete focus to your breath.
  • Become aware of the air entering your nostrils – whether it becomes smoother or deeper when it enters your lung, and how hot/cold it is when you exhale.
  • Continue this for a few minutes.
Basic abdominal breathing

Abdominal breathing has to be practised for a few minutes before pranayama to increase the flow of oxygen and nutrients to all your muscles and relieve spasms and stiffness if any. Thanks to the modern lifestyle, not many people take breaths as deep as this practice requires. But once they start doing it, they realize just how beneficial it is.

Follow these steps:

  • Sit down on the floor in a comfortable position.
  • Keep your back straight and shoulders relaxed.
  • Gently close your eyes.
  • Turn your complete attention to your breath.
  • Place your right palm on your chest and your left palm, on your stomach.
  • Take a deep breath in. As you do this, your diaphragm should push downwards and make your belly pop out.
  • Exhale slowly. As you do this, your diaphragm should move upward to its original position and make your belly go back inside.
  • Continue this for a few minutes.
Thoracic breathing

Unlike abdominal breathing, thoracic breathing requires shifting the focus to your chest and observing how the air you inhale travels in your lung before it’s blown out. It’s more focused on the movement of the ribcage, as opposed to the stomach. This is an effective way to increase lung capacity and release stiffness in the neck, upper back and other parts of the upper body.

Follow these steps:

  • Sit down on the floor in a comfortable position.
  • Keep your back straight and shoulders relaxed.
  • Gently close your eyes.
  • Turn your complete attention to your breath.
  • Place one palm on your chest.
  • Take a deep breath in. As you do this, your ribcage should expand outwards.
  • Breathe out slowly and let your ribcage return to its original position.
  • Continue this for a few minutes.
Clavicular breathing

Clavicular breathing is usually paired with thoracic breathing, for they both focus on the movement of the chest. However, their technicalities are slightly different. Clavicular breathing goes one step further than thoracic breathing by not only requiring you to expand and contract your ribcage as you breathe in and out respectively, but also moving your upper chest and shoulders slightly upward to make room for more air to enter. This is great in moments of high stress and anxiety.

Follow these steps:

  • Sit down on the floor in a comfortable position.
  • Keep your back straight and shoulders relaxed.
  • Gently close your eyes.
  • Turn your complete attention to your breath.
  • Place one palm on your chest.
  • Take a deep breath in. As you do this, your ribcage should expand outwards and slightly upwards.
  • Breathe out slowly and let your ribcage return to its original position.
  • Continue this for a few minutes.
Yogic breathing

Yogic breathing is an amalgamation of abdominal, thoracic and clavicular breathing. It involves expanding both your abdomen and chest, in that order, to make room for as much oxygen to flow in your system as possible. However, the practice has to feel smooth and seamless, avoiding any jerks and strains.

Follow these steps:

  • Sit down on the floor in a comfortable position.
  • Keep your back straight and shoulders relaxed.
  • Gently close your eyes.
  • Turn your complete attention to your breath.
  • Take a deep breath in. Firstly, your abdomen should expand to its full capacity, followed by your chest and then finally, there should be a slight upward movement of your collar bones.
  • When you exhale, first relax your collar bones, then your chest and finally your abdomen.
  • Continue this for a few minutes.
Deep breathing with ratios

Deep breathing, as a foundation, requires you to focus on the movement of your abdomen and chest when you breathe. As you inhale, the abdomen and chest should move outward and as you exhale, they should go back in. At the same time, you have to time your inhalations and exhalations. You can start with 2:2 seconds, and then go up to 3:3 and 4:4. Once you’re comfortable with this count, you can prolong your exhalations and try a 4:6 or 4:8.

Follow these steps:

  • Sit down on the floor in a comfortable position.
  • Keep your back straight and shoulders relaxed.
  • Gently close your eyes.
  • Turn your complete attention to your breath.
  • Breathe in for four seconds. Let your abdomen and chest expand as you do this.
  • Breathe out for four seconds. Relax your abdomen and chest as you do this.
  • Continue this for a few minutes.
Fast breathing

Fast breathing helps throw all the toxins out of your body and gives a massage to your lungs, heart and digestive organs, thus making them stronger and more efficient. There are various ways to perform fast breathing: You can close one nostril and breathe in and out of the other, or simply alternate between your two nostrils. It’s good to do a combination of them all.

Follow these steps:

  • Sit down on the floor in a comfortable position.
  • Keep your back straight and shoulders relaxed.
  • Gently close your eyes.
  • Turn your complete attention to your breath.
  • Breathe in through your left nostril, and breathe out from the right.
  • Now breathe in through your right nostril, and breathe out from the left.
  • Continue this in a fast motion for a few minutes.


April 9, 2022 0

Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his office and invited him to inaugurate the International Yoga Day celebrations in Mysuru on June 21 this year. He was accompanied by Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, who facilitated the meeting.

In a press release, the MP has stated that he had highlighted the importance of Mysuru in spreading yoga far and wide.

“Famed for being the birthplace of Ashtanga Yoga, Mysuru is the perfect location to learn and practise this fairly dynamic form of yoga. Mysuru has a rich history of contributing to the preservation, development and promotion of yoga practices through the teachings of great personalities like Pattabhi Jois and others. Nowadays, tens of thousands of people across the globe are benefiting from the practice of yoga which is blossoming and growing more vibrant every day,” the MP said in his request letter to the PM.

“Mysuru is a hub of learning, practising, and teaching yoga. Several renowned yogic scholars and gurus have established bases here and nurtured the art to reach global levels. Ever since the United Nations declared June 21 as the International Day of Yoga in 2015, Mysuru has been observing this day in a befitting manner, by mobilising tens of thousands of people from all walks of life to demonstrate social responsibility towards making a difference in the local community by creating a culture of wellness,” Simha said.

“Mysuru created a world record in 2017 through the participation of over 55,506 people. The Mysuru District Administration, Nehru Yuva Kendra (Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Govt. of India), Yoga networking organisations, NGOs, educational institutions and other inter-connected departments collaborated in this programme,” he said inviting the Prime Minister.