Employing the principles of minding the body to mind the
mind through the teachings of B K S Iyengar, Padmashree awardee Fr Joe Pereira
has been helping people tap and maintain their inner equilibrium, by using the
wisdom of the body to bring about a life-altering and healthy way of life.
“Iyengar Yoga has become a way of life,” he states.
Heartened by the fact that droves of people from various
walks of life have been attending the yoga courses at the Kripa Foundation Yoga
Centre in Panjim since its commencement last year, Fr Pereira avers that the
anniversary is the perfect occasion to demonstrate the principles and benefits
of Iyengar Yoga once again. “People with various major ailments from cardiac to
Parkinson’s, back problems and dysfunctional knees have been attending. But
make no mistake, just the mere process of learning yoga and practising it for a
while isn’t enough; knowing and practising the right poses is important and
adherence is the key to achieving results,” he cautions, speaking with an
experience culled from 48 years in the line. Keeping in mind the theme of
‘learning to love your body back to life’, Fr Joe has been whetting the
appetite of people for authentic practice of yoga to address any health
problem.
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Demonstrating the sirsasana and virasana poses, Fr Joe
points out that people hardly believed that these rare posses could reverse
one’s heart condition. Yet it has been achieved. “There are some asanas and
propos that are specific to Iygengar Yoga which has helped to cure an amazing
array of major illnesses. This is Guruji’s (BKS Iygengar) compassion. I have even
seen a person in a cancer hospice benefit from Iyengar Yoga. Guruji has devised
a pathway to a dimension within the inner wheel of life which western medicine
is trying to cure externally,” he maintains.
His greatest
achievement yet, for which he was awarded the Padmashree, is the integration of
Iygengar Yoga into the Alcoholic Anonymous Self-help programme, particularly
the 11th step.”I have been teaching people how to use the body for meditation.
No medicine is authentic until it brings the body in a hyperbolic state of
inner equilibrium. In 34 years of working, I have seen significant reversals,”
he shares.
