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Mauritius: Free yoga sessions to manage diabetes and related complications
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L'Express (Port Louis)
28 November 2007
Posted to the web 28 November 2007
Pauline Etienne
Port Louis
Now that the yoga teacher is settled in Mauritius again, he will put what he learnt in India at his fellow countrymen's disposal. He is starting on Saturday with a full day dedicated to those suffering from diabetes.
Trilo and Shiksha Gujadhur have now come back to Mauritius after almost two years spent between India and Mauritius. In April, they were the guests for the Personal Development
Trilo Gujadhur and his family are back in the country. After almost two years spent in India, they now intend to make the greatest number of Mauritians take advantage of what he has learnt in India. Next Saturday, he is holding a special yoga session at his home in Quatre-Bornes for those affected with diabetes and related complications like obesity, high blood pressure and bad circulation for instance. "This session will be between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and will be totally free-of-charge. It will give those who do not know yoga the opportunity to discover this activity and we might help them with some advice," Trilo Gujadhur points out.
Trilo Gujadhur and his wife, Shiksha, have been involved in teaching of yoga for 20 years or so. Founded in 1994, their Ackbar Yoga Movement is now renowned in the field. Even though it is not the case for all courses, the movement can boast about offering sessions to students, old-age pensioners and those affected with diabetes and asthma for free. The session of Saturday is only the first of a series that the Gujadhur family wants to propose to Mauritians. And as from mid-January, regular courses will be proposed for complementary treatment.
Each of the family's visit to their relatives in India - Shiksha is of Indian origin - has been the occasion for the couple to complete its knowledge in its main activity. He who has been doing yoga since he was 14 and his wife who simply has it "in her genes" both hope to contribute to help Mauritians fight their health problems and adopt a healthier lifestyle.
«Yoga is no religion but it can be
part of everyone's social life.
Likewise, it can't replace sports
or medicines but it can help
manage non-communicable diseases.»
Moreover, their latest trip has been even more important, as Trilo Gujadhur was one of the guests of the Personal Development Camp at the Swami Vivekananda Kendra Research foundation. "We did a lot of research on the therapeutic application of yoga," explains Trilo Gujadhur. This centre is one of the biggest in India with halls that can accommodate up to 400 children.
He wants to make it clear that yoga is "no religion but it can be part of everyone's social, familial and professional life". Likewise, yoga can't replace sports or medicines. However, it can "help manage non-communicable diseases". According to Shiksha, "breathing exercises done regularly can fight a lot of common diseases". However, she does not like when people consider yoga merely as a trend - and many actually do. "It is not a fashion, it is a way of life".
Their family is the best example for this. "Each member of the family has been involved in yoga in an individual way," Trilo Gujadhur said. Their two daughters - and their last son have all been practising yoga since they were very young and have adopted it as a lifestyle. Moreover, they accompany the couple in its trips and visits to yoga centres every time it is possible.
Since they have started the movement, their main objective was to help demystifying and making yoga more popular. "We wanted to show that yoga was within everyone's reach and could be a complement to other activities," Trilo Gujadhur relates. This is why he intends to train people in community centres or remote areas so that they can teach yoga themselves. "I also contacted Natresa to train rehabilitated drug-addicts who could in turn help other drug addicts."
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Next year, he intends to ask his son to teach yoga postures to other children. "Of course, he will be supervised by an adult but I believe it is important that learners can relate to their teachers. Children will be much more comfortable with another child than with adults," Trilo Gujadhur states. Thanks to such initiatives, the founders of the Ackbar movement hope to bring yoga closer to people's lives.
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