By Aleli Peiro
Yoga has been a source of keeping the body and mind healthy, a fact getting highlighted, the world over. It is no different in Argentina. The practice of Yoga in Argentina has thousands of followers. Here people take it seriously and are practising Yoga to be better prepared with a high level of immunity to face the virus if it touches them. This is because this ancient discipline provides physical, emotional and mental health, producing a balance in these fields.
This balance increases immunity against any disease, as has been verified by the millions of people who practice “Hatha Yoga” or other styles of Yoga in the world. The “United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco)” has declared the yoga of India “Intangible Heritage of Humanity”.
It is important to become aware of expanding this practice of physical order and transcending to higher levels that encompass thought, knowledge and wisdom.
What better place to do it than India, the land where Yoga was born. I had the great privilege of being awarded a scholarship by the Government of India to study Yoga at Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana, the first Yoga University in the World. It was an incredible experience with people from 22 countries, where I realised the importance of knowing more deeply their philosophy and promoting union and peace among nations. We are all humans and we are all equally vulnerable and we have realized this with the Coronavirus.
The Yoga asanas which help to keep the airways clean include Kapalabhati, Anuloma Viloma, Ujjayi, Nadi Shodhana, Brahmari, Sama Vritti. There are three types of respiration: abdominal, thoracic, and clavicular. Complete breathing —also called yogic breathing— is done by unifying these three types of breathing that is intended to take advantage of all the lung capacity.
After my stay in India through the International Technical Economic Cooperation Program (ITECH) scholarship, at home in Argentina I have created a Foundation called `Global Helpers’, with some of my fellow scholars and who live in countries that are facing big problems. Through Yoga and with the support of international organizations, we will implement different programs. Personally I also have a personal project to present to the Government of Córdoba.
Before leaving for India, the winners of the scholarship had the high honour of being received by the Indian Ambassador to Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, Dinesh Bhatia at the Embassy of Puerto Madero.
Before we left for India, this is what he said to us: “Although there is already an important Cultural, Commercial, Science and Technology exchange between Argentina and India, a little more work should be done on the cultural exchange, of knowledge and wisdom, to achieve a greater identity between the two countries, which has already been paid to some extent, but which could be expanded much more ”.
(The author is a yoga teacher in School Samadhi Yoga and Ayurveda, and a pioneer of Yoga Trekking in Argentina. She has published two books on India. Views expressed are personal.)
