Yoga lessons aim to tackle student stress

Teachers visit universities to help youngsters deal with the strain of academic life

Dozens of students at Tsinghua University are practicing yoga in a stadium, following demonstrations by a teacher onstage.

It's part of Yogi Yoga's recent public service campaign to tackle the problems of depression and anxiety among Chinese university students.

The yoga center is doing a tour of 10 top universities in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai to teach students to fight stress with yoga.

Yogi Yoga aims to help 100 universities within 100 days and is encouraging institutions to organize yoga classes, saying it will send volunteers to teach.

"I want to share authentic Indian yoga with others. Yoga practice can help Chinese students enjoy campus life, rather than suffer stress and anxiety," says Yogi Yoga co-founder Yin Yan.

The former editor-in-chief of fashion magazine Elle China, she co-founded Yogi Yoga with Indian yoga master Man Mohan Bhandari, better known in China as Yogi Mohan, in 2003. They later became a couple and now have two children.

"It is estimated that more than 90 million people in China suffer from depression. The campaign aims to help those who have the potential to fall victim to depression," she says.

Bhandari has developed some yoga postures that he says are helpful in stress management for university students. He speaks at universities and shares videos online so that more students can benefit from yoga. He also has a Sina Weibo account to answer questions from those who practice yoga.

Until the end of December, a yoga teacher will be doing a daily live broadcast beginning at 7 am on an account named Yoga Digest on Sina Weibo, to encourage the Chinese to learn the ancient Indian practice. Each video attracts tens of thousands of hits.

Yogi Yoga has also worked with Peking University to establish a yoga training center to offer one semester of free courses for university students, including meditation and breathing.

"Scientific research shows that yoga has positive effects in combating depression and anxiety. Yoga can help deal with one's nervous system. And once your system becomes quiet, your mind will be quiet," says Bhandari.

According to Bhandari, those who suffer from depression have one problem - they cannot breathe properly. Yoga, he says, can help them balance the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the body.

In India, most people know about yoga. They know that it is not only a physical exercise, but also deals with the mind, energy and spirituality. But for Chinese students, he has to first teach the basics.

He believes there are not many differences between teaching in India and in China.

Yin practices yoga postures and breathing every morning, to stretch her body. She suggests others find time to fully concentrate on yoga.

"Yoga is a good way to ease pressure and make you sleep better. Many have the misconception that it is only for those whose body is supple. Actually, those who have a stiff body should practice yoga to keep their body balanced," she says.

"Yoga is not a career, but it is my destiny (to promote it). It gives me faith and power," says Yin.

For Yin, her link to yoga and her husband came from a 21-day journey to India in 2003.

She spent the first week in Rishikesh to learn traditional yoga. The city is known as "the yoga capital of the world", with numerous yoga centers that attract visitors from all over the world.

She was a bit depressed when she first saw the city's streets after heavy rain: narrow muddy roads, stray dogs and vendors loudly hawking their goods.

When she first encountered Bhandari, she was impressed that the young man in white robes was quiet and professional.

After one week of learning yoga postures from him, her perspective began to change. There were adorable dogs in the streets filled with sunshine and friendly locals with smiles on their faces.

"In that week, nothing changed but me. As my body became relaxed and soft, so did my heart," she says.

"Happiness can be simple. Yoga taught me that happiness is about whether or not you are in a balanced and optimistic state. When you are in society, that state may be affected subconsciously. But yoga can help you to remain positive."

It also stirred her creativity and she wrote a Chinese book, Song of India, the same year about the trip that changed her life.

In August 2003, Yin and Bhandari co-founded Yogi Yoga in Beijing, a few months after she invited him to the city to teach her and her friends yoga. While Yin is in charge of management and operations, Bhandari is responsible for teaching.

"Yin has great vision, and she wants to give the benefits of yoga to society and initiated the events at universities," says Bhandari.

According to Yin, yoga helps people to have an optimistic attitude toward life. Yoga is an in-depth study, not just a series of poses.

She says it is better to practice yoga under the guidance of professionals to find what suits you best. For example, for those who have lumbar disc protrusion, some postures are good while others are not.

xulin@chinadaily.com.cn