Several women hail the transformative power of yoga in a remote village of Uttarakhand where they don’t have a connection by roads, but feel a connection with themselves on account of the physical discipline.
It was 4 pm on a regular day in Kothagi village of Rudraprayag district in Uttarakhand. A village that has restricted road connectivity. There is a one-and-a-half kilometre-long stretch that one needs to cover by foot, crossing a river, then climbing a mountain to reach this tiny yet beautiful village.
At around 4 pm, over a dozen women gathered in a house located in the middle of the village. The electricity went off and it started raining. It started getting dark outside when another 15 women joined the gathering. With their bags on their head and sarees folded unto their knees to avoid getting drenched in the rain.
Soon, the tiny one-room house was filled with around 35 women, all coming from far away villages of Uttarakhand. They all had travelled long distances for a common goal and passion. The goal was to practice and teach yoga.
Every month, these women gather multiple times in remote villages of Uttarakhand to practice yoga together and spread awareness about this ancient discipline among villagers. Many of these women are over 60 and have shown incredible fitness and agility, all thanks to yoga.
These tiny events are organised by Laxmi Shah, a 50-year-old teacher from Chamoli, Uttarakhand. The group of women is associated with the Patanjali Women Yoga Peeth which arranges for about three such week-long yoga meet-ups.
“The idea is to create a sisterhood of women who are willing to take ownership of their health and take it forward. Through these events, the women get to focus on their health and also get a break from day-to-day duties,” said Shah.
The elderly women have now become the face of their unique health movement. The women can do complicated poses with ease. Many women shared their experiences of how practicing yoga helped them come out of chronic body pain.
Take the example of Dharma Gosain, a 68-year-old woman from Lakheri village who lives alone in a small house in her village. Working as a grass-cutter to earn a living, Gosain fell sick when she was 50. She had high blood pressure and low energy levels. She could barely walk. One day she saw a yoga program on television and was fascinated by it. She started learning by watching yoga on TV daily and started witnessing positive results in her body.
Gosain met Shah through a mutual friend and started attending yoga retreats organised by her. Gradually, her blood pressure was brought under control and she could do complicated yoga poses like Sheershasan (the head-stand). She went on to engage over 1,000 women in yoga in and around her village.
At 77, Shanti Bala from Srinagar, Uttarakhand, too found her calling in yoga over 16 years ago. She was on a month-long vacation when she developed health complications. A school teacher by profession, Bala found herself losing the will to eat and be active.
She underwent regular medical treatment that helped her initially. But she says it was yoga that gave her a purpose in life and she started being active again. Today, she is retired from her full-time job but travels twice a month for her yoga retreats and spreads awareness about the same in different villages of Uttarakhand.
Dharma Bisht, a 70-year-old woman from Mehalchauri village has become an expert in holding complicated poses and even teaching them to other women. “Sometimes I can do poses which even people half my age are not able to do. I feel healthy. And I don’t think age matters when it comes to fitness,” she said.
Sobti Devi Nagpal from Kothagi, 71, has managed to inspire other women with her fitness. She can do the one-legged prayer pose and has been regularly practicing breathing exercises to improve her respiratory health. “In the mountains, it sometimes gets difficult to breathe. Practicing yoga has helped me regulate my breathing and stay fit,” she shared.
These yoga gatherings are not just focused on health. Shah shares how these regular meet-ups have also given these women a chance to create a safe space for themselves. They have supported each other through thick and thin as the women have stepped out of their boundaries and done something for their personal growth. For some, this is the only time they get to themselves. And they make sure they never miss any of these meet-ups.
These meet-ups are also used by these women to indulge in extra activities like theatre and music. For instance, the women have formed an all-women Ramleela group and use their free time to practice during these gatherings.
“All the participants come from different backgrounds. Some face financial struggles, some face domestic issues. Yet they come together and support each other. It is much more than just a yoga group. It has become a crucial part of our lives,” said Shah.
The lead image shows 77-year-old Shanti Bala from Srinagar, Uttarakhand, too found her calling in yoga over 16 years ago.
Shreya Pareek is a solution journalist with over 10 years of experience in covering stories of positive social change.
