Interview | Yoga is spreading, but there’s tendency to divorce it from its spiritual and cultural ethos: Nivedita Joshi

Had things gone according to the ‘plan’, Nivedita Joshi would have become a scientist. During her masters from the Allahabad University, she was a gold medallist in microbiology. Her chances to join politics or bureaucracy, too, seemed bright. For, not only was she the daughter of BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, but also she was academically brilliant and oratorically engaging. But then her body completely crashed when she was 15 years old. When doctors gave up on her, she took refuge in yoga. And not just she regained fitness but also her way of life changed forever.

On the International Day of Yoga, in an interview with Firstpost, Nivedita Joshi recounts her life, how yoga matters, and of course her association with legendary yoga master BKS Iyengar. Excerpts:

You are the daughter of one of the tallest leaders of the country. One would have expected you to join politics or bureaucracy, but you have dedicated your life to yoga. How did it happen? Interestingly, you also have a degree in microbiology…

I am a hard-core scientist, just like my father. I did my masters in microbiology with a gold medal from Allahabad University. But as luck would have it, my body completely crashed when I was 15 years old. I never had any injury before that: I was sitting and doing a puja for three hours on Krishna Janmashtami. After the puja got over, everyone got up but I couldn’t. I thought that was the end of my normal life. No proper diagnosis could be done then as there were no MRI machines available in India those days. X-rays couldn’t show the exact situation of my spinal injury.

I went to the best of the doctors in Allahabad, but my situation only worsened. By the time I completed my masters, I was totally crippled. I was in great pain. The longest I used to sleep was for 10 to 15 minutes. So it was a horrifying experience.

My father strongly believed that my treatment lied in this country, and not abroad. He believed in yoga throughout his life. So we went to different yoga centres in the country and, finally, on the advice of Nanaji Deshmukh, my father’s mentor I met Sri BKS Iyengar. In fact, my first meeting with him was without my father. I just went there alone, out of curiosity. And he saw my skin and diagnosed everything without even me uttering a single word. I instantly realised that this was the man who would treat me. Sri Iyengar had hardly been to a school, but his understanding of human body, body physiology, pathology, etc, was extraordinary. So I literally surrendered myself to him and never looked back. That’s how I switched from microbiology to yoga.

How difficult was it for you to leave your flourishing academic career for being a yoga teacher?

Given my academic and oratorical skills, it was believed that I would either join bureaucracy or politics. But God had other plans. In fact, when I first met my guru, I had a $2,000 scholarship from an American university; the latter was even willing to give me a six months’ extension for treatment. But Guruji convinced me that if I go ahead with my research, I would never be free from pain. And my only dream those days used to be that I should live at least one day without pain. I, therefore, accepted Guruji’s advice.

So with a very heavy heart, I left my career and joined his yoga centre completely. However, I never thought I would be a teacher; I never wanted to be one. I resisted the idea for eight long years to finally agree to become a teacher. Once I said yes, my guru promised that he would support me till my last breath and he did support me.

You are currently running the only accredited Iyengar Yoga institute in Delhi, called Yogakshema. Please tell us about Iyengar Yoga and how is it different from other forms of yoga?

I stayed with Guruji for more than 22 years and then one day, he told me to set up an Iyengar Yoga centre in Delhi. It was his 40-year-old dream to set up a centre in the national capital. He had centres in 32 countries by then. Thus started the Delhi centre.

A yoga is a yoga whatever discipline it may be — just like the core of a music would remain the same in any musical gharana. The sects of yoga are basically based on the principle of different gurus. For instance, Sivananda Yoga runs on the principles of Guru Sivananda. But the eight steps of yoga will never change, just like saregama is the same for all musical gharanas.

As for how Iyengar Yoga is different from the rest, there are six things on which Guruji put immense focus: Position, alignment, improvisation of asanas, innovation of the props, timing of yoga, and then sequencing of yoga. These six points made the Iyengar system very precise, and brought amazing changes and results in patients like me.

Please tell us about your guru, BKS Iyengar, and what influenced you most about him?

I used to be in the centre from 8 am to 8 pm every day and therefore had the privilege of Guruji from a very close quarter. Anything he would learn, he would go on practising till the time he knew this could be applied as a theory/principle. Another prominent feature of his personality was his egalitarian nature: In his centre, everyone was the same. There was no class, caste or gender barrier or divide. He was a giver. Guruji wanted to help everyone around him unconditionally.

How does yoga affect our health?

Yoga, practised scientifically, brings in holistic changes in the body. It works on the body as a whole, reconstructing and rejuvenating it. Also, as we grow old and our body starts to decay, it is difficult to do tough exercises. But yoga is a gentle process: Here you cannot break yourself; you can only make yourself with yoga!

Yoga is different from sports or gym. Because in sports or gym, we put focus on one set of muscles. But since yoga works on consciousness, it has to prevail on each and every part of the body. Cells break when there’s an injury. Catabolic rates increase, needing more nourishment for healing. Since we can get what we require only from our body, there is a demand, but supply deficit is witnessed. But with yoga, the demand-supply balance is maintained. Shirshasana, for instance, enhances the blood supply to the brain and pituitary gland, and in the process revitalises the entire body and mind. Similarly, when you are doing Sarvangasana, your thalamus, hypothalamus and thyroid are soaked in blood, thus rejuvenating your body and mind.

At the same time, while doing yoga, we need to follow the six things mentioned earlier. I know some yoga centres which taught Shirshasana on the 15th day. Most of its yoga students have broken necks.

As the world gears up to celebrate the world yoga day, do you think there is growing interest in yoga worldwide…

Oh yes, everybody has started realising the importance of yoga, of late. There are two factors for this: One, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative to make yoga a global phenomenon has created a lot of positive vibes. Two, there is growing acceptance of yoga in the West. Such as the Indian mindset that we want to ape anything and everything coming from the West. At least 20 per cent of Indians understand what yoga is and its relevance. The rest are still searching. But I am glad that 20 per cent of people are really oriented toward yoga. We should, however, not divorce yoga from its spiritual and cultural ethos. There is a tendency to confine it just as an exercise aimed at physical wellness.

One last question: how effective is yoga in battling Covid and post-Covid blues?

Well, I was in ICU for 15 days; out of which, four days I was in a coma. In total, I, with my entire family, was in the hospital for 40 days for Delta infection. And with my experience, I can say quite confidently that yoga helps fight COVID-19. I was administered anti-viral, antifungal steroids of the highest order every day. It would have been enough to send my sugar and BP levels soar high. In fact, doctors first thought it would be difficult to save my life, but not even for a second I felt I would die. I sailed through the pandemic fantastically well, thanks to yoga. Interestingly, my father and I were the fastest recovering people.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.