Looking back at the build-up to and sudden ending of the anti-corruption protest of yoga guru Baba Ramdev, India Real Time noticed a striking similarity between the events of recent days and certain yoga asanas. Here is a recap of the events from Wednesday through Sunday in yoga poses (Warning: This sequence appears not to be as relaxing as more conventional yoga practice and is best avoided by those seeking peace and tranquility).
1. Adho Mukha Svanasana and Setu Bandasana: On Wednesday, everyone from Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Kapil Sibal, the telecom minister, appeared to be performing the pose known as Downward Facing Dog, as government officials rushed to greet Baba Ramdev at the airport and prostrate themselves in front of him ahead of his planned Saturday fast. However, yoga practitioners know that it’s important for the spine to balance out your forward bends, so for good measure the government also did a little Setu Bandasana, or bridge pose, a calming pose that can put a practitioner into the right frame of mind for a negotiation.
2. Kumbhaka Pranayama: As negotiations between Baba Ramdev and the Congress-led government, steered by Mr. Sibal, carried on into Friday, the government was still hopeful of getting the baba to call off his hunger strike. Ministers spent much of the day practicing Kumbhaka Pranayama—the breath retention pose.
3. Low Lunge, Warrior I, Warrior II: On Saturday, the first (and as it turned out, only) day of the hunger strike, Baba Ramdev and Mr. Sibal partnered each other in a series of high energy yoga poses, taking the practice up a notch. Beginning with Anjaneyasana, a pose that is said to symbolize the pugilistic monkey god Hanuman, they moved into Virabhadrasana I and then II, as they traded accusations and counter-accusations. The Delhi police then fanned out across the grounds in the pose called Natarajasana, or Lord of the Dance, as they put an end to the show, with an asana that symbolizes the god Shiva in the violent cosmic dance of destruction.
4. Pavana Mukta Asana: Baba Ramdev held three press conferences to decry the events of early Sunday. Anna Hazare held one to voice his support for the evicted protesters. The Delhi police, too, spoke to the press and so did a gamut of political party leaders from the oppositionBharatiya Janata Party to the ruling Congress. Overall, it seemed to be a day for Pavana Mukta Asana, or wind-relieving pose.
5. Supta Virasana: Television stations on Monday showed Baba Ramdev lying down and resting back home in his headquarters at Haridwar—but still fasting and vowing to return to Delhi—making this an excellent demonstration of the reclining hero pose, an excellent stretch for tired legs and, according to yoga Web sites, for reducing high blood pressure.
1. Adho Mukha Svanasana and Setu Bandasana: On Wednesday, everyone from Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Kapil Sibal, the telecom minister, appeared to be performing the pose known as Downward Facing Dog, as government officials rushed to greet Baba Ramdev at the airport and prostrate themselves in front of him ahead of his planned Saturday fast. However, yoga practitioners know that it’s important for the spine to balance out your forward bends, so for good measure the government also did a little Setu Bandasana, or bridge pose, a calming pose that can put a practitioner into the right frame of mind for a negotiation.
2. Kumbhaka Pranayama: As negotiations between Baba Ramdev and the Congress-led government, steered by Mr. Sibal, carried on into Friday, the government was still hopeful of getting the baba to call off his hunger strike. Ministers spent much of the day practicing Kumbhaka Pranayama—the breath retention pose.
4. Pavana Mukta Asana: Baba Ramdev held three press conferences to decry the events of early Sunday. Anna Hazare held one to voice his support for the evicted protesters. The Delhi police, too, spoke to the press and so did a gamut of political party leaders from the oppositionBharatiya Janata Party to the ruling Congress. Overall, it seemed to be a day for Pavana Mukta Asana, or wind-relieving pose.
5. Supta Virasana: Television stations on Monday showed Baba Ramdev lying down and resting back home in his headquarters at Haridwar—but still fasting and vowing to return to Delhi—making this an excellent demonstration of the reclining hero pose, an excellent stretch for tired legs and, according to yoga Web sites, for reducing high blood pressure.
