Yogi Ramkishore, 57 years old, who has taught yoga in the same Ashram where swami Ramdev learned this ancient art, has been attracting thousands of Mauritians to the Indira Gandhi Centre for Indian Culture. Many of his yoga adepts learn and practise  asanas (yoga postures)   as an alternative way to bring under control diabetes and high blood pressure and to cure loss of sight, memory, mobility, loss of smell, etc. , etc.

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/yoga/introduction.htm

The calm and unassuming Yogi Ramkishore, who has also been teaching yoga around the world, explains to l’express.mu how yoga is used against heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, loss of memory and sight, etc. in an exclusive to lexpress.mu

Interview

What is the main motivation of those people, young and old Mauritians, who flock to your classes to learn and practise yoga ?
Health is the main motivation. Either as preventive measures or for curative reasons. Some people will also practise yoga for fitness, mental alertness, for sharp brain, and to have a good memory, etc,.

Are you catering for people with high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes?
Yes, of course. We have special asanas (postures) and nutritional advice to those with such ailments. In India, in the Ashram where I used to teach, we had a protocol. After some months of yoga coupled with a sound diet which we tailor-made for each case, we referred the diabetic or cardiac patient to a a specialist. The results always showed a marked improvement in their state of health.

What type of postures do you prescribe and teach to cardiac patients ?
It all depends on the stage of the illness they suffer from. As far as cardiovascular patients are concerned, I usually recommend prayanama (breathing exercises),  light exercises and some of the postures of Jeevantatva Yoga, http://jeevantatvayoga.blogspot.com/

Jeevantatva, which carries the essence of the 80 000 known yoga postures was unknown in Mauritius before I introduced it some time ago. The  postures of Jeevantatva yoga are very simple and you can practised it on your bed itself. The results you will obtain are awesome when the postures are practices in the right way.

We have different types of yoga classes at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Indian Culture, which lead mainly to a certificate or a diploma. I am planning to introduce soon a special class called health and fitness yoga to cater especially for those suffering from diabetes and cardiovascular problems. You have unfortunately too many people with these diseases in Mauritius.

Can yoga be used as preventive measures, for example against Alzheimer’s disease  ?
Oh, yes. The list of illness that can be cured by yoga is very exhaustive and people are surprised to learn that yoga can cure, for example, brain problems – memory loss, attention deficit, brain fogging, etc, which are very often the first stage of Alzheimer’s disease. But yoga cures also eyes and ears problems. Some of the staff working at your Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) hospital of Vacoas have learnt yoga with me in order to help patients having ear or nose problems, for example the loss of smelling capacity. Yoga  is used not only as alternative medicine for high blood pressure and diabetes, but for such things as hair loss, grey hair, skin problems, alcoholism, stress, panic attack, etc., etc. A very long list indeed.

How do you cure loss of smelling capacity with yoga ?
In yoga practice, we have what is called Kria, which means cleansing. One well-known kriya is the jala neti kria, more commonly referred to as neti. It is a nasal irrigation or nasal washing also called nasal douche which is part of the personal hygiene practice of yogis. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e22Ta7iRgks

The nasal cavity is washed to flush out excess mucus and debris from the nose and sinuses. Nasal irrigation promotes good sinus and nasal health. Patients with chronic sinusitis, including symptoms of facial pain, headache, halitosis (bad breath), cough, anterior rhinorrhea (watery discharge) and nasal congestion, often have recourse to nasal irrigation to provide effective relief, thus reducing medicine and conventional treatment. Dark spots under the eyes also disappear with this cleansing, done very often with saline water.

You also have also the sutra neti, which is nasal cleansing using a cord or a rubber band and the jal neti in which water is absorbed through the mouth and pumped out through the nose.

There are six traditional kriyas, namely nauli, which is the churning or pumping of the stomach - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8SI6pwhbwM

Neti, which is water or string cleansing of the nasal passages; vasti, or colon cleansing similar to an enema; tratakum, which is gazing at a candle flame or small object to help concentration and cure loss of sight; kapalabhati, a breathing technique to cleanse and strengthen the lungs; and dhauti, or the cleansing of the stomach, teeth, throat, and rectum.

How can one be cured merely by gazing at a candle ?
It improves eyesight, memory and concentration and has a very positive effect on blood pressure. It is carried out in a dark room and one should not blink whilst gazing at the diya’s (lamp) flame or the candle’s flame. If you wear glasses, you should remove them while practising tratakum, also called tratak kriya. You will be amazed at the results.

One should gaze at the flame until tears comes out of the eyes. The eyes are then closed and we then visualize the burning flame with the closed eyes. In lighted areas, a leaf, a spot, or a small hole made in a large piece of paper can be used. Tratakum will also give you healthy hair.

Do you teach these techniques to your students ?
Yes, of course. It is taught at the first level, that is the certificate course and we are soon introducing it at the beginner’s course level  also. We have taken a new batch of students this week, but we can also accept late entries. Students have to register at the centre and pay a nominal fee, which is Rs 300 for a six-month course, and indicate if they have any type of illness such a high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes.