Angela Chronis, a resident of Virginia, USA, has been learning Yoga at Nepal Yoga Academy, Bhaktapur. She wakes up early and starts her daily ritual followed by chanting mantras and bhajan. Post that, she joins the other yoga practitioners and does different yoga exercises.
She has been learning yoga from past seven years in her country. However, she finds a big difference in yoga learning methodologies between the two countries. She expresses her desire to be a yoga guru back home, which is the primary reason she has come to Nepal to take intense yoga lessons.
She informed that she has thought of continuously coming to Nepal to acquire an in-depth knowledge of yoga. The yoga that is taught here, as she termed “Real yoga”, has been attracting a lot of yoga enthusiasts towards Nepal and India.
Spa for the stressed
Martina Novteni, an Austrian citizen, says that she has come to Nepal in quest of finding an ideal place for yoga. This is her second visit to Nepal. She visited Nepal for the first time after learning about the spell-bound beauty that this place possesses. “Nepal is truly an integration of natural beauty and spiritual profundity. I look forward to improving my physical and mental health in this yoga land.” she shared.
“Before coming to Nepal, I have learnt about yoga in different places of the world. But to the best of my knowledge, the real places to learn yoga are Nepal and India,” she said, “I felt quite unsafe in India, which is the reason I came to Nepal.” She expressed her joy as she can chant mantras and learn yoga in a traditional way. Yoga Guru Dr Chintamani Gautam, like Martina says that people have been coming to Nepal to find inner peace and happiness. He said, “Most of them come to this place with a motive of becoming a yoga teacher back in their respective countries. However, many of them come simply to enjoy the yoga for a couple of days.”
“Earlier, foreigners used to take yoga only as a physical activity. But now, they have begun to link it with mental fitness and spirituality. Most of the tourists here chant mantras while performing yoga. I have found them in peaceful and patient state whilst doing the yoga.” He further added.
Melyhm Lunadit of Netherlands has been doing yoga from past 20 years. She knew about Nepal through over the internet. She said, “I have started to feel relaxed seeing other people do yoga, let alone myself.”
Amanda Perent, agrees with Miliam. “I used to understand yoga as a form of exercise only. But after certain time of learning, I have realized that it is also about inner peace.” She said. The Australian citizen further adds, “Yoga has helped me elevate my thinking process as well.”
Scott Timmous, a 56-year-old American said that he received a different kind of energy through the practice of yoga. Timmous is a retired government officer who learnt yoga not only for his health but also to share the information to others as well.
Kesey Lyall of Canada also said that there has been a change in her thinking abilities. She shared, “I have begun to understand life and its different elements now.”
Yoga guru Chintamani Gautam, a PhD in Yoga, states that yoga can play a vital role in uplifting tourism industry in Nepal. Many of the visitors perform yoga before and after the trekking and climbing mountains.
There are almost a dozen of managed yoga centers in Nepal, where both Nepali and foreigners learn different types of yoga in a traditional procedure. Prakash Timalsina, currently a resident in the Netherlands, shares that the craze for yoga has been increasing in the foreign land. Timalsina has come to Nepal to spend his vacation. He said, “After working for few years in Netherlands, I plan to return to Nepal and start a yoga centre. It will not only benefit my health, but also help me generate a good income.”
