Vietnam laps up Yoga big time

Yoga has become immensely popular in Vietnam and is growing rapidly, especially among women, after the first ever International Yoga Day was observed in the Communist country to celebrate the ancient Indian spiritual art form.
The Yoga Day celebrated world over on June 21 last year was observed in over 10 provinces in Vietnam where Yoga centres are competing with Aerobic Fitness centres and are preferred for providing holistic development.
"Almost 2,000 people participated on June 21 last year from many provinces. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi's idea made sense," said Dung Tien Nguyen, who runs a popular Yoga centre.

"We hope yoga will be one of the means to contribute to society as preventive health physically and mentally," Dung told PTI.
Yoga came to Vietnam in the 60s but did not become popular. It made another entry in the 80s, but after the last year's International Yoga day, the numbers have grown.
"The physical and mental health of the people was affected by the long years of war in this country. More and more people, mostly women are turning to yoga to improve their health," Dung said.

Gurdev Singh, an Indian national who has opened a Yoga centre four years ago, said most Yoga places concentrated on the physical aspects and that did not make a fast progress.

However, a combination of mental, spiritual and physical aspect of Yoga spiked the response. The International Yoga Day too made a deep impact.
"Now we have 1,000 members, 3 centres, 2 in Hanoi and 1 in Bac Giang," said Singh, who has employed 14 yoga teachers from India.
"Vietnamese are conscious of their health and fitness. They feel yoga has some unique benefits. Once they start they cannot stop. They like Hatha yoga and Meditation," he added.
Singh's centres have conducted Yoga asana championship.
Seeing the popularity of Yoga, the Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has deputed a Yoga teacher from India.

"In Vietnam it is possible to train people as they are very eager to learn. They are very enthusiastic. Our rich culture is being encouraged to be spread here, Vietnamese Yoga teachers come to my class to learn more," said Selvarasu, who was sent by ICCR to Beijing to attend Yoga Day in Beijing last year.
This is first time yoga has been officially introduced here along with meditation, Selvarasu said, adding that he got an excellent response from the students and teachers at National university of Vietnam after a presentation on Yoga.