Major Vembalath Sreedharan, 66, Hyderabad.

When I joined the Indian Army as a soldier back in 1971, I never dreamt I would be teaching generals and their wives how to breathe and practice yoga. I must be doing something right, otherwise they wouldn’t continue to take my classes. More important, when older people are willing to follow the changes advocated by the yogic system, they don’t really need a teacher to spur them on; they realise the benefits themselves.

I teach yoga at the Rajendra Sinhji Institute (RSI), an institute for retired and serving defence officers in Secunderabad, and have taught nearly 100 people, perhaps more, in the past two years. It’s a far cry from what I did in the Services, from which I retired as a Major in 2002. For the next five years, I worked as an administrative officer at Army Public School in Secunderabad and then spent another five years in a telecom company where I was responsible for the computer cell.

During those 10 years after retirement, I kept reading about yoga and its health benefits. I met some yoga teachers too, always admiring their physical fitness. Slowly, I found myself wondering whether I too could do all those asanas, as tough as they seemed to be. I wanted to gain those health benefits! Then, in December 2012, RSI announced yoga classes for all, conducted by Dr Sudheer Rao. I trained under him, did a few certifications at the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT) and The Yoga Institute (TYI) in Mumbai. Finally, in October 2014, I became a certified yoga instructor and, later that year, started conducting classes. I periodically visit the TYI for refresher courses and advanced courses.

I guess I chose yoga because it provides a holistic approach to health. As I have always been a fitness addict, it appealed to my innate senses. Yoga changes you physiologically, mentally and physically. It provides balance in one’s life. Physically, I find I am more balanced—I can stand on one leg for a long time; I can hold my breath and I can suspend my breath and yet not feel tired. I firmly believe that because of my yoga practice, I am free of all ailments that seem to plague other people my age. I find I am more flexible and can do the asanas freely.

The four pillars of yoga are A-V-A-V: aahar (food), vihaar (exercise), achar (behaviour), vichar (thoughts). So, if one can change one’s thoughts, dietary habits, make sure to get regular exercise and get into a positive frame of mind, one can change one’s entire lifestyle for the better.

I recommend that everyone over the age of 50 start practising yoga seriously, follow the tenets of AVAV and discover for themselves how transformative the process is. My life has changed dramatically and I firmly believe that age need not be a barrier to taking up this discipline. There are two retired generals, both in their late 60s who come to my class regularly with their wives. All of them do the asanas according to my instructions. My oldest student has been an 80-plus lady, Janaki Venugopal, mother of a brigadier, who was a practitioner of homeopathy. She was very flexible and did all the asanas very comfortably and continues to do them in Chennai, where she lives.

Personally, I am a much calmer person today than I was a few years ago. Yoga helps you de-stress and balance your emotions. It can even help you lose weight, provided you make the necessary dietary changes. Yoga brings a sense of mindfulness to everything you do. Yoga is a way of life.

—As told to Shyamola Khanna

Photo: Shyamola Khanna
Featured in Harmony — Celebrate Age Magazine
August 2016