Slimmer, Healthier And Younger With Hatha Yoga

By Ranee Mohamed

While people around him are swallowing pills to get well, exponent of Hatha Yoga, Nanda Siriwardene breathes in the air around him and wraps himself into a posture that will connect him with the universe. Shehan Nanda Siriwardene radiates with good health. His pure mind is mirrored in his face and his firm, strong body does not in any way reveal his age.
But yoga to this guru is not just for his own good looks and well being. He reaches out to everyone and beckons them his way. “Yoga is not about complicated asanas. Yoga is for all — for the young and the old, fat and the thin, healthy and the ailing,” he comforts. The most significant move Nanda Siriwardene has made to instill in us the ways of Hatha Yoga, is the opening of his yoga training and therapeutic centre on the upper floors of the Seylan Bank Building in Thimbirigasyaya.

This yoga therapeutic and training centre is scheduled to be opened in October, but Siriwardene is not a man to wait. For over 25 years he has been training hundreds of ardent followers in the correct ways of yoga.

“The wonders of yoga cannot be captured with words. They cannot be put down on paper or explained, they ought to be experienced. Be it back pain, spine problems, shoulder problems; be it diabetes, high blood pressure or joint problems, yoga has the solution,” says a confident Nanda Siriwardene who has ‘cured’ a significant number of ‘patients’ who have been abandoned as ‘incurable’ by systems of medicine, including ayurveda.

The most amazing progress that yoga guru Nanda Siriwardene has made, is by helping a student of yoga who could not lift his arms even four inches up in the air. “It is yoga that has put him right,” says Siriwardene as this student now drives his vehicle to attend the yoga training.

“And it is this student who introduced a patient who was bedridden. He was unable to control his bladder. But now with our guru Nanda Siriwardene’s caring yoga exercises, he is off the bed and can visit the bathroom on his own,” said another student from the yoga class. Nanda Siriwardene expressed sadness at the different types of yoga classes going on around the city. “Some of these classes are not yoga, but gymnastics and shows yoga asanas. Yoga is not about asanas only. Yoga is not about making money or setting up a business,” cautions Nanda Siriwardene who believes in correct guidance.

“I studied the true art form of yoga taught by Dr. Abhay S. Keste. He is the personification of true yoga. Dr. Abhay S. Keste is from the B.K.S. Iyengar International Yoga Institute in Poone, India,” explained Nanda Siriwardene. Recently, Dr. Abhay S. Keste achieved a record for doing a headstand for 105 minutes.

“Yoga is a way of life that will give us all complete enrichment of mind and body,” said Siriwardene. But yoga is not about complicated asanas, stressed these veterans of yoga. “Yoga is for the young and old, able and disabled, the fat and the thin — anyone can do yoga,” insists Hatha Yoga instructor, Nanda Siriwardene.

There are many types of yoga; Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jaana Yoga and Bakthi Yoga. What I practise is the system of Hatha Yoga. The common meaning of Hatha Yoga is the quest to improve the body and the mind. Ha means chiththa, and chiththa means mind, tha means physique; Hatha Yoga concentrates on the development of both these factors,” said Siriwardene.

“In Hatha Yoga, one should practice six important aspects. They are the relaxing exercises, breathing exercises, postures, locks, (bandh in Sanskrit ) inner strength, purification exercises and meditation,” said Siriwardene.

Nanda Siriwardene stressed on the fact that yoga is not only for the young and flexible. He said that in fact, yoga is meant for all — especially the ageing and the ailing. “We are able to achieve flexibility. For patients with high blood pressure there are yoga techniques to give them good health and exercises which will ensure their well being; there are exercises for every ailment,” pointed out this great yogi.

“There are relaxing exercises, breathing exercises and these are for the ageing. In fact, it is for all. Yoga has no age barriers,” he said. “We lead an extremely stressful lifestyle today and it is imperative that we improve our body and mind in this rat race existence. Without a healthy life we will not be able to do our day to day activities. People today are so hell-bent on making money. They have no time to even think of the other ways to happiness. A rest means, resting one’s mind and improving one’s physical status by looking after our physique with some sort of exercise,” he said.

“There are many kinds of workouts and exercises today. But yoga is different from all this. Because there is no exercise in this world that will exercise the organs in one’s body, joints, tendons, skin and nerves. But yoga surpasses all the other kinds of exercises by being able to exercise from organ to skin,” stressed Siriwardene.

“Every part of one’s body is exercised with this technique of Hatha Yoga. One who practises Hatha Yoga is always active. He is able to face the day to day problems of life,” said Siriwardene.

He said that Hatha Yoga is able to fight stress. “When one is overworked and is having family problems and even if one has problems in one’s health — then a great amount of stress sets in. Hatha Yoga is able to eliminate all this stress. In fact, it can wipe away all stress clean from one’s life,” he assured. “By clearing one’s mind and showing the truth, one is able to face a better life and combat problems,” said Siriwardene.

“I have been practising yoga for 25 years — I have learnt from several gurus in India. I have been practising Kyokushin Karate for about three decades, but I have been practising yoga on a great scale,” said Siriwardene who has studied yoga from an Indian instructor called Swami Vivekananda and instructors from Singapore — especially Swami Gautama. Siriwardene has excelled both in yoga and in martial arts in India, Singapore and Australia.

All the expertise of the masters and the swamis are with Shehan Nanda Siriwardene today and this great man is imparting all this knowledge to over 200 students.

He says that one should practise Hatha Yoga to improve one’s respiratory system and circulatory system. “If one’s breathing is functioning without any problems, then the circulatory system gets in proper order and at once, one achieves good health,” pointed out Siriwardene.

According to Shehan Nanda Siriwardene, yoga is the answer to all ills of life. He said that yoga is for beauty, for health and for developing one’s spiritual powers.
“One important factor is that yoga fights obesity. The postures of yoga burns off the excess fat. According to this great guru, one need not bend backwards to achieve good looks and good health, for yoga is the only way to battle and defeat the ills of these modern times and the great side effects of all this is – looking young, healthy and beautiful.
raneemoham@hotmail.com