What keeps India's oldest yogini healthy and active at 99?
In a world big on commercial yoga fads that change every season, V Nanammal, India's oldest yogini, still swears by the good old pranayamas and asanas. At 99, her flexibility and vitality can give most millennials a run for their money. Here, we bust popular yoga myths, courtesy her vast knowledge/experience, and disclose the secret of her enviable health.
Should you sweat while doing yoga?
No. According to Nanammal, yoga, if done the right way, is about peace and relaxation, not rigorous activity or sweat or breathlessness, as is popularly believed. Rubbishing that more is better, she says surya namaskar (sun salutation) shouldn't be performed more than 12 times. Also, for best results, she advises that yoga be done without shoes between 3am and 5am.
The secret to her good health
In 99 years, Nanammal has never visited a doctor. A resident of Ganapathy in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore, she wakes up at 5am and sleeps before 10pm. Her daily diet includes millet porridge, greens, rice, milk and fruits. She brushes her teeth with neem sticks, doesn't drink tea/coffee or consume white sugar. She particularly asks all her students to avoid meat, cigarettes and alcohol.
Why should you listen to Nanammal?
Nanammal learnt yoga from her father when she was 8. In the last 50 years, she has reportedly trained over 1 lakh students, many of whom are now renowned instructors in countries such as China, Singapore and Malaysia. For her contribution in spreading the ancient practice and motivating people by example, the Indian government awarded her the Padma Shri in January this year.
Yoga runs in Nanammal's family
However, the celebrity guru wasn't always a teacher. Nanammal's parents were farmers for whom yoga was a way of life, a part of their everyday routine. Her mother-in-law incidentally became her first student after yoga helped her with her sprained leg. Since then there has been no looking back. Yoga has been an integral part of Nanammal's family for over five generations now.
Ozone Yoga Centre: Promoting holistic living since 1972
She set up Ozone Yoga Centre in Coimbatore in 1972, which largely focuses on pranayama or breath control. You'd not find any fancy yoga pants or mats at Nanammal's. Only 100 students a day, dressed traditionally, practising on a nondescript carpet under the eye of a stern teacher. Since the last 20 years, Ozone also offers certificate courses, training people in naturopathy yogic science.
