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METRO WORKOUT

Nature’s wonder medicine

Photos: T. Saravanan

AT EASE Conscious effort to regain gait

His opener shocks me: “Do you suffer from back pain?” And I am left wondering how did yoga therapist and naturopath Dr. S. Hari Shankar come to know of my problem.

Instantaneously he kills my curiosity enough: “Majority of the health problems are because of the wrong postures people take. I identified your problem from your standing and sitting style.”

Having tried out different work outs for the column, his sensible explanation impresses me enough to stick on.

“Before you attempt any exercise, it is important to understand your body composition and address your specific complaints. Only then will it fetch the right results. Whenever a person walks into our place, the first thing we do is to correct his or her posture,” says Dr. Hari Shankar.

He asks me to stand at ease, sit and walk couple of metres and immediately identifies that I am stooping while doing the routine. “When you stoop it disturbs the muscle structure and you get a paunch. As the alignment of the spinal cord changes, you experience muscle stiffness resulting in spondylitis that causes pain in the neck, shoulder and back. Lift your chest and pull your naval inward. Don’t hold your breath. And if you happen to sit for long hours, then try to rest your forearms on the table keeping your back straight. Continue this consciously and in due course your gait will improve,” thus goes his long list of advice.

Most of his workout routines are based on the therapeutic effect of yoga. “It is a universally accepted fact that once in 25 years people tend to come down in height by quarter of an inch. You lose your height because of your hunch. Hence, we advocate these exercises for keeping fit.”

“Cushion chairs should be strictly avoided because in the name of relaxing, you tend to bend your back resulting in pain,” he continues, even teaching me how to walk. “Put your heel first and then the toes with a natural swing of arms to get desirable results in 10 days” – and I follow.

For relaxing the joints, Dr.Hari Shankar prescribes ‘pawanamuktasana’ series wherein the aim is to win over the inertia.

“Your movement should be very gradual for a longer effect. It also helps to improve the metabolic rate,” he lists out. Next follow the breathing exercises primarily to relax the system. He advises me to do it twice a day for about 10 minutes. “They are good for your lungs. It generally prepares you to endure challenging chores. We also prescribe Bhastrika pranayama, forcible expulsion of air from your body in rapid succession simultaneously lifting your hands and pulling it down. This particular exercise is not for all. But it will immediately increase the Basal Metabolic Rate.”

The last on the list is a set of asanas including ‘Trikonasana’ (for waist), ‘Paschimothanasana’ (upper back), ‘Naukasana’ (centre stomach) and ‘Uttana Padasana’ (lower stomach) to reduce flab in the abdomen and waist region.

Dr.Hari Shankar also advocates massage and steam bath therapy to go with these routines to achieve better results. At the end of the session, I felt very comfortable and have now decided to adhere to his guidelines. He charges Rs.1200 per month for comprehensive fitness package and Rs.500 per month for Yoga therapy.

For further details contact Dr. S. Hari Shankar, Keep Fit Hospital, 32, Shenoy Nagar 3rd Street, Madurai-625 020. Ph: 0452-2535310.

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