Indian embassy in US offers free online yoga classes

THE Indian embassy in Washington has announced free online yoga classes to help people maintain themselves "healthy" and "cheerful" even as they are forced to stay indoors and work from home due to the coronavirus pandemic that has taken more than 1,100 lives in the US.

The free yoga class would be imparted daily from Monday to Friday at 5 pm. It would be streamed live through the Facebook page of the Indian embassy.

“We are happy to announce the online Yoga classes during weekdays @ 5 PM EST, starting from Monday, March 30, 2020. The classes will be live streamed through the Embassy's Facebook page," the embassy tweeted.

"A good initiative by the Embassy to keep healthy and cheerful while working from home," tweeted Taranjit Singh Sandhu, India's Ambassador to the US.

The online yoga teaching would be imparted by Moxraj, the teacher of Indian culture at the Indian Embassy.

Such an announcement by the Indian Embassy comes days after the Harvard Medical School recommended yoga, meditation and controlled breathing to address anxiety issues related to the novel coronavirus.

"Regular meditation is very calming. Many apps teach simple forms of meditation, such as Headspace or Calm," wrote John Sharp, a board-certified psychiatrist on the faculty at Harvard Medical School and the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles.

"Not a yoga person? No need to start now unless you'd like to try it. Sometimes trying new things and discovering new activities you can benefit from and enjoy can be a welcome, healthy distraction. Yoga Studio and Pocket Yoga are good apps to consider," he said.

In an email to her constituents, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell also recommended Yoga, among other things, to stay calm and healthy.

According to the CNN, the US had the highest number of cases of the novel coronavirus in the world, with more than 82,000 confirmed infections, surpassing China and Italy. The total number of deaths in the US are at least 1,195.

According to the Johns Hopkins coronavirus tracker, there were 531,860 confirmed cases across the world and 24,057 deaths.