(This story originally appeared in on Feb 15, 2020)

Hyderabad: In a first such move in Hyderabad , a mosque committee in the Old City has allowed yoga training classes to fight rising non-communicable diseases and obesity.One of the three floors in the Masjid-e-Ishaq at Tadbun has been converted into a healthcare and medical counselling centre.“There is not much space in the narrow lanes and bylanes for walking and outdoor exercises. So, in the mosque, our counsellors are not only demonstrating yogic asanas, but also giving YouTube links to some patients to follow yoga on mobile phones for reduction of waist,” Mujtaba Hasan Askari, who runs the clinic, told TOI.With a spurt in lifestyle ailments, particularly related to obesity and overweight, yoga is taught to patients in the mosque every alternate day.The health counsellors follow WHO guidelines on fighting noncommunicable or lifestyle diseases and they have adopted yogic exercises as part of the healthcare regimen to keep people in the Old City healthy and fit.Ayesha Sultana, 46, registered at the lifestyle clinic a month. A patient of diabetes and hypertension, Ayesha told TOI that her health has improved after she took to Yoga. “I was not aware that diet and exercise will do wonders to one’s health. Now my dependence on medication has come down,” she said.The move follows a recent health survey of patients attending the clinic in the mosque. Of the 600 people, mostly women, examined for health profile, 70% had a body mass index (BMI) of more than 30 (less than 24.9 BMI is considered healthy).Askari, who is also the managing trustee of the Helping Hand Foundation (HHF), said HHF is running the clinic in partnership with SEED, a USA-based NGO.The lifestyle clinic at the masjid has two dedicated dieticians and two counsellors under the supervision of a lady doctor. Yogic exercises are prescribed after evaluating a WHO-recommended form filled in by the patients. The focus is more on exercises and diet control than on medication.