Dubai: “Inhale. Exhale. Synchronise your breathing. Relax.”

These were just some of the commands that could be heard in the evenings at the Al Mankhool Park in Dubai every day. The grassy, quiet corner of the park would come alive at 7pm, when a group of enthusiasts would perform the yogic asanas or poses, following their teacher’s every command obediently for one hour.

This motivating and firm voice belongs to a Good Samaritan, Valerian Alva. An engineer by profession based in Dubai, he initiated this daily yoga program, on June 8, 2015, with a small group of close friends and relatives.

Since then, the community group has slowly and steadily grown to gain a lot of popularity for all the right reasons and it is completely free. It has changed many people’s lives. Some are here for their health problems and some aspiring to keep themselves fit and healthy and to lead a disease-free life.

Personally, it has done a great deal of benefit to me in terms of health and has changed my outlook in facing day-to-day challenges. Having benefitted a lot, I asked a few people of the group, to share their experiences.

Chandru Balchandani, a data entry supervisor, weighed 104kg when he joined this group, but in just four months he has shed more than 12kg, besides gaining tremendous flexibility.

Ajay and Savitha Kamat, a happy couple, have made it a part of their daily routine.

Savitha said: “It is a feel-good factor, plus it helps to keep my energy levels high throughout the day.”

Best friends, Vandana Pareek and Sulochana Patil, would come together. “The results of yoga are slow but steady and the best part is, it has done wonders to my body and mind that people around me identify and appreciate the difference,” said Pareek.

For Patil, it’s the great sense of satisfaction and fitness that comes at the end of the day.

Sunita Balagopal, a teacher based in Dubai, said: “Though I’ve attended other groups, I find this yoga session to be customised and tailor made to suit everyone’s needs of the day.”

There are umpteen fancy names given and newer methods found in the city to allure the common crowd. But, Alva would keep it simple. His one-hour yoga session was a complete package classified into five major divisions, warm up, Surya Namaskar (sun salutation), breathing technique, stretching and strengthening yoga asanas and finally winding up with Pranayama, the age old, time tested, breathing technique.

Supervising the group, correcting the posture, demonstrating the asanas and breathing techniques, giving a series of instructions, briefing on the benefits of a particular asana, Alva did full justice to his role as a teacher. Not a minute was wasted and he got the best out of even the most rigid body. When monotony set into our routine, he introduced a fresh set of eye exercises, postures and various other exercises to strengthen the core muscles.

Come rain or sun, Alva was there to motivate, guide, give instructions, lead the group and make his presence felt. When there were just a handful of people on rainy days, he relentlessly continued the class. He was ready to forego his personal needs and comforts when it came to this yoga program. The very fact that his family joined the group every day when they were here on vacation, testified to it.

When asked why he conducted these classes, he promptly replied: “This is my passion and it gives me a sense of accomplishment.”

But, all of this ended in the month of September, 2016. One evening, things changed dramatically. The park security guard stopped us from practising yoga. He further warned us that strict action would be taken if we continued. Requesting the park manager and other officials was of no avail.

The regular members of the group were clueless as to why this was called off. The park officials clarified that the law does not allow group practices and they were doing this on Dubai Municipality’s orders. On repeated requests made by many of us, they agreed to permit people practice in small groups of four.

Though the whole group is saddened by an unexpected, abrupt end of this glorious episode, we have managed to form small groups of four and continue the practice.

Hiba Syed, one of the members of the group, said: “This yoga class brought a great deal of reprieve. In just a few weeks time I got rid of the nagging pain in my heel. After that, I persuaded my husband to join this class, too.”

She is grateful that we have been allowed to continue practicing, instead of completely calling it off. But, the question stands, where do we go?

— The reader is a teacher based in Dubai.

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Editor’s note: The reader’s concerns were raised with the management of Dubai Municipality. However, despite repeated reminders, they did not respond.