Chennai, Feb 27: A bunch of neighbours and family members gathered around Madhu Preetha G at her residence in 14th Street, Tansi Nagar, Velacheri.
Madhu smiles holding a trophy and a certificate, with a shawl adorning her shoulders. A student of class 11, she has won first prize in the Fourth State level Yogasana Competition which was held recently.
She has been learning yoga since she was 10. Behind this achievement is a story of how taking up yoga has changed her life. What began as an exercise to improve academics has now brought her laurels.
”I began liking it soon after I started attending the classes. Doing yoga is good for the abdomen, blood circulation and it makes you stronger”, she says.
Madhu practises for an hour daily, if there is a competition she does yoga for three or four hours a day. She also plays cricket and basketball.With her flexible body, she can twist and turn in many ways, including a head-stand on a pot. She can also carry her entire body weight on her palms.
Her parents Bhanu Sankar and Gowri Sankar are proud of her. Bhanu says, ”As a child she had less concentration. When she was nine, she was even sent out of the school. But once she started practicing yoga, she showed a lot of improvement in academics. She would come back home from yoga session and would practice the asanas again. We did not stop her.”
Madhu is a regular participant of Yogasana competitions. She achieved district level second prize in 2017.She had also participated in 108 Surya Namaskar Yoga conducted by Sera Yoga during August 2019.She has been well supported and trained by her yoga masters Parvathi and Nandakumar.
Parvathi says, ”She joined classes on her own interest. She follows the instructions keenly. It is her plus point. We are proud that she won despite stiff competition. Her poses are like how we (instructors) do. She does it with elegance in her twists and turns.”