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The China-India Yoga College, located in Kunming, Beijing is becoming a big hit with over 3000 people having taken courses here since it opened in November last year. The lessons offered by the college, affiliated to the Yunnan Minzu University, are free. There are over 60 full-time students enrolled.
Yoga is an ancient Indian discipline that has been taking the world by storm since the first International Yoga Day was celebrated last year on June 21. India’s government has tied up with various government agencies in China to promote yoga as a means to better physical and mental health. Deputy Director at the college, Lu Fang explained that college has been receiving requests from various corporates and governmental agencies to teach their staff yoga, especially on special events such as the recently celebrated International Woman’s Day.
Lu mentioned that people seem to prefer learning either directly from Indian teachers, or from someone who has been taught by Indian teachers. He explained that people also wish to learn about the philosophy, culture, food and the Yoga Sutras, besides just the physical practice. Han Mingxue, who teaches at the college is one such individual, who learnt his yoga from Indian teachers. “I only knew about Iyengar style, but after extensive learning with Indian tutors, I have come to a much deeper understanding of yoga,” she said.
Another teacher at the college is Indian Velusamy Subbulakshmi, who learnt yoga from the Indian school Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram, one of India’s premier yoga schools. After spending five months in the college as a teacher, she explained that since yoga has some similarities with Chinese Taichi an shadowboxing, many Chinese were picking it up easily, and were comfortable with it.
The college is the result of extensive discussions between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping. They signed 24 agreements, one of which was to support the China-India Yoga College. India will send two teachers a year to the college. The college also has an agreement in place for students who wish to deepen their study of yoga. The college itself does not offer a degree, but several Indian colleges do.