Sagar: As world celebrates International Yoga Day on June 21, renowned yogacharya nonagenarian Vishnu Arya has been a pioneer in the field teaching and telling people for the last seven decades how important yoga is in Indian culture and how much impact it has on people's lives.
Vishnu Arya, 93, has been continuously engaged in yoga practice for the last 70 years. Yogacharya Vishnu Arya, who has trained people in yoga in many cities of the country and the world, is still active today and hundreds of people are learning yoga from him. Apart from teaching yoga, the yogacharya also treats many difficult diseases through yoga. He has also been honored by various dispensations many times in the past for his 70 years of yoga practice.
How Did he Start Yoga?
Yogacharya Vishnu Arya says that he was fond of yoga, exercise and going to the wrestling arena since childhood.
“In the year 1954, saints of Arya Samaj came to Sagar. The yoga practice conducted by the saints increased special abilities in my body. Due to yoga, we started showing many types of feats. Like breaking by placing a stone on the chest, bending an iron rod,” he said.
Arya said that in the year 1968, he met Swami Satyanand Saraswati, who was a disciple of Swami Sivananda, at the World Yoga Conference in Raigarh and he took initiation in yoga from him. “He taught Kriya Kundli Yoga along with Asanas, Pranayama and the important Shaktipad method of yoga. Taking this tradition forward, I traveled all over India with Guruji and taught yoga to people,'' he said.
Established Yoga Niketan
Yogacharya Vishnu Arya said that he established Yoga Niketan in Sagar in 1968 and since then yoga practice has been going on here continuously. “We cure incurable diseases like diabetes, asthma, cervical and sciatica through yoga here. Many diseases arise in the body due to mental stress. We cure such diseases through yoga. People from Karnataka, Haryana, Maharashtra and far-off places come here to get their diseases cured through yoga. With the grace of God and Guru, we also treat them,'' he said.
'Yoga is Beyond Just Asanas or Pranayama'
Yogacharya Vishnu Arya believes that yoga is not just Asanas or Pranayama, but is much more than that. “Yoga is the art and science of living life. Today's young generation is getting spoiled due to drug addiction. Diseases like heart attack are coming up rapidly due to mental stress. Accidents are increasing and people are moving towards crime. There are many such asanas in yoga through which many diseases can be eliminated by eliminating mental stress and many bad habits can be avoided,'' he said.
Honored with Lifetime Achievement
Yogacharya Vishnu Arya travels all over the country to give training in yoga. Apart from Telangana, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, he has also given training in yoga for many educational institutions and the army. He has also taught yoga to people in many yoga programs in the capital Delhi. Recently, Yogacharya Vishnu Arya has been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by an institution recognized by the Government of India for making significant contribution in yoga practice for 70 years.
Yogacharya Vishnu Arya believes that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a great initiative to promote yoga in the country and the world. “He made the world aware of yoga as a part of the Vedic culture of India which was slowly weakening and created an attachment towards it. On 21 June, on World Yoga Day, people from all over the world will make their lives successful by practicing yoga,” he said.
