Mancherial: Retired SCCL employee explores yoga at the age of 70

Gokaraju Vijaya Rama Raju, a resident of Hi-Tech City Colony in the town, retired from services in 2013 after working in the civil department and an underground mine for 30 years.

Mancherial: Elderly persons are diagnosed with one disease or the other after crossing 60 years. A 70-year-old retired SCCL employee however, is maintaining his fitness and even effortlessly performs Sheershasan (headstand), one of the toughest inverted yoga postures, for not just one or two minutes, but for 10 minutes. His fitness levels and passion are surprising not only his counterparts, but youngsters as well.

Gokaraju Vijaya Rama Raju, a resident of Hi-Tech City Colony in the town, retired from service in 2013 after working in the civil department and an underground mine for 30 years. He explored a new realm – yoga which may not suitable to persons aged above 60 to choose as a career. He however, managed to achieve mastery over different yogasanas and began teaching yoga to enthusiastic fitness lovers.

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“Drawing inspiration from a call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to learn and practice yoga around 10 years ago, I started performing postures with the help of trained instructors. I was floored by various health benefits of yoga. I am able to stay fit physically, mentally and emotionally. The credit goes to yoga.” Rama Raju told ‘Telangana Today.’

Buoyed by the results of practicing yoga, the father of two daughters passed a three-month-long Yoga Instructor’s Course offered by Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (S-Vyasa)-Bangaluru by securing over 80 percent marks in 2023. Now, he is teaching yoga to around 10 persons, besides practising it for one and half an hour every day.

The elderly yoga instructor said he would like to earn post-graduation in yoga to study it deeply and pass it on to others. He can easily perform different standing, sitting and lying postures including Surya Namaskar, Chakrasan, Dhanursan, Setu Bandhasana, Ustrasana, Sarvangasan, etc.

Dr KN Sukumar, a senior naturopathy practitioner and yoga teacher of the town, remarked that Rama Raju was a passionate learner. Learning and practising yoga at the age of 70 was not everyone’s cup of tea, he said, adding that Rama Raju had defied age.