Author: Rhys Blakely in Haridwar
Publication: The Times
Date: June 2, 2008
URL: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article4045641.ece
Those who assumed yoga is for peaceniks should
prepare to have the notion shot down. The Indian Army is poised to adopt the
ancient practice after trials showed that giving meditation precedence over
conventional physical drills at boot camp makes for a deadlier fighting force.
Chants of "Om" and elastically athletic
poses may seem out of place in a training barracks, but after three months
new soldiers of the Bengal Engineering Group, who did 50 minutes of yoga a
day combined with 40 minutes of traditional exercise, had steadier hands,
stronger grips and leaner muscles than peers who underwent a gruelling 90-minute
military work-out instead, according to a study.
The researchers suggest that their findings
shatter preconceptions of yoga as a pacifistic pursuit. "The yoga group
showed an improvement in skilled activities requiring co-ordination and concentration,
as well as muscular strength and endurance." Dr Shirley Telles, the principal
investigator on the project, said.
"This would be especially useful for
activities such as shooting at a target."
The interest of the Indian Army (the second
largest in the world after China's) coincides with a broader yoga revival.
The military's routine is based on the teachings of Baba Ramdev, a superstar
guru who has popularised yoga across the subcontinent through a combination
of plain speaking, fierce diatribes against western lifestyles, and a cable
television channel.
The army's study, which will continue for
a year, is being carried out at Patanjali Yogpeeth, a yoga-focused research
centre in Haridwar in northern India that is led by Ramdev.
The swami, who alternates between championing
vegetarianism and a politically charged brand of Indian nationalism, formulated
a special programme for army recruits. It begins with three minutes of Om
chanting before moving on to five physical postures (or yogasanas) and six
regulated breathing exercises (pranayamas). "Only if India exists will
I be," he explained to The Times.
Indications that his methods help soldiers
to stay alert without getting stressed chime with anecdotal evidence from
soldiers already using yoga to combat soaring levels of stress in India's
military. Since 2005 suicides have claimed the lives of about 100 soldiers
a year in Kashmir - more than separatist violence has. Incidents of "fragging"
- whereby soldiers from the same force turn on each other - are increasing.
Indian troops serving in the disputed Himalayan
region have already been issued a standing order to engage in a weekly one-hour
yoga session. They are taught 14 poses - including the fish, the cobra and
the plough - to soothe nerves frayed by near-constant insurgent activity.
The measures were adopted after a high-level
inquiry into military suicides last year which recommended that yoga be used
to ensure soldiers are "full of vigour and enthusiasm while performing
[their] duties". Colonel Anil Mathur said: "There is no doubt that
we have seen that the benefits of yoga are universal, both in terms of physical
health and mentally. We are pleased and intend to press on."
India does not seem inclined, however, to
keep its new weapon secret. Indian Army soldiers recently shared yoga tips
with their Chinese counterparts during the two countries' first bilateral
counter-terrorism exercise. In return, the Chinese taught their Indian peers
some martial arts moves.
Just weeks earlier, American troops from the
US 25th Infantry Division had been given yoga lessons by Indian officers during
a joint counter-insurgency training exercise held in the foothills of the
Himalayas
"Limberness and range of motion is something
we may not always stress, and yoga is a time proven method to enhance these
health qualities," Captain Bob Hilleman said.
Co-operation between brothers in arms is likely
to be approved of by Baba Ramdev, who has said that he intends to bring the
benefits of yoga to every human on the planet. He said: "Swamiji [the
honorific by which his followers call him] doesn't think little."
