Lucknow

On the 10th International Day of Yoga, a mosque in the Chinhat area of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh held a Yoga Camp in which Muslims and non-Muslims joined. The Imam of the mosque Syed Atiq Shah, and his wife Dr Jiya Shah persuadeD Muslims coming to the mosque-dargah to offer namaz, students of the adjoining madarsa, and local shopkeepers, to join the camp.

People from all communities performed Yogic exercises under the directions of instructors Sita Shaktio Gaur and Siama. For both these young instructors, it was the first session inside a mosque. The session also included sermons delivered by renowned Islamic scholar Abdullah Chaturvedi, who called for the unification of mankind through Yoga.

“It is not Shirk,” he told the gathering. Swami Dhirendra Pandey explained the benefits of Yoga and it should be adopted by all communities.

Lucknow-based Homeopathic Nephrologist Dr Lubna Kamal, who also joined the Yoga camp inside the mosque premises said in her 25-year practice she has found that the two major causes of kidney failure are Hypertension (Blood Pressure) and Diabetes. “These two conditions are responsible for the bulk of non-communicable deaths in India,” she said.

Yoga instructors Sita Shakti Gaur and Siama at the Yoga camp inside Lucknow mosque

Dr Lubna said that she found Yoga to be of immense use to control stress, blood pressure, and blood sugar. “My patients suffering from Chronic Renal Failure who practiced yoga, improved better, lived longer, and coped stronger than the rest.”

Addressing the gathering, Dr Lubna said the consumption of meat especially beef, which is cooked with high amounts of spices, salt, and fat, combined with the lack of physical activity is one of the leading causes of hypertension, Diabetes, and Dyslipidaemia.

Addressing the general notion among Muslims that Yoga is a “Hindu” practice, Dr Lubna told the people, “Yoga is so unique that it is adopted by the whole world including the Middle East. Yoga is the safest form of exercise and is done under supervision. Secondly, it's the breathwork that makes Yoga so distinctive. The patients who practiced Yoga regularly showed better results during COVID. Thirdly you might be pumping iron for years at a gym yet may not match the flexibility of an 80-year-old yogic practioner.”

Smiling faces of practioners of Yoga inside the mosque

Dr Lubna said that Muslims, especially those living in South Asia, and the Middle East had been eating nonvegetarian food in the unhealthiest way for ages. Earlier, till people rode bicycles and there were fewer cars, commoners used to walk which somewhat compensated for the regular need for exercise. Nowadays, there is hardly any physical activity in day-to-day life.

Dr Lubna is Secretary of the Nano Homeopathy Institute of Research and Welfare, which is working towards creating awareness about kidney diseases and their prevention by controlling blood pressure and blood sugar, through natural means, Yoga, exercise, and meditation.

She told Awaz-the Voice that she had bee trying to organise such camps for years. "I have been contacting Imams of various mosques in Lucknow for permitting Yoga camps after Fajr (pre-dawn Namaz). Nobody agreed to my request."

Men doing Yoga inside the mosque

She says she faced opposition as “Yoga is perceived as something belonging to Hindu religion. Chanting of Om, various Mantras, and performing Surya Namaskar had been associated with Shirk and therefore shunned outright by the community.”

She said Yoga, yogic asanas, and breathwork (Pranayam) can be practiced without committing Shirk chanting Om, or being non-compliant with the basics of Islam.

Dr Lubna says religious and political leaders from any party or community, opposing the Yoga are denying the common Muslims of immense benefits. “So common people should not fall into their traps. The doctor-patient ratio in India is among the lowest. Therefore, practicing Yoga to prevent disease should be preferred.”

She says that following the concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam, the family of Indians should do Yoga together. “Yoga is akin to prayer. It should be easier for Muslims to understand that Namaz or Salah is also Yoga, Meditation, or Dhyaan and Jaap, or chanting, combined. Most of the Namaz postures are similar to yogic poses.”

Muslim women doing Yoga inside the mosque

She says, “Islam had to be followed in toto and not as a departmental store where you pick certain things of your choice. Hadees exhorts to play outdoor games implying that it leads to a healthy and attractive physique and discourages wasting too much time on indoor games like chess. Prophet Muhammad used to race with Hazrat Ayesha (his wife). How many Muslims will be able to do it today?”

ALSO READ: Shabbir Ahmad Dar introduced Yoga in Kashmir as a wellness regime 20 years ago

Last year on World Kidney Day, Dr Lubna conducted a 21-day Rath Yatra during which she conducted yoga camps across Lucknow offering free screening for kidney health. She organized screening camps in temples, mosques, gurudwaras, and churches of Lucknow.