Prafull Oorja on a mission to bring yoga to lives of disabled children

Yoga is a discipline from ancient India and consists of physical, mental, and spiritual practices aiming for overall wellbeing on an individual. People with ailments and disabilities are known to benefit from regular practice of yoga in their lives.

Prafull Oorja is a charitable foundation based in Bengaluru that has been involved in spreading information about the benefits of yoga. They focus on reaching people who do not have access such practices on their own.

The foundation has been promoting the practice of yoga among children with disabilities and the rural areas to help the youth and women get benefits from the age old traditions. While Yoga is quite popular in the urban areas and is now becoming famous across the world, rural India is yet to get proper exposure to the various benefits of the

Health related facilities such as yoga are not very common in rural areas. The lack of awareness, ignorance, shortage of resources and information are hurdles that can only be overcome when organisations like Prafull Oorja take up the cause.

Yoga benefits disabled children by helping them develop emotionally and physically. Yoga practice improves the flexibility in body and distresses the mind. Children can also enjoy the group activity and connect with others.

Prafull Oorja has the opportunity to make a positive contribution to lives of all those it serves, and to create a real concept of yoga in the world. – Sowmya Ayyar, Founder-Executive Director, Prafull Oorja

Prafull Oorja has two main programmes through which it reaches out to the masses.

• uBloom yoga for children with disabilities

  At present the uBloom Yoga is being promoted by a sturdy and dedicated team of 13 uBloom teachers. These teachers hold regular sessions across 14 centres and schools across Bangalore. The weekly programme is currently providing service to more than 500 disabled children through the sessions.

• uRise yoga for empowerment

The programme aims to bring about a positive change in the lives of at least three rural communities in South India. Each community will include around 200 women and children who will benefit from the outreach sessions and become aware about Yoga techniques.

Participants of the Yoga sessions show physical and mental improvement. The sessions are used to provide yoga training to the participants and also to educate them about the need for wellbeing and good health. One time yoga session is not enough and needs to be practiced regularly to get maximum benefits.

This can only be done by giving out comprehensive training and ensuring that the practices are continuously followed.

Sudeepta Shanbhag, is a yoga teacher with Prafull Oorja, who aims to "spread its fragrance around the world.”

Know more about Prafull Oorja, click here.