Yoga sports 2008 photos

[Guest guest]

On the 6th and 7th of December 2008, I had the privilege of taking a

large number of photos of the 23rd Pondicherry State Yoga Sport

Championship 2008. This successful event was orchestrated by Dr. Ananda

Balayogi and it was amazing to see such great organization of over 550

participants and the large Indian family support cast (I am guessing

over 1300 people attended). All ran smoothly even though it took

“forceful intervention” to get the crowd to be silent for the opening

ceremony. Amma rightly pointed out that Yoga started with Yama and

Niyama, restraints and ethical observances including keeping the mouth

shut!There were some mind boggling displays of human body positions

known as Asanas. The photos displaying all ages, genders and categories

of people from the son of a fisherman, to the disabled child that is

using Hatha Yoga as therapy, to the daughter of a Brahman, speak on

their own. I would prefer to comment on how Yoga, sports and

competition can actually coexist in a single phrase!? People usually

have strong opinions about it and I think it is important to understand

the situation before. Let us see the structure of the event: the

participants are divided upon age and gender. The winner of every group

age gets to compete with each other again leaving two final categories:

male and female. Some of these photos were taken at this later stage.

What is important to note is that at the final stage, competitors are

not only judged on their physical activities but on theory in a viva

voce format. I have been practicing Yoga as a way of life for 11 years

and I had difficulties in answering many of the questions! Now the

organizer. Dr. Ananda Balayogi who teaches and runs the show is the

reason for the theory part even though it was and still is unpopular

amongst many. In his opinion, this is the strict minimum that should be

there in order to ensure that a certain level of Yoga remains. Well,

the negative points can easily be pointed out, especially without

information about the context, and are as follows: associating

exclusively Yoga with a physical activity, competitive mindset where

winning and showing off becomes the reason for people to participate,

favoritism amongst the judges, etc.Then why would Dr. Ananda and

Amma continue devoting so much time and effort to this event for the

last decades? The answer lies in the positive points: the theory forces

the competitors to know about the scriptures, the Yamas and Niyamas,

and body awareness (true physical education); a chance of developing

equal mindedness is there, staying balance if one loses or wins (Amma

and Dr. Ananda are there to guide these students into adopting the

right mind frame); a chance to get some positive retroaction that is

not based on academic prowess or how well behaved they are at home; a

path that has its physical, psychological and mental benefits (through

the practice of Hatha Yoga); a release to the need for physical

activity that does not harm the body as many sports do, especially when

in a competitive situation; competition does force most of us to be

more conscious and apply ourselves, at least a little more then what we

would do otherwise (even when done for low reasons, it makes us a

little better); in the context of the theory questions, it forces the

participant to speak in front of a large audience and think and talk

under pressure. Well, here are a few points to ponder as you go

through these lovely pictures of a modern situation (in terms of Yoga

Asana competition as a new reality) within a traditional Indian setting

(a lot of laughter, an incredible amount of people gathering together,

colorful characters animating on and off stage, chai and samosas,

etc.). I would like to thank Dr. Ananda and Amma for this

enjoyable, positive and interesting experience of mixed and sometimes

contradicting thoughts. I would also underline my sense of admiration

for their work and deep interest in their students, here and abroad,Sri KantCédric Georges <cedsrikant,