Dr Yoga helps out cops at the crossroads

By Devesh K. Pandey

NEW DELHI, JULY 18. The ancient practice of yoga has now come to the aid of the Capital's frazzled traffic police men. Afflicted by numerous ailments due to long hours of exposure to noise, dust and toxic fumes at the city's intersections, they now have a rare opportunity to heal themselves.

Until recently, Constables Rajesh Kumar and Manjeet Singh could never sleep after duty hours without a helping of sedatives. Suffering as they were from insomnia, their dosage had to be doubled and they soon became addicts. A four-week yoga session however has changed all that. They now claim they do not need sedatives any more.

While 42 traffic police men have so far successfully completed the course, 54 more are getting ready to enhance their general immunity under the guidance of a seasoned yoga instructor, Mr. Ashwini Kumar.

``The problems of traffic police men here are very different from others I have come across in the past. Therefore I thought it better to let the trainees reveal their problems through a detailed questionnaire,'' says Mr. Kumar.

The results were truly shocking. ``Most traffic police men were found suffering from ailments like constipation, mental tension, headache, acidity, muscular tension, backache, lethargy, deafness and insomnia. Almost all cases were psycho-somatic and needed a typical method of treatment -- yoga psychology. However, there were some problems due to the working conditions -- back pain, asthma and bronchitis being a few of them. It was important to study and handle each case separately as each had a different set of problems. Accordingly, I prescribed yoga mudras to suit their needs.''

``It was also important to prescribe the right mudra for each patient; otherwise there could be side-effects,'' adds Mr.Kumar.

Says the Deputy Commissioner of Police (VIP Routes), Mr. S.B.S. Tyagi: ``We have decided to continue with the course in view of its effectiveness. Efforts are on to organise it for all traffic police men so that they take better care of their health despite working in adverse conditions.''

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