The Chinese government released eight stamps featuring the Pune-based, internationally acclaimed yoga guru BKS Iyengar during the China-India yoga summit held in Guangzhou between June 17 and 19.
The stamps which were released by the Beijing branch of the China Post are special considering that there are no stamps featuring the yoga guru, a Padmashiri (1991) and Padmabhushan (2002) in his own country.
Speaking to DNA at the Ramamani Iyengar memorial yoga institute (Rimyi) in Pune on Wednesday, Iyengar said, "The only time the Indian government featured Iyengar yoga on a stamp, they chose to print the image of one of my English students instead."
According to Iyengar, the latest yoga summit was a brainchild of the governments of both countries.
The three-day summit which was held inside one of the gymnastics stadiums used for the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou saw the yoga guru teach yoga techniques to a total of 1,300 students, which comprised 950 Chinese and the rest, a mix of nationalities from across the world. The spirited, 92-year-old yoga guru displayed a child like enthusiasm when he recalled the three day event. He said, "Most of the students were below 30 years of age. This made me very happy as it proves that yoga is followed by the younger generation."
Rajvi Mehta, Mumbai-based senior Iyengar yoga teacher, who accompanied Iyengar on the tour, said, "It was an overwhelming experience. Guruji was simplicity personified. He pointed to the central line in a leaf and explained the principle of alignment lucidly. At the end of the three days, the Chinese students had tears in their eyes as they thanked Guruji for his lessons."
The stamps which were released by the Beijing branch of the China Post are special considering that there are no stamps featuring the yoga guru, a Padmashiri (1991) and Padmabhushan (2002) in his own country.
Speaking to DNA at the Ramamani Iyengar memorial yoga institute (Rimyi) in Pune on Wednesday, Iyengar said, "The only time the Indian government featured Iyengar yoga on a stamp, they chose to print the image of one of my English students instead."
According to Iyengar, the latest yoga summit was a brainchild of the governments of both countries.
The three-day summit which was held inside one of the gymnastics stadiums used for the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou saw the yoga guru teach yoga techniques to a total of 1,300 students, which comprised 950 Chinese and the rest, a mix of nationalities from across the world. The spirited, 92-year-old yoga guru displayed a child like enthusiasm when he recalled the three day event. He said, "Most of the students were below 30 years of age. This made me very happy as it proves that yoga is followed by the younger generation."
Rajvi Mehta, Mumbai-based senior Iyengar yoga teacher, who accompanied Iyengar on the tour, said, "It was an overwhelming experience. Guruji was simplicity personified. He pointed to the central line in a leaf and explained the principle of alignment lucidly. At the end of the three days, the Chinese students had tears in their eyes as they thanked Guruji for his lessons."
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