Awareness

By Brayden Donnelly

Bharat Thakur, a yoga guru in India, is out on a mission to cycle across the country from Kathmandu to Kanyakumari, a trip of roughly 5,000km (3,100mi) to spread the importance of yoga and environmental stewardship. Bharat and his team of two are now about 50 days into the trip. One of their major focuses is bringing the teachings of yoga and the need for climate change awareness to the more rural areas of the country.

Yoga is something that Mr. Thakur can confidently say he is an expert on. Starting at the age of three, and learning in the foothills of the Himalayas until he was 18, Bharat has been practicing all his life, and is now 43. He wants to advocate for the health benefits of yoga as well as the health benefits of cycling.

He is especially focused on cycling because he understands the importance of cutting down the world’s dependence on the “1.6 trillion liters of fuel” we consume.

Thakur has evolved over 45,000 different stretches to bring out the five core aspects of yoga: “strength, endurance, flexibility, balance, and agility.” He hopes that these values can intertwine with his teachings on climate change and produce a better India for future generations.

Mathur, B. (2016, April 5). Cycling across India to spread yoga, environmental awareness Times of India. Retrieved April 13, 2016, from http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ nagpur/Cycling-across-India-to -spread-yoga-environmental-awareness/ articleshow/51690543.cms