Bipin Dani
Sri Lanka’s sports minister Namal Rajapaxa favours yoga sessions to be conducted for the cricketers. This was revealed by Nanda Siriwardene, the famous yoga instructor in the country.
Incidentally, Nanda Siriwardene is the yoga guru for the Hon. Prime Minister and President of the nation. The sports minister has also been his pupil.
Speaking exclusively over the telephone from Colombo on the eve of the Yoga Day, Nanda Siriwardene says, “I have not been directly involved “still” with the international cricket team in Sri Lanka yet but different personalities do visit me personally to help for mind and body conditioning through yoga”.
However, he adds, “Our Honorable Sports Minister, Namal Rajapaksa has personally requested me to conduct yoga and yoga therapy sessions for all international teams in Sri Lanka including cricket which we are going to start once covid settles”.
“Yoga therapy is where we use props to align the body, help with any ailments and to correct once postures and to strengthen physical strength and mental strength along with proper stretching. All of these help them for a better performance as we charge their minds and body through special yoga and yoga therapy practice for tournaments”.
Elaborating the benefits of yoga for cricketers, he says, “Your sympathetic nerves have to be on higher and a good level for good performances in cricket. So if someone gets scared easily, most of the time it is linked to weak sympathetic nerves. A Mentally Strong person doesn’t get affected very easily.
Why? High levels of strong sympathetic nerves help clear decision making very fast, so when it comes to cricket, through yoga practice it will eventually help him to strengthen his nervous system and help in making quick proper decisions on the field whilst playing because of enhanced sympathetic nerves. Now that’s why we practice yoga in two different ways through Asana and pranayama.
Asanas are postures for outer body and inner body whereas Pranayamas are Breathing techniques for a strong mind and focus for cricketers. Which in turn leads to higher quality performances”, the instructor signed off.
