Article of Fr. Joe in O Heraldo - Goa " Maintaining the inner equilibrium"

Maintaining the inner equilibrium Padmashree awardee Fr Joe and Iyengar Yoga Expert Dr Radha Gopalan reiterate their commitment to helping people in Goa maintain their inner equilibrium as they conducted a workshop on the first anniversary of the Kripa Foundation Yoga Centre By Patricia Ann Alvares | 30 Jul, 2015, 12:23AM IST Employing the principles of minding the body to mind the mind through the teachings of B K S Iyengar, Padmashree awardee Fr Joe Pereira has been helping people tap and maintain their inner equilibrium, by using the wisdom of the body to bring about a life-altering and healthy way of life. “Iyengar Yoga has become a way of life,” he states. Heartened by the fact that droves of people from various walks of life have been attending the yoga courses at the Kripa Foundation Yoga Centre in Panjim since its commencement last year, Fr Pereira avers that the anniversary is the perfect occasion to demonstrate the principles and benefits of Iyengar Yoga once again. “People with various major ailments from cardiac to Parkinson’s, back problems and dysfunctional knees have been attending. But make no mistake, just the mere process of learning yoga and practising it for a while isn’t enough; knowing and practising the right poses is important and adherence is the key to achieving results,” he cautions, speaking with an experience culled from 48 years in the line. Keeping in mind the theme of ‘learning to love your body back to life’, Fr Joe has been whetting the appetite of people for authentic practice of yoga to address any health problem. Demonstrating the sirsasana and virasana poses, Fr Joe points out that people hardly believed that these rare posses could reverse one’s heart condition. Yet it has been achieved. “There are some asanas and propos that are specific to Iygengar Yoga which has helped to cure an amazing array of major illnesses. This is Guruji’s (BKS Iygengar) compassion. I have even seen a person in a cancer hospice benefit from Iyengar Yoga. Guruji has devised a pathway to a dimension within the inner wheel of life which western medicine is trying to cure externally,” he maintains.  His greatest achievement yet, for which he was awarded the Padmashree, is the integration of Iygengar Yoga into the Alcoholic Anonymous Self-help programme, particularly the 11th step.”I have been teaching people how to use the body for meditation. No medicine is authentic until it brings the body in a hyperbolic state of inner equilibrium. In 34 years of working, I have seen significant reversals,” he shares. Courtesy Article by  Patricia Alvares O Heraldo