Nothing is impossible. And this 12-year-old autistic boy testifies this by performing 40 yoga asanas in 15 minutes.
Meet R Jeevan Prakash, who does 40 asanas, including padmasanam, bujangasanam, thirikona asanam and yoga nithirai with much ease.
His trainer and founder of Jaybe Rehab Centre J Ariyamala said that he was very aggressive in the beginning and that his parents found it very difficult to send him to a normal school.
"For the past seven months, he is undergoing yoga training. From the first month itself, I identified that he has got a lot of memory power. So, started with small asanas. Comparing to other autistic children, he can perform asanas with much ease. He is good at imitating others," the trainer said.
Ariyala further said that when she performs asanas like Suriya Namaskaram, the boy used to imitate her without any persuasion.
"Gradually I made him increase the speed as well as the count of asana. Within five months, he is able to perform 40 asanas. His parents also have told me that his aggressive nature as well a listening capability has improved.
According to the trainer, autism is not a mental disability, but is a spectrum disorder."These children face many a challenge on a daily basis like repetitive behaviour, speech, and non-verbal communication. Parents need not have to worry if they have an autistic child. They are blessed with unique skill, but it needs to be identified and developed. Autistic can be well identified before the child becomes two years of age. Early intervention will help the children be independent and do their work," she said.
On Jeevan's achievement, the trainer said that she wanted to show the boy's performance to the world.
"With his parents' permission, I brought him to the children's festival held in Madurai. On seeing the powerful light and loudspeakers, he hesitated to perform and shouted unusually.I tried to console him, but I failed. I requested the authorities to reduce the decoration and sound. They agreed and after that, he performed all asanas with enthusiasm," she said.
"After that, he started participating in various yoga competitions and had won medals.Now, Jeevan has become a role model and inspiration to many parents who have children with autism," she said.