Doctor, Engineer, Lawyer, Teacher… the usual suspects on the list of professions one was asked to choose from when in school a couple of decades ago. Today though, that’s a whole new story. Want to be a zookeeper? Done! Or a sound engineer? It’s possible! No profession is out of bounds for kids these days. With the growth of technology and a certain amount of freedom, kids are now being told that they can be anything they want to be.
Well, someone told these two school kids the same thing and they picked a profession so unique that they’re even creating world records with it. For Harris Ram and Geethika Suresh from Velammal Vidyalaya, Chennai, it is their ambition to become yoga doctors. (Yes, that really is a profession!)
It wasn’t tough to spot the duo at school as they’re already quite famous among their schoolmates. The first thing we’re curious to know is what triggered the two to even think about yoga. Harris and Geethika not only share the same ambition, but their introduction to the practice is also very similar, the duo say, "One random day, our teacher asked us whether we would be interested to join yoga.” Yoga is known to give you flexibility and it is good to learn from young age." And that’s what these two tenth-graders did. In fact, Geethika tells us that she has been practising yoga since first grade, adding to our surprise.
"Our parents and school have been constantly supporting our passion, which keeps us going," says Harris. And Geethika pipes in, "I have performed 100 asanas in 2 minutes. It’s my most cherished record," adding, “Yes, we do miss classes often, but our friends and our teachers are very helpful and supportive, especially when it comes to exam preparation.”
So aside from staying fit and flexible, how else does yoga help them, we wonder. "I practise yoga for 4-5 hours a day and that really helps me concentrate on my studies," explains Harris. "My friends ask me for concentration tips and I have already started to help them with whatever I have learnt. That makes me happy as well," adds Geethika. They also talk about how allopathic medication may be a quick remedy, but the effect it has on our body are long-term. They insist that if everyone does a little yoga, the need to take such medication is minimised.
The duo has won the district-level championship in 2016 and 2017. In the 23rd International Yoga Festival, Harris and Geethika won the second and third place respectively. That’s not all. These two have grabbed medals and prizes in various national and international tournaments over the years. And they aren’t done yet, obviously! “For now, we are getting ourselves ready to create a Guinness World Record in yoga,” say these confident kids.
