Two years ago, they were pulled out of school. While their peers wore their perfectly ironed uniforms, braided their hair, carried their schoolbags and hopped onto their school buses, Hyderabad twins Ananya Gangadhar and Amulya Gangadhar alternated between pyjamas and yoga pants. Don't be quick to assume that they are illiterate. These ten-year-olds have learnt more about the world and life while travelling with their parents in a small car across the country, than from any textbook out there. They learnt so much on the go and even started picking up Taekwondo and Bharatanatyam, and needless to say, yoga.
While the twins initially imitated their parents, Gangadhar Krishnan and Ramya Baradwaj when they did yoga, two years ago, they started practising it regularly. By the way, did we tell you that Ramya is a yoga instructor herself? "We have been watching our parents and grandparents practise yoga for a very long time. We used to try to copy them when we were little," say the girls. And what do these little ones love the most about yoga? They say, "We love the challenge of twisting and turning our body into different poses. In fact, we have our own fun competitions. For instance, once we were trying to find out who can stand for the longest time in Vrikshasana." Vrikshasana is a yoga pose where the yogi balances themselves on one leg.
Ananya and Amulya spend around four hours a week practising yoga. "Yoga has helped us to stay healthy and keep our bodies flexible. Also, it makes it easier to do other physical activities like Taekwondo, Bharatanatyam and rock climbing," they conclude.
