Yoga expert offers help

Self-restraint is the key to happiness in today's societies of abundance, whether it is in the East or the West, according to Swami Dharmananda, the New Delhi-based yoga and meditation expert who treated Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The yoga expert Dharmananda began his two-week UAE trip with a public meditation session at the Dubai creekside at dawn yesterday.

He said meditation, yoga and contemplative reflection could be used in a variety of settings, whether at work or at home.

"No matter if you are a doctor, an engineer, a politician or a writer, we are all human beings first, and we all have wishes and needs," he said, speaking at a press conference in Deira yesterday.

"We must remember to fulfill our necessities, not our demands - this is the key to peace, not only in our families and in this society, but in the world. The external world has progressed so fast that even traditional societies are pushed into consuming more and more, worrying more and more, becoming increasingly stressed."

Working with a government department in the south Indian city of Hyderabad, the yoga leader found that daily yoga and meditation practise helped reduce corruption as more and more officials became attuned to their inner selves and less to materialism.

Swami Dharmananda will be leading yoga sessions in the Dubai creekside at 5.30 am until Saturday, and at the Sharjah Corniche from November 24 - 29, in addition to free programmes on stress management, stamina, memory and IQ development and health rejuvenating exercises in Deira, Bur Dubai and Sharjah. He is also available for personal consultations.