THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Does truth, wisdom or health have a religion? Answering the billion dollar question is a Christian church in the city that has opened its doors to what was once labelled as ‘unchristian’ or even ‘pagan’.Yoga, ‘pranayama’ and meditation have found their way to the Mar Thoma Church at Vazhuthacaud, where the members of its health club meet every Friday evening at the Parish hall of the church for physical exercises and meditation."We realised that a healthy mind exists in a healthy body and that physical fitness is extremely important for mental fitness as well,’’ says Fr Noble, vicar of the church. The vicar is not just a member of the health club, but also the driving force behind the venture that was initiated as a move to keep away old-age illnesses like backache, breathing problems, stiffness of joints, spondylitis and so on.The members of the club are senior citizens in the age group of 70-85, who manage to keep away illnesses of old age by this daily routine of exercises, which they follow at home on all days of the week.What starts with an easy ‘pranayama’, or simple breathing exercise, moves on to those for improving flexibility of the head, neck, hands, wrists, fingers, hips, feet and even the toe.The club members have also been taught some of the easy yoga ‘asanas’ such as ‘savasana’ for ultimate relaxation, the ‘udhitta padasana’ for toning up the abdominal muscles and the ‘merudandasana’.Not everyone does all the exercises. Saramma, for example, feels a little giddy with the neck movements and therefore opts out of it. But Titus, all of 83, looks fit as a fiddle. "This is the first time that a church in the country is making such an attempt to improve the health of the laity. This can even be an example for other churches to follow,’’ says Titus..Once in about three months, the senior citizens get a health check-up done by Dr John, who is also a member of the club. The doctor, who worked for almost 40 long years at Balaramapuram, looks out for any abnormal weight gain and also any serious variations in blood pressure."It is no longer just prayer, worship and spiritual development. The church is also concerned about the physical and mental well-being of members,’’ says M O Joseph, who retired as secretary of the Rubber Board.The members of the club are retired from various professions. If Kunjunjamma Mathai used to be the headmistress of Poojappura High School, Chacko Koshy was administrative assistant with CID special branch, Oommen used to be a radiographer, P K John retired as assistant audit officer from AG’s Office and P T Thomas used to be a senior librarian.The Friday that Express visited the group, there were only two women members - Saramma and Kunjunjamma Mathai, both neighbours at Gandhi Nagar. For the duo, it is a day of long walk from home to church, sharing news and views, an absolutely delightful day out. On all other days, they practise the same exercises at home.The Friday session starts with a prayer and ends with a prayer. But just before the last prayer, the members share jokes to rewind and relax. When the turn of the vicar came, it was one of those ‘elephant and ant’ stories that had the members in splits.Whether yoga and meditation was confined to any particular religion were the farthest among their thoughts.
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