Yoga is an ancient discipline that has grown strongly in recent years, and has positioned itself as a new alternative for missionaries seeking a conjunction between physical activity and mental or spiritual activity. It is an option that is being chosen by young people, adults and older adults in the province.
Isaura Valdéz has been a yoga teacher and instructor for more than 18 years, today she has her school ‘El Arte de Sentir’, where she teaches people of different ages and with different interests; since there are various modalities, such as yoga in pairs, in fabrics, postulate, artistic, integral or sports, the latter is the most chosen by the missionaries.
“Yoga is a unitive discipline, which seeks the union of the body, mind and spirit. The union with God or with the universe, depending on the beliefs of each one”, said Professor Valdéz in a talk with APPROACH.
The activity is known for very quickly recognizing physical, mental and emotional changes in its practitioners. “A great physical, mental and emotional growth is observed in all the people who take yoga classes, in any of the modalities they practice, since there is a wide variety suitable for each taste,” Isaura said.
Although there are no official figures on the number of people who practice this discipline, it is estimated that there are almost 500 million in the world, and that number rises every year. In addition, it is known that in Argentina there are more women than men who are fans of this philosophy of life. The opposite is the case in India, where more men than women practice yoga.
world yoga championship
In June, the World Yoga Championship was held virtually in India. It was supported by the World Community of Yoga Federation South America, the International Olympic Committee, the Argentine Olympic Committee and the Embassy of India.
Each country had to select ten representatives of the discipline, where a National Selective was held, organized from Buenos Aires by the South American Yoga Federation and WYC, in which the missionary Paula Sol Villalba was selected and represented the country in two modalities (‘Yoga Artistic’ and ‘Yogasanas’).
“Paula is my student, she is 17 years old, and has participated in several championships since 2019 that she started at the ‘El Arte de Sentir’ school. Her dedication to the discipline is constant, so in the year 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, she never stopped training since we held virtual classes with the whole group. That dedication has given her the result in the World Championship, since she managed to be World Runner-up in Sports Artistic Yoga, leaving Argentina at a very high level, ”said Professor Valdéz excitedly.
