Ramdev asks pot-bellied journalists to take up yoga

PANAJI - Yoga guru Baba Ramdev Friday tempted portly, pot-bellied journalists to wake up to the wonders of yoga.

Ramdev, who was in Goa to participate in a four-day yoga camp, first chided reporters covering his press conferences for being obese, and then made his classic marketing pitch.

“Out of Goa’s 15 lakh population, more than one lakh are obese. I can see from here that many reporters who are present here are obese too. Why don’t you (reporters) visit our yoga camp? You will be able to shed four to five kg within four days,” Ramdev, sitting cross-legged and clad in his customary saffron robe, said at his press conference at a hotel here.

Pointing to the pecuniary benefits of yoga as far as weight-shedding was concerned, Ramdev said yoga made the mind and body fitter, without making the wallet any lighter.

“In diet classes, people spend Rs.4,000 to shed merely one kg. Here, with yoga you can do it for free. Practising yoga also helps to keep your diet under control. And it costs you nothing,” Ramdev said.

The yoga guru from Haridwar, who has a huge following across the country, said there were more than 600 Patanjali Yog Peeth yoga schools in Goa and they were helping weed out alcoholism from the state, which is known for liberal alcohol norms.

“Through yoga, we hope to cure Goa of the perils of alcohol. We have made a beginning,” Ramdev said.