International Yoga Day on Sunday (June 21) is expected to be a low-key affair this time with the ban on mass gatherings in parks and stadiums. However, experts and yoga practitioners advise people to do yoga regularly to improve immunity, which is considered be the medicine to fight the dreaded COVID-19.

Former MP and senior doctor of Maharaja Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS), Vizianagaram D.V.G. Sankara Rao says that health and fitness help protect people from coronavirus. “I have been practising yoga for the last two decades. It makes us active and helps us take up new challenges. I made many doctors and friends practice it regularly at home during the lockdown period. In the absence of a vaccine for COVID-19, improving immunity is the only way to fight the virus,” he explains.

A retired teacher and yoga guru Borra Kaleswara Rao, who trained nearly 1,000 people in Cheepurupalli of the district, urges parents to practice yoga and explain its importance to children on Yoga Day.

“Coronavirus is said to damage the respiratory system, Pranayamam, the breathing exercise, improves functioning of lungs and helps pumping of oxygen-rich blood to all cells of the body. Plenty of online content is available to learn yoga,” says Mr. Kaleswara Rao.