Le Seychellois

12

Perspective

Interview

Hebdo

This week Seychelles is joining the rest of the world to celebrate the very first International YOGA Day. Though not popular among the population there are a handful of
Seychellois who are dedicated yoga practitioners. This week they will be very much involved in the activities to mark International YOGA Day. Today LSH speaks to a
founding member of Yoga Association of Seychelles, Mr Terrence Thelermont, to know more the association and the benefits of yoga.

LSH: Mr. Thelermont, give us a brief history of Yoga Association Seychelles?

Mr. Thelermont: All started in 2011. At the time we were

just a club. Not long after the National Sports Council (NSC)
held an instructor program workshop which was facilitated
by a yoga expert from India, but this was just a workshop
so, what was going to happen when he left. So we decided
to formalize our club and turned it into an association. This
happened in June 2012.
LSH: What is the goal of the association?

Mr. Thelermont: The motto of the Association is Yoga for

Good Health. We promote yoga as a means to attain good
health, be it mentally, spiritually or physically.

LSH: Yoga is seen as a balance between the three mentioned above, how does that work?

Mr. Thelermont: This equilibrium is achieved through what

we call asana. You have to do this series of exercises
calmly and slowly and making good use of how you breathe,
then you are in a state of concentration. As one continues
doing yoga, you start to become patient and better understand how your body works because it gives you the chance
to observe your body. On the mental side, this is also developing as it develops and strengthens your character traits,
which then you can use in your everyday life. Yoga is great
for people who maybe are bad tempered but this exercise
though gradual will definitely help calm you down.

LSH: Does a person have to fit into a particular box, in

terms of character traits to do yoga?

Mr. Thelermont: I wont say that at all. But I would say

that by doing yoga, you can develop your character traits
further.
LSH: But what do I get from practicing yoga?

Mr. Thelermont: There are so many benefits from doing

yoga. For example, when you are in a state of relaxation, if
you have hypertension, this will go down. The breathing exercise you can do while practicing yoga will help a person
to relax internally as well as outside. I can assure you that
the difference will be very noticeable by people around you,
especially in regards to your attitude. I would describe yoga
as a journey of life which can only make you a better person.
LSH: What about the interest of the local population?

Terrence and Adriana in a yoga pose

Mr. Thelermont: When we started in 2012, there were

quite a few people who were practicing yoga. This number
has gradually picked up and this year, we have a very good
number of regulars who attend our classes.

LSH: Give us details of the classes Yoga Association Seychelles is offering?

Mr. Thelermont: We have classes from Mondays to Thursdays, after work at the Yacht Club. Members pay R250
every month and they can attend classes twice a week. I
conduct two of the classes and Adriana conducts the other
two.
LSH: Why should I try and practice yoga?

Mr. Thelermont: You know people who attend our classes,

do so for many reasons. Some practice yoga because of
health reasons, some because mentally they are tired, some
enjoy the relaxation period at the end of the class. On the
other hand some attend our classes because it has been recommended by their doctors as they have issues with their
spine or other health problems associated with bones or
joints, yoga can be a therapy for them.

LSH: So, yoga can be a form of therapy?

Mr. Thelermont: When I had my training in India, the experts at my yoga school used the art as a form of therapy.
I remember I was part of a group dealing with women who
were housewives. They did not do anything during the day,
so at night they met to practice yoga. The center also used

COIN DE PARTAGE

yoga therapy in prison as well as in the police department

as during that time there was a serious health issue among
police officers. So the center developed a yoga program to
help the police officers to become fitter as to reduce the mortality rate among them.
LSH: I have to ask, is yoga a way to keep one slim?

Mr. Thelermont: It is, but yoga on its own will not be

enough. The diet will also play a huge part. Yoga is not just
about the exercise but there are other things involved, such
as how and what to eat. When practicing yoga, we encourage our members to eat in moderation so they can sustain
their body. I have to say though that there are other forms
of yoga which can help a person to lose weight, such as Ashtangay, hot yoga and vinyasa.

LSH: how is the Yoga Association Seychelles participating in the celebrations to mark the International Yoga
Day on 21st June?
Mr. Thelermont: We have been invited by the Indian High
Commission, which is the main organizer of the event, to participate along with other groups which are also doing yoga.
We will all meet and together celebrate International Yoga
Day.
LSH: Finally, what is the future of the association?

Mr. Thelermont: We are always on the lookout for new

members, but most importantly we want to train new yoga
instructors so we can cater for more classes, not only on
Mahe, but Praslin and La Digue. We need dedicated people.

Elles existent encore

rop accabls par dautres proccupations occasionnelles, nous oublions que

les famines et malnutritions dans le
monde existent encore! Nous perdons souvent
de vue des situations relles du monde, et des
fatalits des individus, vivant sur des terres
lointaines, ceux qui nous mnent croire que
la faim dans le monde est inexistante. Quelle
utopie !
Dabord avant de dnuder vraiment les
faits, voyons un peu ce que cest vraiment la
malnutrition ou la sous-alimentation. Parmi
plusieurs dfinitions, cest ltat, se prolongeant au moins un an, durant lequel une personne ne parvient pas se procurer assez de
nourriture pour satisfaire les besoins nergtiques alimentaires quotidiens . La FAO Organisation des Nations Unies pour
lalimentation et lagriculture dfinit la faim

comme synonyme de sous-alimentation chronique.

Dsormais, selon le rapport 2015 sur
Ltat de linscurit alimentaire dans le monde,
on cible la rduction de la faim dans les diffrentes parties vulnrables du monde entier. On
ne peut pas dire quil est facile de supprimer
compltement linscurit alimentaire, car il y
aura toujours une personne quelque part dans
le monde qui souffre de la faim.
La tendance a considrablement amlior
au cours de la dernire dcennie, bien que lentement. Mme si, globalement, ces amliorations ont t obtenues, il reste encore beaucoup
faire pour liminer la faim et instaurer la scurit alimentaire dans toutes ses dimensions.
Ldition 2015 ne donne pas seulement une ide
des progrs dj accomplis. On y recense galement les problmes qui persistent et on y for-

mule des recommandations sur les politiques

quil faudrait privilgier dans lavenir. Les facteurs qui ce jour ont le plus contribu une
plus grande scurit alimentaire et une meilleure nutrition sont mis en avant. La liste de ces
facteurs la croissance conomique, laugmentation de la productivit agricole, les marchs
(et notamment le commerce international) et
la protection sociale nest en aucun cas
exhaustive. On constate aussi que les crises
prolonges, dues des conflits ou des catastrophes naturelles, freinent la marche vers llimination de la faim.
Les Seychelles prsente tout de mme une
stabilit remarquable en ce qui concerne la scurit alimentaire chez ses habitants. Plus important, nous ne sommes pas victimes dautant
de calamits naturelles persistantes qui pourront mettre les productions agricultrices en

pril. Nous avons une tendance mtorologique

qui est plutt favorable qui ne nous met
presque pas en risque sanitaire. Le fait que
nous avons un systme de sant assez efficace
en place, cela aide encore nous garder labri
des menaces dues la sous-alimentation.
Par contre, les progrs en Afrique restent
grandement insuffisants, et tout particulirement en Afrique subsaharienne o prs dun
habitant sur quatre souffre toujours de la faim,
soit le taux de malnutrition le plus lev de la
plante.
Mme si linscurit alimentaire poursuit
sa recule, nous avons encore serrer les coudes
afin que chaque jour une personne de plus
puisse manger sa faim.
Liana

Le Seychellois Hebdo is published by Le Seychellois Hebdo PTY (LTD), Arpent Vert , Mont Fleuri , P.O Box 918, Mahe, Seychelles.Printed by Xpress Printing, Mont Fleuri. Editor: Gervais Henrie. PhONE: 4325844 MOBILE: 2591040

E-mail: leseychellois@seychelles.net