They are so many ... exercising on blue yoga mats … shoulder stands, the cobra, forward bends, spinal twists, other poses and asana … is there any exercise, which they can’t do?

The gentlemen gather here every day at 6.45am to perform yoga for about an hour under the guidance of a yoga instructor. They are all senior citizens, who may be retired company executives, doctors and bureaucrats.

It has been going on for over three years now during which these committed yogis haven’t missed a single day of exercise. On Sundays there is an even bigger gathering at the park as another group from another park also join in the fun.

It is early morning. The lawns of ‘Aunty Park’ in Clifton, Karachi have been taken over by uncles!

“The yoga club at the Ladies Park, more popularly known as ‘Aunty Park’, in Clifton was formed in September, 2013. Named The Wonderful Club, it has two instructors — Younus and Mir — who lead the exercises voluntarily. The participants usually say “wonderful”, rather loudly, after completing an exercise especially when they are led by Younus, who himself utters the word every now and then to encourage the participants to do the same. The idea is to relax, feel happy and enjoy oneself,” says Parvez Rahim, one yoga enthusiast, a regular at the park.

“The yoga sessions at ‘Aunty Park’ are a brainchild of Bashir Ahmed, who was very much into walking at this park since the last 25 years or so. His other companions such as Dr Mahmood Saeed, Dr Mansoor Dar and Dr Feroze Rehmatullah, are also regulars at this park since then. They never walked briskly; rather they were more into strolling while discussing the breaking news on national and international media, which ranged from politics to cultural events,” he adds.

“Prior to the commencement of yoga sessions at ‘Aunty Park’, it was already being done at the Murtaza Park near the Embassy Hotel on Shahrea Faisal, PECHS. In 2013, Bashir Ahmed also started frequenting Murtaza Park but his walking partners back at ‘Aunty Park’ missed his company. That is what motivated him to get the yoga sessions started at ‘Aunty Park’ as well. His initiative met with a lot of success as the number of yoga enthusiasts at this park gradually increased to the extent that those from Murtaza Park also join in with the rest here on Sundays,” he explains.

Yogis, not jogis!

“Noticing slight stiffness in my knees I was feeling my age catching up with me. Still I thought I could live with that until I got a frozen shoulder. That was something very painful, which could not be taken as lightly. I was seeing doctors for it when I friend advised yoga,” says Bashir Ahmed.

“I told my friend that I had a good doctor along with making up several excuses to not have to exercise but he insisted and picked me up from home one early morning to join him at Murtaza Park where he met with his yoga group. Reluctantly, I joined in for a few days only to realise how beneficial it was for me. My shoulder and knees stopped hurting; my blood sugar level also came under control. I started going there for yoga sessions every day,” Mr Ahmed adds.

Meanwhile, back at ‘Aunty Park’ people wanted to know where Mr Ahmed had disappeared. “I shared my yoga experience along with its benefits with my old friends. Some of them also started joining me at Murtaza Park for yoga sessions. By the time there were around six to seven of us from Clifton going there, we decided to start a group of our own at ‘Aunty Park’. For this we spoke to the group at Murtaza Park, who agreed about creating a breakaway group,” Mr Ahmed gives the background.

One among their group already knew yoga. He also happened to be a medical doctor. “As we exercised, he educated us about the importance and benefits of each exercise. There is also one asana there for improving the memory,” Mr Ahmed laughs.

Soon they were joined by a couple of ladies as well who would be walking in the park at around the same time. “We had no issue with their joining but someone else could have,” he says before explaining further. “You see, there is a mosque close to where we meet for yoga sessions at ‘Aunty Park’. A few times the imam of the mosque has also visited us to understand what is going on. Had he encountered the ladies he would have not approved of us all so we requested the ladies to kindly make up a group of their own if they liked. Thankfully they understood,” he says.

“There was also this person representing a powerful political party of Karachi who came to realise what we were doing. He advised us not to discuss politics during our sessions. We didn’t do that anyway,” Mr Ahmed laughs.

“There have also been objections like some calling yoga a Hindu art, which is unfortunate. We don’t see it that way. We only like the exercise and the benefits it brings us. We also end each session with prayers, so it is not as if we have changed our religion,” he says.

The Wonderful Club started from Lahore where yoga sessions are held early morning in 23 different parks. It was started by Professor Wasiq. One from a group there was Mian Mohammad Azam, who moved to Karachi as he found work here with Port Qasim Authority. “Azam first started the yoga club at Gulshan-i-Hadeed soon after moving to Karachi. When he shifted house and moved near Murtaza Park in PECHS, he started it there by inviting and motivating people from a nearby mosque over to the park. “We also hold an annual function where all the yogis of the club attend. We also meet to collect funds if we hear of anyone deserving in need. It’s a growing community,” Mr Ahmed shares.

Going from strength to strength

“The club, we call also TWC for The Wonderful Club. Under the umbrella of TWC there are also yogis meeting several other parks of Karachi now, where I visit to lead sessions every Sunday, but they hail from all age groups. At ‘Aunty Park’, we have more elderly participants,” says Mohammad Younus, the group’s yoga instructor.

“It is fun working with older people. They can laugh at themselves. I love their sense of humour,” he adds.

“Our sessions are meant for any age though. There is a warm up followed by exercises for each level. We ask the participants to know their limitations and don’t cross those limits in their hurry to become fit. All they need to do is push themselves a little beyond their comfort zone as that is how they will go from strength to strength. Every person in the group may not be at the same level of fitness as some may be exercising for longer and others might be new to the routine so we ask all to know how much they can take,” the instructor explains.

“Some in our group may suffer from heart ailments; some may be having issues with their blood pressure. I interview every newcomer to get an idea about his health condition before inducting him in the group. There are some who have a bad back, some who have a hernia condition. We ask those with bad backs or hernia to not bend backwards. Similarly, those with blood pressure issues are asked not to hold their breath for too long while deep breathing or don’t bend too low,” he points out.

“Though I can’t be at every park every day, I have been training others to lead the sessions, and they are managing very well,” he says.

The yoga sessions are absolutely free. The instructors, according to Mr Younus, also work voluntarily. Someday, if they feel like it, some group members arrange for breakfast after the prayers following a session. This usually happens on Sundays when everyone has time and they sit to tell each other jokes or even hold singing sessions.

Shouldn’t we now rename at least one of these places where they meet up ‘Uncle Park’?

Twitter: @HasanShazia

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, January 17th, 2016