Patna: TheBihar government has roped in the services of a yoga expert at the Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) de-addiction centre to help alcoholics deal with withdrawal symptoms.

Alcoholics at the center are being put through a one-and-a- half-hour long yoga session every morning by Varun Kumar Yogi (33), who earlier worked at a yoga centre in Muzaffarpur. Varun has rendered his services at the de-addiction centre for three days now and patients said they were benefiting from the process, reported The Telegraph.

Varun said he was teaching asanas to both the patients and their attendants.

“It is not mandatory for attendants to join the session but we are encouraging them to join as well because their help will be important when the patients are released from rehab and maintain routine yoga at home,” he said. “As of now, I am teaching three asanas – anulom-vilom, kapalbhati and bhramari – which are mainly breathing exercises. I am not making them do asanas which reduce fat or need heavy physical exercise.”

Yogi said the patients were initially unable to follow his instructions but had responded effectively later.

“When I instructed them to inhale and exhale for five seconds, some did it for three seconds and some did not even try,” he said. “Again, there were some who did it for seven seconds. So, everyone was reacting differently. Concentration levels of the addicts get affected because of their addiction and the problem becomes evident if one quits suddenly. The problem can be addressed with yoga and counselling sessions.”

Fifty-five-year-old Bhagwan Thakur is a patient at the centre. He said he had been experiencing trembling in his hands which had improved after he joined the yoga sessions.

“My hands don’t tremble any more,” he said. “The yoga session has really been helpful.”

He is accompanied by his wife, Meena Devi, to the sessions. “I am trying to learn the asanas properly so that I can correct my husband if he goes wrong,” she said. “Doctors have told us that yoga will be very helpful for my husband.”

Shravan Ram, another patient at the de-addiction center, said he was a little restless before joining the yoga session but now he was fine.

Centre nodal officer Santosh Kumar said the yoga instructor had been engaged on the instruction of principal health secretary R.K. Mahajan. “Yoga is a wonderful practice for people who are recovering from an addiction,” he said. “Drug and alcohol abuse always means that people lose touch with their bodies and minds. Yoga allows them to gain control over their senses and become more comfortable. It can be particularly helpful during the early days of recovery when the patient deals with heavy stress.”

The 30-bed de-addiction centre at NMCH now has eight attendants to look after the patients.

“We have engaged the attendants because the patients need to be under constant surveillance,” said Santosh. “The patients can do risky things.”

Yogi Mahesh, a yoga guru at the Bihar School of Yoga who runs a yoga center in Odisha, said yoga could do wonders for those who were trying to get out of some kind of addiction.

“The bhramari asana helps in increasing the concentration of the person who practises it,” he said. ” One can master meditation techniques in three sittings and only under a good yoga guru. But anulom vilom may not be too beneficial because the addicts will get fed up with all the physical exercise that it requires. ”

The de-addiction centre has also equipped its wards with LED televisions, air-conditioners, carrom boards and other facilities to engage the addicts.

“Everything runs according to a fixed routine here,” said Santosh. “It helps the patients to heal faster.”