A former Fijian resident, whose life took a downward spiral following the death of his wife, is ever so grateful that he turned to yoga which eventually pulled him out of the doldrums.

He has described this ancient art as “the most comprehensive wellness programme ever developed.”

Sunil Shekhar, of Sydney, now wants the people of Fiji to experience the effects of yoga and how it can do wonders to your life, when you think there is no hope.

The effect on him has seen him travel yearly to India to visit different yogis and eventually start teaching yoga.

He now conducts yoga lessons from the first floor at 35 Drasa Avenue in Lautoka.

Mr Shekar grew up in Ba and attended Xavier College in Ba from 1973 – 76 before going on to beginning a career as a corporate insurance broker.

He then migrated to Australia where he married the love of his life, also from Fiji, and with two sons, the future seemed rosy.

He started his own business in Sydney until the tragedy of his wife’s death dealt a cruel blow on him.

“At the prime of your life with everything at your doorstep, suddenly everything was lost,” he said.

Following his wife’s death, Mr Shekar was diagnosed with several medical complications.

“I was told by my doctor that if there was no improvement, I would have to undergo extensive treatment to treat my medical condition,” Mr Shekar said.

“My heart sank and my confidence in life and everything around me just took a nose dive.

“I decided I did not want to have any operation or depend on medications for the rest of my life.

“I mean what was I to lose I wanted to get myself back to the Sunil I grew up to be.”

So Mr Shekar started taking yoga classes and soon he started to feel the effect of its magical powers.

“My doctor was stunned and every time I went for a check he would say that there may have been a mistake with the blood samples as everything was starting to clear up,” he said.

“”I remember the day I opened the garbage bin and threw my medicines away.”

Today Mr Shekar practices yoga for about two hours daily.

His travels to India have resulted with him bringing one of the best yoga masters, 57-year-old Virendra Richhriya, from Madhya Pardesh, a state in central India.

“Yoga is all about syncing poses with your mind and breathing,” Mr Shekar said.

“Your diet must be proper and the exercise you do reduces stress.”

Mr Shekar said whilst normal exercise was good for you, it puts more stress on your body whereas yoga gets you there but with little to no stress.

“Once you are into it, you will find that through yoga your body will on its own manage stress and your cortical (outer layer of the cerebrum) level will increase,” Mr Shekar said.

Mr Shekar is calling on the people of Lautoka and surrounding towns to come and get a feel of yoga and see what it can do for you.

“You would be amazed at how it fixes your body and life up as it did to mine,” he said.

“I was one time staring death in the eye, now my life is at its best and that was what yoga did for me.

“Those who want to come in and talk to me can do so and I could guide them on how best yoga can be an alternative.”

He said people with blood pressure, diabetes, weight problems and sinus were most welcome to come and try yoga and he said the first session was free of charge.

“I am currently conducting Yoga Teacher Training courses for those who are interested,” he said.

Mr Shekar can be contacted on 8039805.