Breathe deep, this is the real thing

Indian yoga master Bal Mukund Singh teaches students how to do yoga properly at the 2013 China-India Yoga Week in Beijing. Zhu Xingxin / China Daily

Indian yoga master Swami Mangalteertham was in Beijing recently for the 2013 China-India Yoga Week, where he said he wants to eliminate "junk yoga" in China.

The yoga week was supported by the Indian embassy, and the presence of the invited Indian masters attracted hundreds of Chinese yoga lovers.

"Today, in many places, even in India, yoga is served like junk food, not real food. It does not nourish your body," Mangalteertham says.

"Real yoga helps you to grow physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, but junk yoga does not."

The masters taught the learners onsite how to breathe and concentrate while doing yoga, and how to avoid injuries.

In classic yoga, there are eight integrated facets: the universal principles, personal observances, asana or body postures, breathing exercise and the control of prana or energy, control of the senses, concentration, meditation, and union with nature and the divine.

Every part is indispensable, Mangalteertham says.