Mansi Gulati instructs the roomful of women and men to sit straight up, fold their hands, close their eyes, and take a deep breath. “Youthful vitality and great skin is literally at your fingertips; there is no need for Botox or surgical procedures to get a younger-looking face,” says the proponent of face yoga.
At a session organised by charitable organisations Shrishti and Vajra, Mansi introduced the audience to several poses to combat puffiness, dark circles, acne and double chin among other facial problems. “There are over 85 poses to target different areas of the face,” says Mansi, who is a contender for the Mrs. Asia International 2015 pageant and has trained various celebrities and beauty pageant participants across the country.
The by-invite-only event was held to raise funds for Shrishti’s school for underprivileged children in Red Hills, and to raise awareness about the need for self-defence training as given by Vajra. No fee was collected for the workshop, but participants could donate any amount they could for the cause.
Pooja Malhotra, president of Shrishti and founder of Vajra, says, “Face yoga has not been heard of much in the city, and we wanted something to draw people in. Once they are here, we tell them about the work we do both in the field of education and in teaching girls self-defence. Apart from the initial investments we have put into our school, we do have recurring costs like salaries for the teachers and watchman, midday meals, electricity and notebooks. For these, we require donations.”
When it comes to self-defence, Vajra has so far been conducting classes in a couple of Corporation schools. This year, they have received permission for four more schools. Sreeram of Krav Maga Tamil Nadu, who conducts the defence classes says, “Along with the Krav Maga for girls, we also teach the boys to respect girls. Gender sensitisation from a young age will go a long way in changing the future of society.”
