A READING-BASED yoga teacher has raised thousands of pounds for the NHS after hosting online yoga classes during the bank holiday weekend.

Uday Bhosale raised more than £33,000 for NHS Charities Together over the Spring bank holiday weekend by organising online yoga classes with leading yoga teachers.

His ‘Yogis Unite for NHS’ event, organised with the help of his wife Sonali, was held online using Zoom on Saturday and Sunday.

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Classes were led by Abhijata Iyengar, granddaughter of the great yoga master BKS Iyengar, along with some of the UK’s most senior Iyengar yoga teachers.

The event was offered free of charge, but participants were invited to donate to the cause.

Reading Chronicle:

Over the weekend more than 4000 yogis attended the event, making donations to the Just Giving page which now totals more than £33,000.

Classes on offer were tailored to support people through the coronavirus pandemic, and included ‘Being in the present moment’ as well as a Covid-19 recovery sequence.

Uday moved to Reading several years ago having previously been based in Pune, India - the home of the main Iyengar yoga institute, where he studied with the Iyengar family for many years.

Since the lockdown began, his online classes have proved popular so he decided to organise the event as a way of giving something back to the community, and to bring people together during these challenging times.

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Iyengar yoga is one of the world’s most practised forms of yoga.

It was introduced by the late B.K.S. Iyengar, who is noted for bringing yoga to the West in the 1950’s when accompanying his student, the famous violinist Yehudi Menuhin, to the UK.

It is known for its focus on correct alignment and use of props such as blocks, belts and blankets, allowing it to be practised safely by people of any ability.

Donations can still be made here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/iyengaryogauk.