Chennai: Over 50 schoolteachers from top city schools are undergoing treatment at the Government Yoga and Naturopathy Medical College Hospital (GYNMCH) for varicose veins, back pain and joint pain, an occupational hazard for teachers as they stand for long hours.
Many of them are under treatments which includes backward bending asanas (postures), breathing exercises and having banana leaf bath. Dr Deepa Saravanan of GYNMCH told DC a small group of senior maths teachers and primary schoolteachers suffering from bronchial asthma, as they inhale chalk dust, are also being treated with cold packs and are taught breathing exercises.
Teacher M. Indumathi (62) said she spends 15 minutes every day doing bhujangasana before starting her day. She worked in various CBSE, matriculation and state board schools for the last 30 years. “Bhujangasana is a cobra pose which will strengthen my spine and relieve me from stress and fatigue,” she says.
She used to stand for more than five hours in class every day. “The pain I get because of the varicose veins arrested my mobility. When heavy doses of painkillers failed to help me, I finally chose to take yoga and naturopathy treatment based on advice from my friends,” narrates Indumathi.
According to Dr S. Indira Devi the sitting posture of teachers during paper correction causes severe stress on the neck. “Many teachers complain that they have developed cervical spondylitis as they sit for hours together to correct answer papers. We teach simple neck rotation exercises and advise them to take short walks instead of sitting in the same place for long hours,” she said.
Salabasana and arthasalabasana are two asanas which doctors insist that should be performed by teachers as part of their morning routine. “These two asanas are important exercises for the abdomen and make the person feel comfortable during long hours of sitting and standing,” said Dr Indira Devi.
The case history of primary schoolteachers is a little different. Since they teach lessons loudly and use the blackboard extensively, they experience sore throat, headache and bronchial asthma. Dr Deepa has counselled many teachers to opt for white board instead of blackboard.
