From Padmasana to Padma Shri: Yoga teacher Nanammal on winning Padma Shri award

But the 98-year-old — said to be the oldest yoga teacher in the country — was far from being tired; even at this age, she can still perform about 50 postures, including some difficult ones, which she has been teaching for decades. “I am surprised and extremely happy over being honoured with the award, which has brought great pride to Coimbatore and Tamil Nadu,” said Nanammal.  

After learning yoga postures and its benefits from her parents, Nanammal made it a routine before mastering it to start teaching it to the younger generation to lead a healthy life. “Regular practice of yoga has done wonders to my health, as I enjoy remarkable memory and good vision even at this age,” she said. Practising yoga seems to have helped her maintain good health – Nanammal said she has never visited a hospital in her whole life. 

“My sons and daughters, 12 grandchildren, and 11 great grandchildren, too, learnt yoga, and lead a life free from lifestyle diseases like diabetes and blood pressure,” she said. Nanammal has taught yoga to lakhs of youngsters at Ozone Yoga Centre in Coimbatore over the decades, and has also been involved in spreading awareness on the natural systems of medicine in dealing with health and illness. 

“My dream is to raise a healthy nation by teaching yoga,” she addd. The yoga paati has received a number of awards, including ‘Nari Shakti Puraskar’ that she received from the then President Pranab Mukherjee in March, 2017 on International Women’s Day. Now, she is getting ready to head to Delhi again to collect the Padma Shri award from President Ram Nath Kovind in the first week of March.