The Health Benefits of Kathak Yoga
By Deepak Shrivastava, MD, FCCP, FACP
Professor of Medicine, UC Davis School of Medicine
Kathak is a historical dance form that has sustained itself in modern times. Kathak Yoga, an innovation within the tradition, by Pandit Chitresh Das, which requires multiple elements to be executed all at the same time. It involves keen concentration, physical fitness and ability to combine mind, body and soul to execute the dance. Although the students of Kathak define it as the art of story telling, Kathak offers a lot more. Kathak Yoga is physically demanding, commands mental concentration and has significant health benefits.
Students of Kathak Yoga build muscle strength and endurance. By incremental exercise of the large muscles of the legs and arms combined with disciplined movements of the smaller muscles of hands and the fingers, students develop tremendous capacity to perform physical work.1 In addition the exercise of facial muscles enhances the appearance and perhaps prevents wrinkling. The rapid turns (Chakkar) while dancing can only be accomplished with muscle coordination and ability to sustain balance. Kathak is about posture and flexibility. It prevents back and neck pain especially if one works long hours in sitting position and on the computer.
Compared to any other exercise the students also recite (Bols), and singing the melody continuously while practicing Kathak Yoga, which is a vast difference from dancing Kathak dance is controlling their breathing and thus increasing the period of time air is held in the lung to optimize the oxygenation of the blood. This also allows the removal of the waste gas (Carbon dioxide) from the body. The regular dance practice continues to enhance the breathing capacity that is measurable. Better lung health provides protection from many lung diseases.
The level of intensity of cardiac work that a Kathak Yoga student achieves can be measured scientifically. This level of cardiac exercise prevents development of coronary artery disease, heart attack and stroke. The blood flow improves significantly as the heart’s working capacity increases.
Exercise is known to raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels (good cholesterol) and lowers low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels (bad cholesterol) further reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Exercise prevents development of high blood pressure and improves blood pressure of those who already suffer with it. Uncontrolled high blood pressure is a silent killer by contributing to heart attack, stroke and kidney failure.
Blood sugar can be controlled with the exercise, not only in the healthy people but also diabetics. Uncontrolled high blood sugar causes vision loss, kidney failure and inability to fight infections to mention a few. Exercise prevents obesity and multiple complications related to it. Physical exercise helps to reduce body fat by building or preserving muscle mass and improving the body's ability to use calories.
I believe that Kathak prevents bone loss and development of Osteoporosis as it promotes bone formation related to weight bearing exercise. Kathak dancers wear 3 to 6 pound of iron “Bells” around the ankles while dancing.
American Heart Association2 recommends 20 to 30 minutes of aerobic activity three or more times a week and some type of muscle strengthening activity and stretching at least twice a week. All of this can be accomplished by adapting to regular practice of Kathak. The unique combination that Kathak Yoga offers surpasses many art forms making Kathak Yoga more desirable to learn and practice from a health perspective.
1. Sadhana exercise project 2002; Chitresh Das et al