Breath is the essence of life. Yoga, a discipline that traces its roots to India, is the act of uniting the mind, body and soul through controlled breath. During his speech at the UNGA on 27th September 2014, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India proposed 21st June to be celebrated as the ‘International Day of Yoga’. The United Nations and the rest of the world welcomed this move whole-heartedly. Every year on 21st June, the world pauses to reflect and celebrate this ancient art of gaining mastery over one’s mind.
While we at Xpress Money are constantly innovating to provide convenient money transfer services to our customers, also embedded in our corporate ethos, is a strong sense of community welfare. Perhaps for the first time among remittance companies, we are taking Yoga, the acknowledged Indian discipline of wellness that helps harmonize the mind and body, to blue collar workers. We have chalked out a program of Siddha Samadhi Yoga (SSY) – also known as the Science of Silence Yoga – across various labor camps in the UAE. Over the last 3 years we have reached out to hundreds of blue collar expats who have benefitted from the SSY program across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. During these sessions they are taught breathing, meditation & simple exercises that would reap long-term benefits, if practiced regularly. We continue to conduct these programs on weekends and sometimes on weekdays – after their working hours.
This initiative is unique in its concept as it aims to take Yoga to the labor class, who are an integral part of UAE’s migrant community. There are not many relaxation programs that an average laborer is exposed to, as he winds up after a hard and long day at work. The blue-collar community, form a major part of the migrant community in the UAE and it is very rare that such wellness initiatives like SSY, is offered to them. High stress levels are common among these workers, who stay away from their homes and work long hours in different climatic conditions. Through this, we hope to help them find a sense of physical, mental and spiritual harmony within themselves.
