20 January,2022 10:23 AM IST | Mumbai | Anindita Paul
Designated spaces for yoga will make these parks more user-friendly. Representation pics
Being confined to the indoors during the multiple lockdowns that have been imposed during the pandemic has highlighted the importance of accessible green spaces ever more acutely. In response, the BMC has floated a Rs 25-crore tender to develop four themed gardens in the eastern and western suburbs of Mumbai.
These include a barefoot meditation park in Vikhroli, a science park in Ghatkopar, a traffic park in Kandivali and a multi-purpose sports club in Dahisar. Wellness experts share what the BMC must consider when designing these parks.
These parks will be a retreat for people to get away from their daily stresses - and so, the architecture and aesthetics should reflect tranquillity and peace. They should incorporate all the four elements, including earth, wind, fire, and water in these spaces and fill them up with flora and fauna that we, as metro-dwellers, sorely miss. The park can have a large outdoor space for yoga and meditation that also includes eco-friendly and sustainable materials such as bamboo. Additionally, they can have smaller, supporting spaces that can be used for different forms of meditation - trataka meditation, for example, needs dim light. I believe that instead of designating parks as meditation parks, it's important to create an all-natural environment so that people automatically use the space for reflection and rejuvenation. There are several ashrams and parks around the world that do this beautifully - from the Osho ashram in Pune, which is a beautiful retreat, to Bali's public parks, to even city-based parks like New York City's Central Park that has beautiful nature trails. Of course, underlying all these is a focus on regular upkeep and maintenance. I'd suggest considering making these paid spaces to prevent deterioration and misuse.
Mansi Bajaj, founder, The Yoga House
During the pandemic, we tried to hold yoga sessions in a park and realised the paramount importance of cleanliness and safety. The parks should also occupy a sizeable amount of space. Ensuring that the trees and other foliage in the park do not encroach on the open space will ensure that it can be used in the evenings as well as during the day. For yoga, people will need a smooth surface to practise on, which is quiet and calm and free from distractions. Accordingly, the park must be so situated to tune out any noise. It would also help if there is an instructor on the premises and some basic equipment such as yoga mats and resistance bands, to make yoga more accessible, especially for beginners. For inspiration, I'd suggest looking at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's park in his residence that has multiple textures, including pebbles, grass, and flat surfaces as well as flowing water - this is ideal for barefoot walking, which has several therapeutic benefits, especially early in the morning.
Rashika Chellwani, yoga instructor, Divine Yoga
More than meditation, what our city sorely needs is a focus on providing facilities to make sports accessible to all, especially young children. To date, sports such as tennis are the domain of the privileged and elite and cannot be accessed without exclusive club memberships. Unless our children are encouraged to follow an active lifestyle, restorative practices will only address the symptom and not the cause. Further, with the lack of designated cycling and running tracks in the city, people often head to the roads, which are polluted and can be quite unsafe. And so, good quality tracks are another element that can be considered. It's important to have such recreational spaces that support a fit and active lifestyle from an early age, to inculcate a culture of fitness that people carry with them throughout their lives, which most Mumbaikars have been sorely missing.
Rashmi Joshi, head-operations, I Think Fitness
