72-year-old offers free yoga classes in China

Beijing: A 72-year-old Chinese man is offering free yoga classes to middle-aged and elderly people and believes that it could become one of the most popular exercises for senior citizens.

Yue Mingchao, a resident of Hangzhou City in Zhejiang Province, started learning yoga for nine years after his retirement.

He started his yoga classes on March 2015 and provides it three times a week.

Yue, used to be overweight with hypertension and a fatty liver and decided to take up a physical sport and developed an interest in yoga after trying jogging, going to gym and dancing, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today.

"At the very beginning, I felt embarrassed as most yoga learners were women. So I stayed at the back of the class," he said.

It was difficult for him at first. Even some simple poses, such as sitting cross-legged and bending down, were too hard for him.

It took three months before he was broken in. After two years, his fat belly had disappeared and his health had improved.

His class has some 60 students compared to 15 when it was set up.

Yue's students are aged from 50 to 82. Most of them want to tone up their bodies and improve their health, he said.

He has decided to open two more classes next week since an increasing number of elderly people, both men and women, have become yoga enthusiasts.

"Yoga could become one of the most popular pastimes for senior citizens, rivaling shadow boxing and line dancing," he added.