High on Yoga@35000 Feet: Upa Yoga performed mid-air on selected SpiceJet flights, Twitteratti reacts

New Delhi, June 21: Budget carriers usually come up with "low fares" scheme to woo more passengers, but on the occasion of the inaugural International Day of Yoga, SpiceJet is giving on-board yoga classes on selected flights.

To mark the glorious day, budget carrier SpiceJet has teamed up with Isha Foundation of Sadhguru to conduct mid-air yoga sessions on 22 to 25 of its Boeing flights on Sunday, June 21. The event has been dubbed by the company as "High-on-yoga@35,000 feet".

SpiceJet crew and the Isha Foundation instructors will perform Upa Yoga at a height of 35,000 feet on the International Yoga Day. Handouts and CDs on yoga were also distributed to the passengers by the airline.

On Saturday, trial-run aboard the Delhi-Guwahati and Guwahati-Delhi flights of budget airline SpiceJet with over 180 passengers and crew were performed.

According to the airline, approximately 50 dedicated Isha instructors and SpiceJet crew members, who have been specially trained to perform "Upa Yoga", will undertake a 10-minute session onboard select Boeing flights across the SpiceJet network.

Passengers onboard the flights will be encouraged to participate in the yoga exercises while seated, SpiceJet said in a release.

Upa is a simple yet powerful style of yoga that activates the joints, muscles and energy system and incorporates pranayams.

"SpiceJet is pleased to be the first airline in the world to demonstrate yoga onboard. We are happy to be associated with the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi)'s initiative in promoting yoga in India. We are pleased to join hands with Isha Foundation for this initiative aimed at our customers who are on the move," SpiceJet's chairman and managing director Ajay Singh said.

In addition to the in-flight activities, several hundred Isha Foundation volunteers will perform a simple form of yoga, 'namaskar mudra', at SpiceJet check-in counters and boarding gates at select airports, the airline said.

"The significance of yoga is that once you learn the practices, you do not need anyone's help, a special place or any equipment. It can be done wherever you are," Sadhguru said.

The programme has been exclusively sketched for Boeing flights bound for destinations exceeding 110 minutes, SpiceJet said, adding, it intends to carry out such initiatives in the future as well.

Air India too promotes Yoga

Air India will reportedly show a film on based-on yoga, across its flights, along with special in flight announcement.

"We are just carrying forward our Prime Minister's patronage and collective call to celebrate June 21 as the International Yoga Day by organising a programme for all our employees for the full week at all major bases which will include yoga and meditation," a senior Air India official was quoted as saying. [Govt-owned Air India to promote yoga mid-air]

Meanwhile, here are some Twitter reactions on SpiceJet's move of practicing yoga mid-air:

#Yogaat35000Feet SpiceJet & Isha Foundation instructors perform Upa Yoga in DEL-GAU Flight #InternationalDayofYoga. https://t.co/etazgbBO2t

— SpiceJet (@flyspicejet) June 21, 2015

Flying to Port Blair as part of SpiceJet program 'High on yoga at 35000' feet to demo simple Isha Upa yoga practices #Yogaday #YogaForAll

— Rajasekhar V (@bigfundu) June 21, 2015

From Holi dance to Yoga in the sky. Spicejet utilize the opportunity everytime. #Creative #InternationalDayofYoga https://t.co/4EvifWVAEP

— Vikas Mishra (@vikasmishraa) June 21, 2015

High on Yoga@35000 Feet: Isha Upa Yoga on SpiceJet Flights! http://t.co/KB7UxkBGXy

— Puneet Nanda (@puneetnanda) June 21, 2015

DGCA had given @flyspicejet show-cause notice for midair dance on Holi http://t.co/ZQcRNJUcvr but is OK with them doing midair Yoga farce?

— Suryanarayan Ganesh (@gsurya) June 20, 2015

Asanas at 35,000 ft! They don't leave you alone in the skies too! Aargh http://t.co/geZDwOSXRL

— Chitra Narayanan (@ndcnn) June 20, 2015

No food, delayed flights and now forced to do yoga. SpiceJet, no one will fly you now. Other than Baba Ramdev. http://t.co/hbvIh2Rv6b

— Brown Sahiba (@Rajyasree) June 20, 2015

Anything this serious would make me giggle violently. http://t.co/DSxLM8B1Ur pic.twitter.com/D9ojwq71NH

— Aparna Jain (@aparna_jain) June 20, 2015

“Attention passengers, SpiceJet regrets to inform that today’s mid-air yoga class is cancelled due to delay in incoming yoga teacher.”

— YouAreASplendidItem (@sidin) June 19, 2015

#Yogaat35000Feet Glimpses from Delhi. CDs & handouts being distributed for better impact. #InternationalDayofYoga pic.twitter.com/DqpK6PUSsc

— SpiceJet (@flyspicejet) June 21, 2015

OneIndia News

(With agency inputs)