V. Nanammal facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
V. Nanammal
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Nanammal in 2018
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| Born | 24 February 1920 |
| Died | 26 October 2019 (aged 99) Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
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| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | Yoga instructor |
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V. Nanammal (born February 24, 1920 – died October 26, 2019) was an amazing yoga teacher from India. She was known as India's oldest yoga instructor!
Nanammal taught yoga for over 45 years. She trained more than one million students during her life. Every day, she taught about 100 students.
Many of her students became yoga teachers themselves. About 600 of them now teach yoga all over the world.
Her important work was recognized with two big awards. She received the Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2016. This is a national award for women in India. In 2018, she also received the Padma Shri, which is one of India's highest awards for citizens.
Early Life and Family
Nanammal was born on February 24, 1920. Her family lived in Zameen Kaliayapuram, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. They were a farming family.
She started learning yoga when she was only eight years old. Her father taught her many yoga poses. She eventually became an expert in over 50 different asanas, which are yoga postures.
Yoga was a family tradition for Nanammal. Her father and grandfather were both traditional Indian medicine doctors. They kept their yoga knowledge within the family for a long time.
Nanammal's family also worked in traditional Siddha medicine and farming. They owned farms with coconuts and cashews in the state of Kerala.
After she got married, Nanammal moved to different towns with her husband. He was also a Siddha doctor and farmer. She became very interested in naturopathy, which is a natural way of staying healthy. Nanammal had a big family with five children, 12 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.
Her Yoga Journey
Nanammal began practicing yoga when she was just 8 years old. She said her father, who also knew martial arts, taught her. She continued to practice yoga her whole life.
In 1972, she opened her own yoga center. It was called "Ozone Yoga Centre" and was in Coimbatore. Nanammal and her family continued to teach their special family style of yoga.
Their traditional yoga style focused a lot on Pranayama, which means breath control. The Ozone Yoga Centre has taught yoga to more than 100,000 people.
Over 50 years, Nanammal trained over one million students. She kept teaching about 100 students every day at her center. Many of her students became yoga teachers themselves.
About 600 of her students, including 36 members of her own family, became yoga instructors. They now teach yoga to people all around the world. Her son, Balakrishnan, said she trained over 60 family members to be yoga teachers.
Later Years and Legacy
Nanammal tried to get into the Guinness World Records. She wanted to teach yoga to more than 20,000 students in Coimbatore. Her goal was to help women and girls learn yoga techniques. She believed yoga could help with many health problems.
She also became popular on YouTube. Videos showed her doing difficult yoga poses while wearing her pink sari. She even planned to be on an Indian TV show called 'India's Got Talent'.
In the autumn of 2019, Nanammal had a fall from her bed. She was not able to get up after that. She passed away on October 26, 2019, in Coimbatore.
Nanammal was lovingly called "Yoga Grandma" by many people. She received several awards for her amazing achievements:
- 2016 – The National Nari Shakti Puraskar award. She received it from the former President of India, Pranab Mukherjee.
- 2016 – The Yoga Ratna award from the Shwaasa Yoga Organization.
- 2018 – The Padma Shri, India's fourth highest award for citizens. News18 reported she was the oldest person to receive this award that year.
- 2018 – A Lifetime Achievement award from the Rotary club.
