Paes to seek solace in yoga, meditation

By Bharat Desai

AHMEDABAD: Tennis ace Leander Paes, who had an acrimonious split with his doubles partner Mahesh Bhupathi recently, may soon be in the city to learn yoga and meditation which would help him get over the stress in his personal life and professional career.

Sources at the Shivanand Ashram here said Leander's father had telephoned yoga guru Swami Adhyatmananda from Chandigarh last week, requesting him to help out his son when he returns to India.

When contacted, Swami Adhyatmananda said Leander was planning to come to Ahmedabad some time in July and would spend some days in the solitude of the sprawling ashram at Jodhpur Tekra.

"He has been going through a lot of trauma and disturbance, we hope we will be able to help him out of this crisis through a process of yoga and meditation", the Swami said.

Talking to TOINS over telephone from Calcutta, Dr Vece Paes said the Swami had been initially contacted to teach Leander some breathing exercises. Swami Adhyatmananda, he said, was highly recommended by tennis officials in Chandigarh during his recent visit there.

Dr Paes said the visit to Ahmedabad had been planned much before the split with Bhupathi. "You know Leander is a very sensitive guy... I am sure this training will help him overcome the stress he is facing today."

Swami Adhyatmananda has temporarily suspended his globe-trotting and decided to stay put in Gujarat for the next two years. Which means Leander will have to come to Ahmedabad instead of attending one of his camps in Calcutta or Chandigarh.

It is believed that the former tennis champion Akhtar Ali, a keen follower of Swami Adhyatmananda, had also advised Leander's father to get in touch with him.