Aasha Khosa/New Delhi

On International Yoga Day, Dr Badrul Islam Kairanvi, the first Muslim Yoga expert from India, said he had mastered a Yoga Aasana that doubles the lungs' oxygen-intake capacity and helps the human body adapt to air pollution.

Speaking to Awaz-the Voice on the eve of the IYD 2026, Dr Islam said he had demonstrated this asana with verifiable results in a Yoga session in Kolkata in December 2025 and also written a paper on it. “This is a simple asana in which stretching and breathing techniques are used to optimise the capacity of lungs to take in oxygen and pump out carbon dioxide. With this one asana, humans can live healthy lives in our polluted cities.”.

Dr Islam is also a Unani practitioner who retired as a senior officer in the Government of India. He has authored a medical book in the Urdu language, "Yoga – The Source of Natural Therapy", and a revised edition, "The Source of Natural Health".

Dr Badrul Islam teaching Yoga to women in a Muslim neighbourhood

He has learnt Yoga from Dhirendra Bramhachari, who was the first to start Yoga in India way back in the seventies. Besides going on several foreign missions, he has used his skills to popularize Yogae in the Muslim neighbourhoods of Delhi.

On the IYD 2026, Dr Islam, however, cautioned against the growing trend of under-qualified ‘Yoga trainers’ turning the ancient holistic wellness regimen into a bunch of exercises.

He said it pains him to see Yoga being turned into a set of exercises, while it’s a ‘sadhna’ and the trainers must first work on themselves for at least three to four years before guiding others through the journey.

He said he has seen people turning trainers with a month of learning Yoga from random institutes and with a certificate in hand. “This is a disservice to society.”

Dr Badrul Islam giving certificates at a Train the Trainer programme

On the International Yoga Day, the Kairana-born Yoga practitioner is leading the sessions at the Delhi Hajj Committee office, Bharat Scouts and Guides, Jamia Milia Islamia and the All India Unani Tibbi Congress (AIUTC) in Delhi.

He, however, said on the positive side, the recognition and popularity of Yoga across the world is heartening. “The future of Yoga is very bright."

These days, he is into research on Yoga, as a result, he demonstrated the increased oxygen inhaling capacity of humans in a conference of AIUTC on Kolkata.

He is convinced about the ever-rising popularity and global recognition of this ancient Indian way of fitness for mind and soul. He is also determined to make every Indian practice it.

He says fitness of the human mind and body is the key to realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of making India a developed nation by 2047.

Dr Badrul Islam training women

Yoga is so vast that it offers exercise for strengthening each organ and muscle of the body.

Dr Islam is always on the lookout for opportunities to introduce Yoga as a wellness therapy and way of life to humans.

Dr Islam has taught Yoga for 45 years in governmental institutions and written books on the subject. Looking back, Islam remembers the days when he was shunned by Muslims in the mosque during namaz because he was a Yoga professional.

Yoga Guru Islam, who hails from Kairana village in Western UP and lives in Delhi, says, “It’s a great feeling to see the world embrace this ancient Indian science of body and mind.”

Dr Badrul Islam with students of Jamia Milia Islami, Delhi

From being ostracised by Muslims and ignored by others for learning Yoga, Dr Islam has come a long way. Today, he is invited by the Muslim religious institutions and places to train common people and those holding religious positions.

He said that so far, 35 lakh Muslim youth, Imams, and Maulvis have been trained to practice Yoga. He has conducted Yoga workshops in 65 madrasas and Islamic religious institutions. In 2017, he trained all the Imams of the Delhi mosque in Yoga practices.

In the run-up to International Yoga Day, he conducted a workshop on Yoga in the Jamia Milia Islamia (central university), Delhi, where inmates of the hostels, staff, and students were involved. “By the time it was time for International Yoga Day, the interests of youth had turned into a junoon (Passion): They told me they want to do it every day, “Dr Islam told Awaz-the Voice.

Dr. Kairanvi's work includes promoting "Islamicised Yoga" and training groups in Egypt, Bangladesh, and various Indian states. He has served the health ministry and has been involved in numerous yoga-related events, including workshops, camps, and training courses.

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He is also the founder of the DrBIK Yoga Physical Medicine Centre for Health and Happiness and the Yoga Teachers Training Institute in New Delhi.

As a Yoga professional working with the government of India, he was responsible for cobbling syllabi and a training regimen for Yoga in schools.