Source: Eurasianet | Molly Corso A growing number of Georgians are turning to yoga to shake off the stress of daily life. But their quest for inner calm and smaller waists is generating hostility from the powerful Georgian Orthodox Church. Over the past two years, yoga has gone from a largely unknown Eastern tradition to a popular fitness routine in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. Georgian National Yoga Federation President Giorgi Berdzenishvili, a passionate practitioner for the past 15 years, called the trend a “dynamic” process that started under former Soviet leader Mikheil Gorbachev’s glasnost’ policies in the late 1980s. During…
Yoga is growing in popularity in Georgia, particularly among Georgians who have traveled abroad - or those who are seeking help with back pain. But the growing interest has also provoked some concern from Georgian Orthodox priests, who think the practice could lead churchgoers astray