Eleven-year-old British Indian Ishwar Sharma was conferred UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Daily Points of Light award earlier this week. A renowned Yoga prodigy, he has been helping several children with special needs through his free online classes.
A resident of Sevenoaks in Kent, Ishwar has been the World Yoga Champion thrice and was declared the British Indian of the Year in 2018. He took up Yoga at the age of three, as his father would practice it daily. He has autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which meant he couldn’t sit still as a child. However, practicing Yoga helped him with the conditions.
In order to help other kids in similar situations, he started teaching them Yoga online. During the pandemic, he provided free virtual classes to 40 children with special needs across 14 countries.
In a letter to Ishwar, PM Johnson has written, “You have brought the joy of yoga to hundreds of children globally during lockdown. I was particularly inspired to hear how you have helped children with special needs enjoy the activity you enjoy and excel at.”