The city police commissioner, who himself completed the seven day camp along with other top cops, said during today's concluding session that ``concentration and patience are virtues that are essential in any profession but most required in the police force.'' He added that yoga will henceforth be a regular feature and will be practiced in the first 45 minutes of the 90-minute physical training session. In addition, a team of three policemen will soon leave for Ahmedabad, where they will acquire advanced yoga training and then teach the police force here.

Additional Commissioner of Police H P Singh, while listing the benefits of this session, told Express Newsline that policemen undergo stress for a number of reasons. ``Extended working hours, law and order problems, big bandobasts and exertion all add up'', he said. This session has been stress-busting, he said.

Police sub-inspector S M Gohil of the Mahidharpura police station, while welcoming the move to practice yoga regularly, said ``We did not realise the importance of yoga until we actually experienced its effect as a stress reliever. I think youngsters, especially school and college kids, should take to yoga for meditation and exercise.

But the most candid view came from a constable. When asked how he felt about the whole exercise, he said,``After completing night patrolling and staying up till early morning, how do you expect anyone to do yoga. In fact, many of us were using the meditation part to take a short nap in a sitting position.'' The yoga sessions were held for a week from 6 am to 8 am.

This first attempt to popularise yoga among the cops brought out some interesting fitness facts. Many cops were not able to stretch themselves adequately for all `aasans'. Others were seen being helped get into the right positions by experts and some simply gave up even trying to get into difficult positions prescribed as part of the exercises. But by and large, a serious attempt was being made to learn yoga. The pin drop silence bore witness to this fact.