Dr Gopalakrishnan did his schooling in Chennai and took up commerce as his main course of study first at Vivekananda College, Chennai and later in the prestigious Delhi School of Economics. His family circumstances brought him back to Chennai and he joined as a lecturer in D B Jain College in the year 1978. From then on, he has held various positions in the college which include NSS Program Officer, Ex-Officio, Student Union, Zonal Chairman, Teacher’s Association, Member-Senate and Academic Council, University of Madras and this educationist who has been in the teaching line for almost 30 years, has risen to be the Co-ordinator, Management Affairs and Office Administration and now as the Principal of the same institution.
He explained that apart from his main stream activity he has always been interested and drawn to literature, theater and yoga. He plunged himself in the world of books and has read several literary works very early in his life. In Delhi, he was fortunate to get exposed to people involved in theater and he joined avantegard theater repertoire ‘Koothu-P-Pattarai’ when he came back to Chennai. This form used the human body as a medium for expression and his body fitness played a great role in his success on the stage.
His inclination to yoga had begun very early in his school days and he practised it as a physical fitness exercise to start with. It was in the year 1983 that he chanced upon the book ‘Light on Yoga’ by B K S Iyengar and that was the first time he heard about the renowned Krishnamachariar. It was a few years later that he joined the Krishnamachari Yoga Mandiram to pursue their Diploma course. Subsequently he became a yoga instructor and also served as Consultant therapist, Lecturer for Diploma Course, Joint Director before becoming the Director of the organization in the year 1994. He has implemented several ideas in his tenure, including using yoga for other art forms like theater and dance.
Dr. Gopalakrishnan has also authored a book on yoga for dancers called ‘Be a Healthy Dancer’ and a book titled ‘Yoga for Children’. He has several articles to his credit published both in English and Tamil. His doctoral thesis titled ‘Stress Management – Based on the Conceptual Framework of Pathanjali’s Yoga Sutra’ is awaiting publication. He has released a VCD on yoga for children. He has successfully worked on helping people with voice modulation and culture. He is a consultant to the summer camps on Yoga organized by Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai for the last seven years.
Dr. Gopalakrishnan expressed “I have been extremely fortunate to have met some very great people in my life time like the great yoga exponent Sri TKV Desikachar, play write N. Muthuswami, Dr. Padma Subramaniam and several others. The revered Krishnamachariar’s very presence has influenced me and I remember the awe I felt seeing him for the first time during his 100th year celebrations. Another person to whom I am ever grateful is Dr. Usha Raghavan, my guru who is a selfless human being and till today I am her ardent student, learning Vedic chanting and other aspects of Vedanta”.
Dr. Gopalakrishnan’s family has always been a source of support to him in all his endeavours. His wife Dr. Thulasi Gopalakrishnan has joined his work and together they have laid out future plans to help people by establishing ‘Yoga Maiyam Foundation’. His life is on the mission to blend all his creative ideas, backed up with his abundant knowledge and experience to pass on to the future generations the richness of our spiritual heritage.
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