Despite a host of celebrity gurus plus a wide variety of instructional videos and CDs on yoga, Indians are still not ready to embrace the ancient practice, relying instead more on medicines for cures to various ailments, says noted yoga exponent B K S Iyengar.

At a time when various exponents from Baba Ramdev to Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty are propagating their own styles of the art of breathing right people here are not paying heed to the ancient practice, feels Iyengar, also known as 'Guruji.' India, considered to be the birthplace of the ancient art of yoga, is still lagging behind in the practice claims the guru who has made Iyengar yoga a celebrated name worldwide.

The 90-plus Padma Vibushan awardee says, "In India, there are more people who are drug addicts, I mean those addicted to medicines. Everybody wants to take medicines for their ailments. This is not so when compared to those in western countries where they have taken to yoga." He claims that the regular practice of Iyengar Yoga can cure even those afflicted with extremely serious medical conditions and is known to use various props such as belts, ropes and wooden gadgets to make the performance of 'asanas' easy for physical handicapped patients.

When asked about various controversies that is currently plaguing the ancient practice. "There is no controversy about my form of yoga, 20 million students across the world who are my students. There may be many practitioners today but yoga is one. The trunk of the tree is one there may be many branches," says Iyengar.