Hermit yoga goes public

Staff demonstrates a posture of hermit yoga yesterday with a projector showing the same posture performed by a hermit animation cartoon at a press conference launching a website that teaches the yoga’s postures in form of a 3D animation.//by Sureerat Tang

"Thai hermit yoga" has come out of its shell thanks to a new website displaying the postures - known to Thais as rusie dotton - in animated 3D form.

The Science and Technology and Public Health ministries yesterday launched www.RusieDotton.thai.net, enabling people to practice the healing art in their own home.

Wonder of Wat Pho

The centuriesold tradition of hermit yoga was first recorded at Wat Pho, where its wisdom is displayed in 127 postured statues accompanied by inscriptions.

Fifteen of these postures have been digitised as 3D animations on the website.

"Guided by the government's ECT (Economy, Technology, Culture) concept, we've combined the nation's store of traditional wisdom with technology," said Science and Technology Minister Kalaya Sophonpanich.

She said that the hermit yoga website was also a tribute to Wat Pho, which was given global heritage status in 2008 under Unesco's Memory of the World project and is considered the country's oldest seat of learning.

"Wireframe, polygon, mo¬tion capture and rendering techniques have been used to digitise the postures," said National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre director Pansak Siriruchatapong, whose team worked on the website for more than a year.

"The project helps preserve the country's unique yoga tradition and also gives people across the world easy access to the healthgiving practice."

Deputy Public Health Minister Manit Nopamornbodee said he would like to see more and more Thais  visit the website to practice the postures, which can help ease muscular aches and pains.

Next up, muay thai

"We've plan to spread the message with an English translation - and maybe Chinese and Japanese in the future. We are also hoping that a public TV channel - probably NBT - will broadcast the postures," said Manit.

The ministries' next plan is to give muay thai the same website treatment to promote the traditional martial art as a form of exercise.