It’s a strange sight — a hall full of people, young and old, comically springing up and down on their haunches. Look closer, and their hands are crossed over their chests, fingers clutching the earlobes – not some kind of mass punishment, but a ‘super-brain’ yoga class.

The longstanding punishment for naughty children and a means of showing obeisance to Lord Ganesha, ‘thoppukaranam’ is now packaged as ‘super-brain’ yoga and taught to people who feel their brains needs sharpening. In fact, this form of yoga has also gone abroad, and is taught along with the other asanas at yoga schools.

“Thoppukarnam was not devised as a punishment for lazy children to humiliate them, but to help them perform better,” explains Padmini Ramesh, managing trustee at the pranic healing home in Chennai. “The science behind it is simple.

Thoppukarnam sets right the energy wiring connection in the brain by activating the acupuncture points in the left and right ears, which in turn activates the left and right brain,” explains Mrs Ramesh.

As a special camp for Vinayaka Chathurthi, the pranic healing home will teach the correct method of performing thoppukarnam; with short-cuts for old people who cannot squat .

The session free of cost and open to the public, will be conducted between 3 and 6 pm on September 19 at AC-11, 2nd Avenue (near blue star signal), Anna Nagar.

Learn how to do Thoppukarnam in this video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVY7YZTUdzE