International Yoga and Sports Federation on cards

Mysuru: Union Government will soon come up with an International Yoga and Sports Federation to promote Yoga under the leadership of Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev, Founder of Patanjali Yogpeeth, Haridwar, said Minister of State for Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) Shripad Yesso Naik. 

He was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the two-day International Conference on Yoga for Heart Care organised by Ministry of AYUSH at the Convocation Hall of Karnataka State Open University in city this morning. He said the Yoga and Sports Federation, apart from encouraging youngsters, will also help make yoga a global entity. 

The Minister also announced that the Union Government would introduce yoga in about 1.5 lakh Primary Health Centres (PHCs) across the country with an intention to introduce yoga as part of treatment for many ailments. Gradually, yoga will be extended to all PHCs, he added. 

Calling upon yoga professionals and schools to utilise various schemes announced by the Union Government, Minister Shripad Naik said that Government of India has started Yoga Certification Board, a scheme for accreditation of Yoga Schools and Certifications of yoga professionals and added that it would help promoting yoga across the globe. 

Minister Naik also enlightened people on ‘Yoga Locator App’ which helps yoga enthusiasts find nearby yoga institutions and teachers. He also said ‘Bhuvan Yoga’, an app developed with the help of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), could record about 10 crore people participating in the International Yoga Day celebrations on June 24 across the country. 

International Yoga Day in Mysuru

AYUSH Ministry was willing to organise the International Yoga Day-2020 in Mysuru with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the chief guest. However, he mentioned that a final decision in this regard would be taken only after a confirmation from the Prime Minister’s Office.  

Earlier in his speech, Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha had requested Minister Naik to recommend Mysuru as the destination for International Day of Yoga also to bring Prime Minister Modi for the event. He had also mentioned that the participation for the event was increasing every with 15,000 participants in 2015 to 54,500 last year at Mysore Race Club premises. 

Baba Ramdev steals the show

Patanjali Yogpeeth Founder Baba Ramdev, started his speech by greeting the audience in Kannada ‘Samasta Karnataka Sahodhara Sahodhariyarige Nanna Namaskaragalu.’ 

Stating that Mysuru was a place of spiritual, historical and political relevance, he said the city was also home for many yoga institutions. He also mentioned that yoga exponents from India would soon be competing at Olympics as the Federation would seek recognition from International Olympic Committee (IOC). 

Chancellor of Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (S-VYASA)  University, Bengaluru Dr. Nagendra, Ramachandra Mission, Hyderabad, Founder Kamlesh D. Patel, Ministry of Ayush, Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Dr. Dharmendra  Singh Gangwar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH P.K. Pathak, Director of Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, New Delhi, Basava Reddy, Commissioner, Department of AYUSH, Government of Karnataka Meenakshi Negi and others were present.

The valedictory of the event will be held tomorrow at 4 pm with Governor Vajubhai R. Vala as the chief guest. More than 700 national and international delegates are participating in the conference spread over ten technical sessions involving 50 resource persons and experts. On the first day of the conference, technical sessions on ‘Yoga for heart care: Emerging trends and researches’, ‘Role of Yoga in preventive cardiology’, ‘Role of Yoga in the management of Hypertension’ and ‘Yoga for coronary artery disease’ will be delivered. 

During the second day of the conference, technical session on ‘Physiology and integrative cardiology’, ‘Yoga for Cardiovascular health’ will be organised. A symposium on ‘Need for promotion of Yogasana as Sports’ and presentation of research papers on ‘Yoga for heart care: Emerging trends and researches’ will also be organised.

This conference is fifth in the series to commemorate the unanimous adoption of Resolution by the United Nations General Assembly during its 69th Session for observing 21st June as International Day of Yoga.