As per guidelines issued by UGC and Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India, the International Day of Yoga 2017 was celebrated at Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (Deemed University accredited with ‘A’ Grade by NAAC), Pondicherry in a grand manner from 19-23 June 2017. The weeklong celebrations of IDY 2017 at SBV included local, regional and national events.
Yoga awareness programme was conducted on 19 June for 330 faculty and students of MGMCRI, KGNC and IGIDS along with 30 students and faculty from RGCET. The VC of SBV Prof KR Sethuraman and Registrar Prof AR Srinivasan graced the occasion along with representatives of the constituent colleges. Mass awareness Yoga programme was conducted for more than a hundred students and staff at Vanidasanar Higher Secondary School in Seliamedu as well as at the RHTC in collaboration with Community Medicine Dept on 20 June.
On 21 June Dr Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani, Director CYTER and the team from SBV were part of the International Day of Yoga celebrations at the Pondicherry Promenade with a mass demonstration of Common Yoga Protocol by nearly 3000 students led by the Chief Minister Sri V Narayanasamy in presence of the Union Minister of State Sri MJ Akbar. It is to be noted that Dr Ananda is a member of the Ministry of AYUSH Expert Committee for the celebrations of IDY from 2015 onwards. The grand event was organised by the Tourism, Health and Education departments of Puducherry Government. CYTER team also participated actively in the Workshop on Yoga and Wellness organised by Tourism Department and held at the Bharati Park. Dr Madanmohan, Dr Meena, Sri Dayanidy, Dr Balaji, Ms Shvethika and others were invited, presenters. In the evening Dr Ananda and Dr Meena were honoured by the Chief Minister for their services for the cause of Yoga in Puducherry.
On 22 June CYTER concluded a successful Regional Yoga competition for students of Health Professions Education institutions in Pondicherry region in association with Pondicherry Yogasana Association. The VC of SBV Prof KR Sethuraman and Registrar Prof AR Srinivasan graced the occasion and gave away the prizes to worthy winners from JIPMER, MGMCRI, KGNC and CYTER.
The final event, the crest jewel was the National Seminar-cum-Workshop on “Role of Yoga in prevention, management and rehabilitation of chronic diseases” held on 23 June with lectures, lecture-demonstrations, workshops and panel discussion by eminent experts. The event was inaugurated by Ammaji Kalaimamani Yogacharini Meenakshi Devi Bhavanani in the presence of Prof KR Sethuraman, VC of SBV; Prof AR Srinivasan, Registrar; Prof M Ravishankar, Dean Faculty of Medicine and Dr Uma, Vice Principal Allied Health Sciences.
“Yoga must remain Yoga and not get mutated through this churning that is happening in the process of the world celebrate the International Day of Yoga with mass congregations,” said Ammaji in her address. “Yoga has a great role in more than 2/3rd of patients who come to the hospital as they have Medically Unexplained Symptoms that do not require medical or surgical interventions but rather Yogic counselling and lifestyle management. Such patients should be sent to the Yoga OPD before going to any other OPD as this will save time, money, energy and prevent the unnecessary taxing of both the overburdened health care system as well as the patients and their family” said the respected Vice-chancellor of SBV Prof KR Sethuraman in his special address. The organising Chairman Prof K Jaiganesh, HOD of Physiology at MGMCRI welcomed the gathering while the organising Secretary Dr Ananda proposed Vote of Thanks.
Participants from all over the country were treated to a most enlightening Keynote address through video conferencing by Padmashree Dr KK Aggarwal, the National President of IMA from New Delhi. He in a lucid manner led everyone on a journey through the integration of traditional systems of healing such as Yoga with the modern empirical evidence-based medicine. He stressed the concept of Yoga being essentially “parasympathetic” in nature. Hence, pranayama may be termed parasympathetic breathing, asanas as the parasympathetic activity. The
Yama-niyama of Yoga is a parasympathetic lifestyle and the combination of all these aspects of Yoga produce relaxation facilitating healing of chronic diseases. The erudite audience gave him a standing ovation at the end of his presentation that was enjoyed by one and all.
Invited presentations were given on Yogic lifestyle by Yogacharya Aravinda Koithyar of Shreyas Centre in Bangalore and the power of chanting as Yoga therapy by Yogacharini Smt Menaka Desikachar of the KHYF, Chennai.
In the afternoon an exhilarating panel discussion was held on the topic of the seminar with Prof K A Narayan of Community Medicine, Prof Amirtha Ganesh of Cardiology, Prof Madanmohan Trakroo of Physiology and CYTER, Prof R Pajanivel of Pulmonology, Prof K Renuka of Nursing and Yogachemmal Dr Meena Ramanathan of CYTER as the experts and moderated by Dr Ananda. A great wealth of information was imbibed by all participants from this unique team that brought into focus the preventive, promotive and rehabilitative aspects of Yoga in chronic diseases. Clinical, community, nursing, research, as well as Yoga therapy based perspectives, were explored in great detail during the animated discussion.
The practical aspects of the workshop were given by the CYTER team along with an invited presentation by Yogacharini Devasena Bhavanani of ICYER at Ananda Ashram. A poster presentation was also held on the seminar topic and first prizes were bagged by Mrs Josephine and Mr Abhishek of MGMCRI. The event was jointly organised by CYTER and the Department of Physiology with the support of Community medicine, and the Faculties of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing of Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth.
