The aim of the conference is to understand the evolution of yoga as a form of therapy, both historically and in the current context
Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute’s ‘International yoga conference – Yoga as Therapy – Scope, Evidence and Evolution’ was held in December, 2018 in Lonavala. Present at the inauguration were Swami Maheshananda (Chairman Kaivalyadhama), Dr DR Karthikeyan (Former Dir CBI and Member of Kaivalyadhama Advisory Board), Justice (Retd) BN Shrikrishna (former Judge of Supreme Court of India and Chairman Kaivalyadhama Advisory Board), PN Ranjit Kumar (Jt Secretary Ministry Of AYUSH, Government of India), Dr Pradeep Vyas (Principal Secretary – Public Health department Government of Maharashtra), Prof Rajan Welukar (Vice Chancellor Raisoni University, Member Advisory Board Kaivalyadhama), and OP Tiwari (Secretary Kaivalyadhama).
Speaking on the same, Subodh Tiwari, CEO Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute said; “Over the next few days, brilliant minds from all over the globe will come together to discuss the place of yoga in the realm of healing. Through multiple academic plenary sessions and panel discussions, our endeavour would be to delve deeper into the intricate aspects of understanding yoga as a therapy. At Kaivalyadhama, we believe that we can set the proper context for conversation and truly be able to recognise that yoga, unlike many other disciplines, provides an all-encompassing method for therapy.”
The aim of the conference is to understand the evolution of yoga as a form of therapy, both historically and in the current context. To add, the discussions will set the tone about the future scope of yoga therapy, studying its place in various fields: academia, modern medicine, and yoga teaching.
Some of the topics discussed at the conference were – evidence-based yoga and its integration into professional therapy practice – the Western scenario, the future roadmap – integrating yoga as complementary therapy into mainstream medical and mental healthcare, and yoga as therapy in women’s health.
Dr Satbir Singh Khalsa, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Hardvard Medical School, USA mentioned during the inauguration ceremony – “Today, there is a disconnect. We’ve taught dental hygiene, but not mental hygiene. Now, through the lens of yoga, as a form of healing, both from the scope of prevention and cure, we must ask ourselves how do we go from where we are now to where we need to be? I believe this conference will help answer this question and establish a roadmap for the practice and discipline of yoga therapy.”
Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute’s ‘International Yoga Conference – Yoga as Therapy – Scope, Evidence and Evolution’ saw illustrious names from various fields – yoga, general and holistic medicine, surgery, eastern philosophy, Sanskrit, psychology and other various academic fields – come together to discuss and dissect the current definition of yogic therapy as well as synthesise evidence-based research.
Some of the eminent international names at the conference were Dr Sat Bir Singh Khalsa (Asst Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, USA), Göran Boll (Yoga teacher, therapist and Founder of Medi Yoga, Sweden), John Kepner (Executive Director, IAYT, USA), Dr Arthur Brownstein (Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, USA), and Dr Luciano Bernardi (Professor of Internal Medicine, Italy) amongst others.