Lonavala: Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute’s ‘International yoga conference – Yoga as Therapy – Scope, Evidence and Evolution’ was held from 27th – 30th December 2018 in Lonavala.
Speaking on the conference Mr. Subodh Tiwari, CEO Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute said; brilliant minds from all over the globe has 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 recognize that yoga, unlike many other disciplines, provides an all-encompassing method for therapy.”
The conference discussed the evolution of yoga as a form of therapy, both historically and in the current context. To add, the discussions 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, Ph.D, 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 & discipline of yoga therapy.”
Some of the other eminent international names at the Conference were 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.
The Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute was founded in the year 1924 at Lonavala by Rev. Swami Kuvalayananda- a pioneer in the field of scientific research in yoga. Today the institute has flourished to become an internationally acclaimed yoga institute working in the field of scientific and philosophico-literary research, training and therapy in the field of yoga
Present at the inauguration were Swami Maheshananda (Chairman Kaivalyadhama), Dr. D. R. Karthikeyan (Former Dir. CBI and Member of Kaivalyadhama Advisory Board), Justice (Retd.) B. N. Shrikrishna (former Judge of Supreme Court of India and Chairman Kaivalyadhama Advisory Board), Shri. P.N. 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 Shri O P Tiwari (Secretary Kaivalyadhama).
