India should deliver the benefits of yoga to the world by producing its good teachers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said here on Sunday.
“Most of the foreign dignitaries who visit India want to know the benefits of yoga and institutions that teach while some even want to know where they can learn. The world has accepted and recognised yoga. People now want to connect with it,” he said in his inaugural address at the 21st International Conference on Frontiers in Yoga Research and its Applications organised by the Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (VYASA) at Prashanti Kutiram near Jigani on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
“It is here that our responsibility goes up. We cannot just roam around patting our backs that yoga is our contribution to the world, evolved by rishi munis and is a rich heritage and culture. We can sustain global interest in yoga by preparing best (yoga) teachers. The interest developed across the world for yoga should be converted into their well-being... Today yoga is not just Indian, it is a global heritage. It belongs to every society,” he said, pointing to growing global recognition for yoga.
He said that people were increasingly taking to yoga to redefine their lives — to find oneness between their inner self and outer world; between their existence and their environment. “People now demand promotion of wellness, which is a healthy balance of the mind, body and spirit and not just curing the disease,” he said, stressing the need for an integrated approach by taking the best of East and the West. “Yoga is about a holistic lifestyle and the physical, mental, intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual harmony. It has profound health benefits.”
Citing a World Health Organisation (WHO) fact sheet on the global burden of diseases, the prime minister said the number of deaths caused by non-communicable diseases (NCDs) had increased from 40 per cent in 1999 to 80 per cent in 2008. NCDs are also the major cause of deaths in India. “In India, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes and other NCDs are estimated to account for 60 per cent of all deaths. These diseases account for about 40 per cent of all hospital stays and roughly 35 per cent of all recorded outpatient visits,” he said, underlining the importance of yoga in curing them.
“Most of the foreign dignitaries who visit India want to know the benefits of yoga and institutions that teach while some even want to know where they can learn. The world has accepted and recognised yoga. People now want to connect with it,” he said in his inaugural address at the 21st International Conference on Frontiers in Yoga Research and its Applications organised by the Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (VYASA) at Prashanti Kutiram near Jigani on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
“It is here that our responsibility goes up. We cannot just roam around patting our backs that yoga is our contribution to the world, evolved by rishi munis and is a rich heritage and culture. We can sustain global interest in yoga by preparing best (yoga) teachers. The interest developed across the world for yoga should be converted into their well-being... Today yoga is not just Indian, it is a global heritage. It belongs to every society,” he said, pointing to growing global recognition for yoga.
He said that people were increasingly taking to yoga to redefine their lives — to find oneness between their inner self and outer world; between their existence and their environment. “People now demand promotion of wellness, which is a healthy balance of the mind, body and spirit and not just curing the disease,” he said, stressing the need for an integrated approach by taking the best of East and the West. “Yoga is about a holistic lifestyle and the physical, mental, intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual harmony. It has profound health benefits.”
Citing a World Health Organisation (WHO) fact sheet on the global burden of diseases, the prime minister said the number of deaths caused by non-communicable diseases (NCDs) had increased from 40 per cent in 1999 to 80 per cent in 2008. NCDs are also the major cause of deaths in India. “In India, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes and other NCDs are estimated to account for 60 per cent of all deaths. These diseases account for about 40 per cent of all hospital stays and roughly 35 per cent of all recorded outpatient visits,” he said, underlining the importance of yoga in curing them.
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