Varsity dept to host four-day workshop on yogic therapy

21 members from Canada, Europe, South Korea to attend, says HOD

A team from Canada and Europe will come to the Department of Human Consciousness and Yogic Sciences, Mangalore University, to learn yogic therapy, Vice-chancellor Prof K Byrappa has said.

He was speaking at an international workshop on yogic therapy – organised jointly by the Department of Human Consciousness and Yogic Sciences, Mangalore University, and Wonkwang Digital University, South Korea, on Tuesday.

He said that yoga is increasingly being recognised around the world as a discipline that aids physical and mental well-being. “Yoga, however, should not be used for commercial purposes. It is a part of a wider heritage and attracts practitioners from across the globe. The Mangalore University has already entered into an MoU with the Wonkwang Digital University and the workshop is a part of the memorandum,” explained the vice-chancellor.

“Corporate sectors across the globe speak of stress management courses to their employees. But such courses are being actually practised in India from time immemorial through yoga, as it gives strength to overcome stress,” he added.

In his inaugural address, Deputy Commissioner A B Ibrahim said that he has been practising yoga for the past several years and it has helped him to overcome the stress from a hectic lifestyle. Yoga provides relief to mind and body. It is a part of culture, he reminded.

Jobs through yoga
Stating that yoga is a thriving business in Mysuru, the officer said that yoga has a potential of providing employment – apart from promoting tourism. Yoga should become a habit and way of life, he advised, and added that the misuse of yoga should be checked. “Instead, yoga should be treated as a potential to provide health benefits and employment,” he said.

Prof Jong Soon Seo of the Wonkwang Digital University, said that she has been practising yoga. “People have been giving a lot of emphasis to yoga in South Korea and it is being practised even in small towns of our country. The workshop is a link between two universities as well two cultures,” said the professor.

“The practice of yoga has always been something that Indians proudly cherish. It was in India that yoga started and flourished to a great extent and Indians must be aware of the importance of yoga in this modern world of stress and competition,” she advised.