Report and pic by Rons Bantwal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai (SP)

Mumbai, December 24: The Yoga Institute, a government-recognized non-profit organization established by Shri Yogendraji in 1918, will be completing 90 years of service to the society on December 25, 2008. As the oldest surviving organized Yoga centre in India and the world, the Institute has launched several programmes to bring Yoga to the centre-stage of the Indian society in the coming year. To mark this momentous milestone, the Yoga Institute, Santacruz here, will unveil the first-of-its-kind museum on classical Yoga to preserve and showcase the 5,000-year old legacy of Yoga in India as well as to present the meritorious work done by the Institute in the last nine decades before the people of the country.

The Yoga Institute has planned a series of debates and round-tables throughout the year 2009 involving eminent thinkers, academics and policy makers to stimulate the adoption of Yoga by the Indian families in all the facets of their lives. Another ambitious programme the Institute wants to expand in the next one year is to introduce Yoga in the Indian schools by integrating it in the curriculum. The Yoga Institute has developed a special curriculum, a large body of teachers who are trained in imparting this education and has framed norms for accredited institutes/ teachers.

Hansaji Jayadeva, director of The Yoga Institute said, "For the past 90 years, the Institute has been silently and sincerely involved with the task of  promoting the purest and simplest form of Yoga to address the  problems of the modern life and the  society. Through a scientific approach to Yoga, our emphasis is to empower the householder and the family members to lead a stress-free, balanced and meaningful life. In this age of 'multiple brands' of Yoga providing instant cures or spiritual evolution, we have remained steadfast in preserving and promoting the ideas of classical Yoga, which has been perfected in this country over the centuries."

To catalyze the Yoga movement and make the benefit available to large sections of the population, who cannot physically visit The Yoga Institute in Mumbai, it had started rigorous teachers' training courses 30 years ago. In the last 3 decades, 8,000 teachers have been trained and they are spreading the Yoga knowledge in many parts of the world.

For more information: A N Desai may be contacted on telephone no: 022-26110506, 26122185