17 Jun 2016

Members of the public who are interested are invited to the commemoration of International Day of Yoga to be held on Sunday at Maru-a-Pula School.

Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual practice or discipline which originated in India.

Addressing the media on Wednesday, Indian High Commissioner to Botswana Dr Ketan Shukla said the declaration of this day came after the call for the adoption of 21 June as International Day of Yoga by Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi during his address to UN General Assembly in 2014.

He said the origins of Yoga had been to pre-Vedic Indian tradition, was mentioned in the Rigveda, but most likely developed around the sixth and fifth centuries BCE, in ancient India's ascetic and sramana movements.

Dr Shukla however noted that Yoga in Indian traditions, was more than physical exercise as it has a meditative and spiritual core.

“With regular practice of Yoga one can look 10 years younger. Yoga is rhyme of the body and melody of the mind which achieves the harmony of the soul and creates the symphony of life,” he said.

Furthermore, the High Commissioner said there was evidence to suggest that regular Yoga practice increased brain GABA levels, while Yoga had been shown to improve mood and anxiety more than some other metabolically matched exercises, such as walking.

He said the three main focuses of Hatha Yoga, which is exercise, breathing, and mediation, made it beneficial to those suffering from heart diseases.

Meanwhile, studies of the effects of Yoga on heart disease suggest that Yoga may reduce high blood pressure, improve symptoms of heart failure, enhance cardiac rehabilitation, and lower cardiovascular risk factors.

Dr Shukla also said there had been an emergence of studies investigating Yoga as a complementary intervention for cancer patients.

He said Yoga was used for treatment of cancer patients to decrease depression, insomnia, pain and fatigue and to increase anxiety control.

Yoga has also been studied as a treatment for schizophrenia, while some encouraging but inconclusive evidence suggests that Yoga as a complementary treatment may help alleviate symptoms of schizophrenia and improve health related quality life. ENDS