The 33rd session of the Dekho Apna Desh webinar series of Ministry of Tourism on 19^th June 2020 titled Yoga and Wellness- “An offering for challenging times” focused on the basics of yoga as a great tool to help improve respiratory health and overall immunity of the body, both of which are involved in prevention of infection and healing during this pandemic. Dekho Apna Desh Webinar Series is an effort to showcase India’s rich diversity under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme.

This session of the Dekho Apna Desh webinar series on 19^th June, 2020 was presented by three renowned yoga gurus, Yoga Guru Bharat Thakur – International Yoga practitioner & spiritual master, Dr. Chinmay Pandya – Pro Vice Chancellor – Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya, Dr. Laxminarayan Joshi – Expert in Nadi Vigyan, The presenters spoke about how the ancient philosophy of yoga can help us to lead healthier, happier and a stress free life. 

Dr. Laxminarayan Joshi introduced his presentation with Rishikesh as World capital of Yoga.  He spoke about Nadi vidya, a popular term in Ayurveda.  Nadi in Sanskrit means pipe/tube but can be interpreted as channel therefore they are known as energy channels that are believed to carry Prana, the life force energy and are said to meet at specific points throughout the body that are known as nadichakras,.  There are 72000 nadis, but of these 7 are the most important and of these 3 are the most vital.  The three principal nadis run from the base of the spine to the head, and are the ida on the left, the sushumna in the centre, and the pingala on the right.  The nadis play a role in yoga, as many yogic practices, including ‘shatkarmas’, ‘mudras’ and ‘pranayama’, are intended to open and unblock the nadis.  Alignment of the body, posture and proper blood supply to all the channels is possible with Nadi Vidya.

Dr. Chinmay Pandya started with a quote on Human excellence by Swami Vivekanand “Each soul is potentially divine.  All the power in the universe is already ours.  It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark”. 

According to him Yoga is positive direction and transformation of the individual.  The real goal of life is self-realization and purification of inner soul. It can’t happen in single day, but it needs constant practice, vigil and meditation. We should know: what is the purpose of life and why we have come on this earth. There are several lives in various forms, but in only human form, we can realise the supreme-being, the real force who is governing this entire universe.

Yoga Guru Bharat Thakur stated that Yoga is an ancient science, more than 5,000 years old, which was devised by yogis who went to the Himalayas in search of answers to life and what lies beyond.Today, many people looking for solutions for physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing turn to yoga because it can be practised by anyone — from a child to a senior citizen.

The vision of yoga has always been the complete development of human being leading to the actualisation of his highest potential. Yoga can therefore span the segments of fitness, health and wellness.

In order to deal with the present Pandemic, Shri Bharat Thakur stated that Suryanamaskar and pranayam will help in body alignment and improve the immune system focusing on physical, mental and spiritual elevation.

The Dekho Apna Desh Webinars are conducted in association with National e-Governance Division (NeGD) created by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY).

The sessions of webinars are now available on the https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbzIbBmMvtvH7d6Zo_ZEHDA/featured and also on Ministry of Tourism Websites incredibleindia.org and tourism.gov.in and all social media handles of Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. 

The next  Ministry of Tourism’s Dekho Apna Desh will feature a conversation with Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev ji . This session titled 'Bharat: A Cultural Treasure' is scheduled on  20th June 2020 at 2PM to 3 PM. Leading the conversation is Union Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism and Culture, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel along with 5 renowned panellists namely Shri. Ajay Singh, CMD, Spicejet; Mr. Ritesh Aggarwal, OYO; Ms. Anita Dongre, Fashion Designer; Shri Ranveer Brar, Celebrity Chef; Ms. Ranju Alex, Vice President – Mariott Marketing.

This session will be live on Incredible India social Media handles facebook.com/incredibleindia/ and Youtube.com/incredibleindia 

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NB/AKJ/OA