Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGHUS) has introduced yoga to all colleges coming under its umbrella as a compulsory subject. This is in a bid to de-stress students and offer holistic education. The course, which will include theory and practicals, will commence from 2007. With the introduction of yoga to students, RGHUS has become the first university in the state to offer yoga as an obligatory subject for medicos.

According to Dr PS Prabhakaran, vice chancellor, RGHUS, the proposal to teach yoga to over 1.5 lakh students in 634 medical, dental and pharma, the varsity syndicate has approved nursing and physiotherapy.

The university will now constitute a committee to develop the curriculum and place it before the academic council for approval. By the next year, we would ensure that all the colleges and institutes to have trained faculty to teach yoga. Even ayurvedic and unani colleges will have yoga for students, stated Dr PS Prabhakaran.

Currently, yoga is taught only in government and aided schools, as it has been included in their syllabus. "Although India is credited to be the country where yoga originated it is now a much forgotten tradition. But adherence to the science of yoga is now a fad in the western world. It is high time we re-trace yoga roots by making it compulsory for all students," stated Dr Prabhakaran.

The introduction of yoga opens up potential job opportunities for qualified and trained yoga teachers to approach the RGHUS for taking up posts of teachers. Presently, several doctors take up yoga classes by attending short-term courses

Three years ago National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) inked a pact with the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (Research Foundation) (sVYASA) to treat and conduct research on schizophrenia. NIMHANS is experimenting with yoga to treat schizophrenia and conducted an informed consent trial on the benefits of yoga. The trial proved the benefits of yogic asana.

The pact led sVYASA to develop modules based on various literatures like Patanjali and yoga sastras. The modules are shown to provide relief to symptoms of schizophrenia, which include slowness, low motivation, weight gain due to drugs, lack of emotion or being apathetic and withdrawn.