Sri Dr. D. Veerendra Heggade, Dharmadhikari, Shree KshetraDharmasthala
While Yoga & Naturopathy was in its’ formative years, the growth of Naturopathy across the World prompted us to establish Yoga & Naturopathy hospital at Shanthivana trust in the year 1987. Two years later [1989], SDM Education Society established India’s first medical college to offer Bachelor in Naturopathy & Yogic Sciences [BNYS]. Since then, people have embraced this system to heal their stress related diseases. Thus over the years we have grown to be the largest in-patient facility in the World offering Yoga & Naturopathy as a lifestyle intervention. A college with modest intake of 20 students has grown to admit 100 students a year. All leading health agencies like WHO has rung the alarm of threat coming from Non-communicable diseases. Hence we need multi-dimensional approach in terms of effective health education; establishment of Yoga & Naturopathy hospitals; increased number of colleges and most importantly, mainstreaming of Yoga & Naturopathy as demonstrated in our public-private partnership scheme of establishing Yoga & Naturopathy units in 10 taluka hospitals in the state of Karnataka. Given these accomplishments, it is natural for Karnataka to be the host for the first International Conference on Yoga & Naturopathy to showcase this system as a safe-effective-lifestyle medicine to meet the challenge of dubious status of India as ‘a diabetes capital of the World’ and pitched as future capital for heart diseases.
