Yoga Therapy Seminar at Arya Samaj Houston

HOUSTON: Patanjali Yogpeeth (USA) and Arya Samaj Houston jointly hosted a two-day intensive seminar on Yoga Therapy as a Life Style Medicine. Shekhar Agrawal and Dev Mahajan have dedicated themselves to nurturing both the organizations for more than 25 years. The Sixth Principle of Arya Samaj is the guiding lighthouse for them: the prime object of Arya Samaj is well being of the entire world, particularly physical, spiritual and social advancement. The foresight of its founder Maharshi Dayanand (1825-’83) continues to guide the stalwarts of Arya Samaj in all corners of the world to develop unique projects for everybody’s good without any discrimination whatsoever. So, when Swami Ramdev appeared on the health scene of India, Arya Samaj Houston jumped at the opportunity and many of its members helped set up Patanjali Yogpeeth (USA) Trust with the noble mission to bring health to everyone’s easy access, concentrating on preventive measures. Arya Samaj Houston conducts free Yoga classes every Saturday and Sunday morning, 8:00 to 9:30 AM. Interested people may simply drop in any day. There are occasional special events and seminars, too.

Besides dedicating its Foundation Day in April to a Health Fair event, it conducted a high-value event over the weekend with three outstanding speakers, two coming from far away. The Saturday afternoon started with a masterpiece presentation by its own resident Acharya Surya Nanda who conveyed the gist of Patanjali’s philosophy of Yoga. He was pragmatic to touch upon Yoga and Kriya-Yoga in passing but dwelt at length on Ashtanga Yoga, the prescription for commoners. Its eight limbs were covered in sufficient length. The scholarly presentation was well appreciated by the audience that they got the message which otherwise would require reading a voluminous book; it beautifully prefaced the next two presentations from eminent medical experts.

Dr. Dilip Sarkar, a cardiac surgeon turned Yoga therapist can make anybody’s guess wrong when it comes to his age. He is embodiment of Yoga therapy as you see his glow and radiance. His lucid presentation was devoted to simple life style changes that can help one handle common disorders affecting many of us. He continued his presentation on Sunday, confining to chronic illnesses. Heart ailments and diabetes have unfortunately become signs of upper echelon life style and should not be neglected. The audience, outnumbering anybody’s expectations, were very responsive and even followed exercise instructions. His book on Yoga therapy was well received; there was a long line of people to get a copy personally signed by him.

Dr. Rajan Narayanan specialized in breathing exercises (called, Pranayama in Yoga parlance) and their beneficial effects on a wide array of ailments. It was interesting to see that he could relate several kinds of Pranayama to specific Yoga-Sutras of Patanjali. He further corroborated his findings with scientific investigations in modern medical scientific environment. Shekhar seized the opportunity to announce a self-development course for Yoga enthusiasts to be held, 5-7 October at Arya Samaj Houston, to be conducted by himself and Dr. Dilip Sarkar. The course can even put you on the ladder to become a Yoga teacher. True to the message of Yoga therapy, refreshments were light, healthy and sattvik. Write to pyptusa@gmail.com to know more about Yoga events at Arya Samaj and the course to be delivered in October. Arya Samaj welcomes everybody in its Sunday morning assembly 10-12 at 14375 Schiller Road, followed by warm lunch.

Free Yoga classes, which include instruction in asanas, pranayama and meditation, are conducted at ASGH on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 8.00 am to 9:30 am as a service to the community. Please call Shekhar Agrawal 281-242-5000 for more information. For more information please visit or https://www.facebook.com/AryaSamajOfGreaterHouston