Yoga for women empowerment – Theme for 2024 International Yoga Day

Dr. Aashish Phadke Hon. Deputy Director, Division of Endocrine & Metabolic Disorders – Lifestyle Modifications & Yoga, MRC-KHS, Mumbai MD (Ayurveda)(Mumbai), PhD (Philosophy – Yoga), MS (Psychotherapy), Adv. Dip. in Yoga, Dip. in Yogic Edu. (YVN)

The 10^th International Yoga Day (IYD) is celebrated on 21^st June, 2024 all over the globe, including our own India. This year the theme of IYD is ‘Yoga for women empowerment’.¹ When we look at this theme with special reference to the medical fraternity, the perspective should be both patients and our team of lady doctors, the latter being resilient fighters for the noble cause of preventing and treating diseased conditions of the patients.

Yoga is nothing but one of the ancient Darshan (School of Indian Philosophy), teaching us not just physical practices of complex difficult postures but a composite of eight planned appendages as described by Sage Patanjali Muni in his Ashtanga Yoga and his famous ‘Patanjal Yoga Sutra’(P.Y.S.) (Aphorisms on Yoga).² Yoga as per P.Y.S. necessarily means focusing on oneself or knowing one’s real nature(Yoga Samadhau), or as referred in other texts from Hathayoga or Vedanta, yoga means to join (joining of Atma – the soul – with Paramatma the supreme soul). For a practical understanding, to us it is joining the body with mind as a part of Mind-Body Medicine.

Yoga is not devised for treating any diseased conditions; however, in Hathayogic texts like Hathapradipika, Shiva Samhita, Gheranda Samhita, there are a number of references of diseased conditions that are benefited by yogic practices.³ In the current era, the entire world and more so the medical fraternity is looking at yoga for its medical benefits. Lots of researchers are working in this area to study and evaluate whether yoga can be considered as complementary evidence-based therapy. There are a number of organizations/schools/institutes of yoga imparting training in yoga therapy in India and all across globe (Appendix 1). Yoga should not be considered to be a quick fix, but a process of empowering individuals to progress toward improved health and well-being through the application of the techniques and practices of yoga.

Women are always in a multitasking role, having lot of stress and anxiety, where Yoga can be very useful.⁴Yogic breathing techniques (pranayama) or simply deep breathing in a 1:2 inhalation: exhalation ratio been has found to be extremely useful in lowering down the sympathetic tone, thereby not only relieving stress but also improving cardiovascular and respiratory functions.⁵Different ‘asana’ are psychosomatic postures, where one gets into and remains in that pose and then slowly come out of it with full mental awareness. Asanas like Sukhasana, Padmasana, Bhadrasana, Utkatasana, Setubandhasana, Marjarasana, Shavasana and many more are useful in controlling and improving symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome PCOS.⁶Dhyana (Meditation) when practiced with the classical method or in modified ways (like guided medical imagery technique), or in the form of Yoga Nidra, are considered to be extremely useful for women to help calm anxiety, improve mood, and enhance productivity. During pregnancy, simply chanting ‘Om’ (Omkar) in a methodical way has demonstrated to be useful in enhancing the fetal circulation.⁷

Yoga, if practiced regularly, changes one’s attitude towards life. It emanates positivity amongst its practitioners. It increases acceptance of the diseases or chronic conditions, and helps coping with not only the condition, but also difficult circumstances or challenging situations. So, to commemorate IYD in the month of June 2024 for Yoga, let us start actively following Yoga,and start practicing yoga and set off on the path towards peace, positivity, health and wellbeing.

Appendix 1

Organizations/schools/institutes of yoga imparting training in yoga therapy in India and other countries.

INDIA

• S-VYASA, Bengaluru, Karnataka
• Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute, Lonavala, Maharashtra
• Bihar School of Yoga, Munger, Bihar
• Swami Rama Himalayan University of Yoga, Dehradun, Uttarakhand
• Patanjali Yoga Peeth, Hardwar, Uttar Pradesh
• Yoga Vidya Niketan, Mumbai
• The Yoga Institute, Santacruz, Mumbai

OVERSEAS

• International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT), Texas, USA
• Yoga Alliance, Arlington VA, USA
• The American Viniyoga Institute, Oakland CA, USA
• Yoga Biomedical Trust, England

References

1. United Nation UN [Internet]. 2024 Theme: Yoga for women’s empowerment. June 21, 2023. Cited June 14, 2024. Available on https://www.un.org/en/observances/yoga-day
2. Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Textbook. Origin, 4 Major Yoga Sutras, 4 Pillars, 8 Elements of Yoga and Major Works. Available on https://testbook.com/ias-preparation/yoga-sutras-of-patanjali
3. Satyanarayan Mishra, Subash Chandra Dash. An Overview of Hatha Yogic Practices in Hatha yoga Pradipika, Gheranda Samhita and Shiva Samhita. Research J. Humanities and Social Sciences. 8(3): July-September, 2017, 354-366
4. Verma R. Yoga for women’s health. Times of India [Internet]. July 18, 2023. Cited June 14,2024. Available on https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/ritika-verma/yoga-for-womens-health-56568/
5. Jayawardena R, Ranasinghe P, Ranawaka H, Gamage N, Dissanayake D, Misra A. Exploring the Therapeutic Benefits of Pranayama (Yogic Breathing): A Systematic Review. Int J Yoga. 2020 May-Aug;13(2):99-110.
6. Selvaraj V, Vanitha J, Dhanaraj FM, Sekar P, Babu AR. Impact of yoga and exercises on polycystic ovarian syndrome risk among adolescent schoolgirls in South India. Health Sci Rep. 2020 Dec 4;3(4):e212.
7. Vasundhara VR, Ramanathan M, Ghose S, Bhavanani AB. Immediate Effect of Pranava Pranayama on Foetal and Maternal Cardiovascular Parameters. Int J Yoga. 2022 Sep-Dec;15(3):240-245.