Celebrating the 77th Independence Day, Indian Army is all set to organise a four-week-long yoga training program for 10,000 soldiers across nine states in India. Conducted by the Isha Foundation, the program Yoga for Stress Management and Holistic Wellness in collaboration with the Southern Command of the Indian Army. The collaboration aims to bring holistic wellness to our soldiers who otherwise undergo a lot of stress.
“As soldiers you have done enough for your physical fitness and wellbeing, but to bring a different level of mental and energetic capability within you, yoga and the technologies for inner wellbeing can make a phenomenal difference. We’ve already taught this yogic process to thousands of soldiers and other forces and also we have trained over 300 trainers within the forces, and now we want to offer this to Southern Command, which is an important part,” said Sadhguru in a statement.
The founder of Isha Foundation took to his X (formerly Twitter) account and wrote, “In willingly committing their lives to protect & defend the Nation, our men & women in uniform are offering the highest commitment & the greatest service to the Nation. Most importantly it enables them to access the magnificent tools that this Culture offers to cultivate balance, stability & inner wellbeing. A Privilege to offer Isha Classical Hatha Yoga to the Southern Command, Indian Army- this will bring a different level of mental and energetic capability within you & will make a phenomenal difference both in terms of how you perform & how you experience your life. Best Wishes & Blessings. (sic).”
Lt Gen Ajai Kumar Singh, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, GOC-in-C, Southern Command inaugurated the ceremony and highlighted the importance of mental wellness in the Indian Army and how yoga can be used to ameliorate mental health issues prevalent in the society in general and Indian Army in particulars.
“With rising stress, suicides and marital discords, it’s very important that we connect back with our cultural and spiritual heritage. I am grateful to Sadhguru for helping us connect with our culture,” said Lt Gen Ajai Kumar Singh.
Isha Hatha Yoga teachers, who have undergone an intensive 21-week teacher training program at the Isha Yoga Center in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, will teach classical Hatha Yoga practices such as Surya Kriya and Angamardana, to the soldiers. The soldiers will also learn Nadi Shuddhi, a practice that cleanses the nadis – the pathways through which pranic energy flows – bringing balance and psychological well-being; and Isha Kriya, a 12-minute meditation designed to cope with the hectic pace of modern life.
The first set of batches with thousands of army participants began on Independence Day in cities including - Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Gwalior, Jhansi, Secunderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru, among others.
In addition, an intensive ‘Train the Trainers’ residential program will also be held at Isha Yoga Center from September 1 to 14. Instructors selected from units from the command will be trained as certified trainers to conduct yoga programs in their respective units.
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