Mumbai: In a bid to integrate yoga therapy with mainstream healthcare, the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) is planning to offer yoga courses such as Bachelor of Naturopathy and Yoga Sciences (BNYS), for medical practitioners. However, these BNYS graduates will not be called doctors.
Dr Dilip Mhaiskar, dean, MUHS, said since yoga courses are popular with medical practitioners, there are a number of yoga institutes which offer varying courses. “In order to bring uniformity to yoga courses and train medical students in yoga therapy that forms a holistic approach to health, we are planning to start diploma, degree and postgraduate courses in yoga,” said Dr Mhaiskar.
Recently, the MUHS held a meeting with representatives of three yoga institutes — the Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute, Lonavala, Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, Pune and Yoga Vidya Dham, Nashik, to discuss the types of courses and syllabus for medical students. Dr Kalidas Chavan, registrar, MUHS, said they were considering a plan to introduce basic yoga training for first-year students pursuing various medical courses like MBBS, BDS, BAMS, BMUS and others.
There is also a proposal to offer yoga courses to students completing undergraduate medical courses. “Recently a meeting was held with three yoga institutes to discuss course structure, criteria of candidates opting for the yoga course. The yoga institutes have been asked to draw up the best syllabus for the course,” said Dr Chavan.
He further said the application form for the yoga courses will be available at the end of this year. “Students who wish to apply for the course must wait, as some paper work is pending. We have also clearly stated in the GR, students who complete their courses will not be called ‘doctor’ and they cannot add ‘Dr’ to their names,” Dr Chavan said.
Yoga experts say it is a great idea to start a yoga course in the health sector, but its duration should not be five years. “I think it’s a great idea to start a course for yoga. However, I personally believe that not getting a doctor’s degree may detract people from taking up such a long course of study. If the duration of the course would be slightly shorter, that will be the incentive,” said Soumya Pathak, a registered yoga teacher.
