World’s first yoga university is set to start its post-graduation course in the US

The Vivekananda Yoga University (VAYU), the world’s first yoga university outside India, is set to start its post-graduation course in the United States later this year. According to the university officials, the admissions for the course will begin in April and the programmes will roll out from August 2020.

VAYU has been established in Los Angeles with an initial budget of $5 million which also facilitates research in the ancient Indian practice. Indian yoga guru H R Nagendra has been named as the chairman and Sree Sreenath, a Professor from Case Western University, the president of the yoga university.

The university, in a statement, confirmed that the post-graduation programme will commence under the leadership of Sree Sreenath, the founding president. The university had received the official recognition from the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, California in November 2019 to offer higher education programmes in yoga.

Nagendra, quoting Swami Vivekananda, said that education is the manifestation of perfection already in man and VAYU aims at providing man-making and nation-building education by promoting an all-round personality development in students of generation next. Dr Nagendra is also the chancellor of Bengaluru-based Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (S-VYASA).

Read: 'You Always Got Me Bro' Jokes KL Rahul After Hardik Pandya Posts A 'Yoga Day Special' Picture

Nagendra started S-VYASA, the first yoga university in India, in 2002 with an objective of providing for instructions and training in ‘Yoga and Spiritual lore’ as propounded by Swami Vivekananda. Other important objectives include research, advancement and dissemination of all the streams of yoga and its applications to offer solutions for major challenges of the globe.

Read: International Yoga Day: Indian And Chinese Armies Conducted A Joint Session Of Yoga

PM Modi's effort

The initiative to open a university in the United States is to further the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was instrumental in getting June 21 declared as International Yoga Day by the United Nations. Speaking at the International Yoga Day event in 2019, PM Modi said that he wants to take the journey of modern yoga from the cities to the villages, to the poor and tribal's house.

Read: WATCH: Yoga Day Event In Haryana's Rohtak Turns Chaotic, People Loot Mats From Venue After The Session

Read: International Yoga Day: Amul’s Brilliant Topical With Asanas Shows How Practice Makes ‘har Mushkil Asan’

(With PTI inputs)