Hyderabad: Heartfulness Educational Trust (HET) and
the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY) signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) today at Kanha Shanti Vanam, the headquarters of
Heartfulness on the outskirts of Hyderabad, entering into a mutual collaboration
for the dissemination of Yoga nationally and worldwide for a period of five
years.
The main objective of this
collaboration is to jointly design, implement, and promote Yoga education,
research, wellness, and outreach initiatives in alignment with the national
vision of the Ministry of AYUSH, while leveraging the strengths of both institutions:
MDNIY’s academic and policy expertise, and Heartfulness Institute’s
implementation capacity, meditation expertise, and global presence.
The key areas of collaboration under
the MoU include:
- Theme-based
wellness events
- School
Yoga Education Programmes
- Joint
regional and global outreach of Yoga programmes
- Yoga for
special populations, including persons with disabilities
- Internships
and youth skill development
- Nasha
Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan
- Creation
of a Yoga Museum
HET and MDNIY will utilise
Heartfulness centres and its network of practitioners in more than 150
countries to disseminate and conduct AYUSH-endorsed outreach and training
programmes. The two institutions will also represent the MDNIY-HET
collaboration in Yoga and wellness diplomacy through Indian Cultural Centres,
Embassies, and Indian Missions abroad, and jointly organise regional Yoga and
wellness conclaves, expos, and workshops in India and other countries.
The theme-based wellness events will
include jointly organised Common Yoga Protocol sessions on stress management,
emotional and integrative wellness, and meditation programmes, particularly
during the International Day of Yoga, National Yoga Week, and other significant
occasions in India and abroad.
Dr Jyoti Keswani, Director, MDNIY and CCYRN, and Dr Ishwar Acharya, Programme Director, MDNIY, unveiled the
MoU in the presence of Revered
Daaji, Global Guide of Heartfulness.
Dr Jyoti Keswani, Director, MDNIY
and CCYRN, said, “It is the coming together of Pujya Daaji’s vision and our
mission to elevate holistic living and make lives more purposeful. Towards
this, we will jointly promote, coordinate, and disseminate global Yoga
programmes, design an academic calendar and execute events and programmes for
each year, provide joint certification of students by both MDNIY and HET,
collaborate on data integrity and analysis, and disseminate research findings.”
“Yoga is not merely a practice; it
is a way of harmonising the body, mind, and heart, and of awakening the deeper
potential within every human being. This renewed partnership between HET and
MDNIY brings together academic excellence, research, lived experience, and a
global implementation network. Together, we hope to make the benefits of Yoga
and meditation accessible to people everywhere, nurturing healthier
individuals, more compassionate communities, and a more peaceful world,” said
Rev Daaji, Global Guide of Heartfulness.
As part of the School Yoga Education
Programmes, HET and MDNIY will jointly develop and disseminate Yoga practice
and yogic lifestyle programmes for schools, aligned with CBSE, ICSE, NCERT, and
AYUSH guidelines. The programme will train school educators through workshops
and Heartfulness-MDNIY-certified teacher-training programmes, and create
region-specific educational material integrating both the scientific and
experiential dimensions of Yoga practice and lifestyle.
HET and MDNIY will also develop
joint programmes for visually, hearing, and otherwise differently abled
individuals. Both institutions will train certified teachers to deliver these
specialised programmes with joint recognition.
Heartfulness Meditation sessions
will be integrated into MDNIY programmes, and Heartfulness meditation will be
offered monthly and on a lifelong basis at MDNIY locations, free of charge,
with meditation support from Heartfulness.
The partnership will facilitate
internship opportunities for MDNIY students at Heartfulness Yoga and wellness
centres, youth empowerment programmes combining Yoga training, leadership, and
community service, and skill-certification modules for young Yoga professionals
to enhance their employability and practical experience.
Under the Nasha Mukt Bharat
Abhiyaan, the two institutions will collaborate on joint Yoga and wellness
initiatives. The collaboration will also facilitate the creation of a Yoga
Museum at Kanha Shanti Vanam.
MDNIY’s responsibilities will
include providing complementary Yoga instructors and support staff as required,
supporting collaborative research projects, and finalising research proposals
with the approval of the competent authority, including recording parameters,
data collection, and data analysis.
HET will provide its infrastructure
and global practitioner network to host Yoga programmes internationally, offer
the Yoga for Unity YouTube channel to MDNIY for suitable content, invite MDNIY
experts and resource persons, and support the execution of approved research
proposals, including enrolment, interventions, and data collection in
accordance with the approved protocols.