REPORT ON SBV IDY 2018 CELEBRATIONS Organized by the CYTER of Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, Pondicherry. As per guidelines issued by UGC and Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India, the International Day of Yoga 2018 was celebrated at Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (Deemed University accredited with 'A' Grade by NAAC), Pondicherry in a grand manner with a fortnight of celebrations from 11-28 June 2018.

1. REPORT ON SBV IDY 2018 CELEBRATIONS
Organized by the CYTER of Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, Pondicherry.
As per guidelines issued by UGC and Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India, the
International Day of Yoga 2018 was celebrated at Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (Deemed
University accredited with 'A' Grade by NAAC), Pondicherry in a grand manner
with a fortnight of celebrations from 11-28 June 2018.
The events included programs for the Faculty of Nursing at PIMS, Global Trust
School of Cuddalore, SHINE Cancer Rehabilitation Society near JIPMER, Kavingyar
Bharatidasan HSS in Kuruvinatham, Integra Software Solutions, Senior Citizens of
Serene Pelican Township, Indian Women Network and Jothi Eye Care, MGMC&RI
hospital, Prabath Skill Development Centre, Udavi Karangal, All India Radio
Puducherry, SCHOD, Indian Bank, Yoganjali Natyalayam and Satya Special School.
The CYTER team also participated in the Common Yoga Protocol Mass
Demonstration at Pondicherry Beach Promenade organized by Govt of Puducherry
Departments of Tourism, Health and Education.
A Regional Level Yogasana Competition was conducted for students of the Health
Professional Education institutions of Puducherry and more than 80 students
participated in the competition with prize winners from MGMCRI, IGIDS, KGNC,
AVMC's college of Nursing, physiotherapy and audiometry and CYTER.
CYTER's Deputy Director Dr Meena was also an invited speaker at the "Yoga
Ambassador Tour 2018" organised by AYUSH, Kerala Ministries of Health and
Tourism and ATTOI attended by more than 70 participants from over 23 countries
around the world on 14 June 2018.
The grand finale of the SBV IDY 2018 celebrations was the National Seminar-cum-
CME on “Swastha Manas: Mental Health and Well-being through Yoga” that was
held on 26 June 2018 at SBV campus. More than 100 delegates from six countries and
seven Indian states attended the day long sessions with eminent experts from all
over India.

2. Major Events of SBV IDY 2018
11 June 2018: Awareness program on Yoga for the Faculty of Nursing of
Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS)
Dr Meena, Associate professor & Deputy Director, CYTER
was invited as a resource person to conduct an Awareness
program on Yoga for the Faculty of Nursing of Pondicherry
Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) College and
hospital, Pondicherry as part of their faculty development
program held on 11.6.2018 at PIMS, kalapet, Pondicherry.
12 June 2018: Yoga for the special children at Global Trust.
Mental Health and Wellbeing through Yoga for the children with special needs at
Global Trust school, Cuddalore on 12.6.2018 from 10.30am to 12 noon.
14 June 2018: Presentation at "Yoga Ambassador Tour 2018" at Trivandram, Kerala.
CYTER's Deputy Director Dr Meena was also an invited speaker at the "Yoga
Ambassador Tour 2018" organised by AYUSH, Kerala Ministries of Health and
Tourism and ATTOI attended by more than 70 participants from over 23 countries
around the world on 14 June 2018.
17 June 2018: Yoga for the children with cancer at Shine trust, Pondicherry.
Yoga awareness program for Promoting Mental Health amongst those who are
being treated for cancer and those who are undergoing chemotherapy and radiation
therapy at Cancer Rehabilitation Society between 4.30 and 5.30 pm at Shine Home,
the cancer rehab centre, near JIPMER, Pondicherry on 17.6.2018.

3. 18 June 2018: Yoga for school children with Community Medicine Department at
Kavingyar Barathithasan Higher Secondary School in Kuruvinatham
Mass Yoga awareness programme was conducted for more than a hundred students
and staff at Kavingyar Barathithasan Higher Secondary Schoolin Kuruvinatham,
Pondicherry by Centre for Yoga Therapy, Education and research (CYTER) in
collaboration with the Department of Community Medicine, Mahatma Gandhi
Medical College & Research Institute on 18 June 2018. Session was conducted by
Dayanidy G, Lecturer, CYTER. Team members Dhanush, Vidyasri, Anbazhagan,
Mangalagowri along with Health Educator Sri Shanmugam were actively
participated in the event.
18 June 2018: Yoga for corporate sector at INTEGRA
Awareness program for the corporate sector at Integra Software
Solutions, Pondicherry, as part of their faculty development program at Integra by
DrMeena, from 3. 30 to 5pm n 18.6.2018.

4. 19 June 2018: Yoga for senior citizens at Serene Pelican, Township
DrMeena, Deputy Director, CYTER conducted a session on Mental and Emotional
Health for Senior Citizens through Yoga at Serene Pelican, Township for the retired,
Pinachikuppam, Pondicherry between 10.30 am and 12 noon on 19.6.2018.
19 June 2018: Yoga for women program conducted with Indian Women Network at
Jothi Eye Care, Pondicherry.
Empowerment of women through Yoga organised by Indian Women Network and
Jothi eye care led by DrMeena, Deputy Director, CYTER on 19th June 2018 between
3.30 and 5 pm at Jothi eye care , Pondicherry.
20 June 2018: Yoga awareness for patients of MGMCRI
Yoga awareness programme was conducted at Mahatma Gandhi Medical College &
Research Institute, Pondicherry on 20 June 2018. This event highlighted importance
of yogic lifestyle and practices for patients, caregivers and staff of the institute. Dr
Swathi Pawer, Deputy Medical Superintendent of MGMC&RI, Dr Ambujam
Sreedevi, Professor & Head DVL presided over the event. Dr Ananda Balayogi
Bhavanani, Director, CYTER gave the welcome address and the Interactive Session
was conducted by Dayanidy G, Lecturer, CYTER along with the team members
Dhanush, Vidyasri, Anbazhagan and Sarulatha.

5. 20 June 2018: Yoga awareness for AIR staff of Pondicherry
Dr Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani, Director CYTER Conducted an Yoga Awareness
program for staff of the All India Radio, Pondicherry on 20.6.2018.
21 June 2018: Mass Yoga demonstration with Pondicherry Govt Departments of
Tourism and Education at Promenade rock beach, Pondicherry.
CYTER team participated in the Common Yoga Protocol mass practice at the
Pondicherry rock beach on 21.6.2018 conducted by the Tourism dept. of Pondicherry
in association with the Education dept. of Pondicherry, where more than 3000
students were participated from all around Pondicherry in the mass yoga demo to
celebrate the 4th International Day of Yoga 2018.

6. 21 June 2018: Yoga awareness for members of Prabath Skill Development Centre
Dr Meena conducted an Awareness of Yoga on 21 June 2018 for an NGO
Organization, Prabath Skill Development Centre, who are training trainees in
various fields. The students undergo all sorts of training for improvement of skill in
the chosen fields.
21 June 2018: Yoga awareness for staff of Indian Bank, Zonal Office, Pondicherry
Sri Dayanidy G, lecturer, CYTER conducted an awareness session on yoga for the
employees of the Indian Bank, Zonal Office, Pondicherry on 21.6.2018.
21 June 2018: Yoga for gypsy children at Udavikarangal, Katttupaalayam
Sri Danushapnadeesh, Yoga instructor, CYTER conducted Yoga session for the
underprivileged gypsy children through the agencies of Udavikarangal organisation
at Kattupaalayam, Pondicherry.

7. 21 June 2018: Yoga Day celebrations with Pondicherry Yogasana Association at
Yoganjali Natyalayam, Pondicherry.
CYTER conducted an event was conducted at Yoganjali Natyalayam on 21.6.2018 to
mark the Yoga day celebrations in association with PYA and ICYER for the children
and a group of students from Australia.
22 June 2018: "Dhivyang Yoga" for the children at Satya Special School.
Dr Meena conducted an session of "Dhivyang Yoga" for the children with special
needs along with Dr Ananda, Director CYTER at the Satya Special School on 22 June
2018. The event was facilitated by Smt Chitra Shah, Director and her team. The event
was attended by invitees form Gitananda Yoga of Australia and NZ and the ICYER
Team.
23 June 2018: "Dhivyang Yoga" for the caregivers at Satya Special School.
DrMeena Deputy Director CYTER along with DrAnanda Director CYTER conducted
a special program for the parents of children with special needs from Satya Special
School on 23 June 2018 at Fathima Higher Secondary School, Pondicherry as part of

8. the SBV IDY2018 celebrations. The event was coordinated by Mrs.Chitra Shah,
Director of Satya Special School and her team.
24 June 2018: Yoga for Transgender population at SCHOD Society, Pondicherry.
Importance of Psychological health and well-being in Transgender population, a
yoga awareness program for the members of the SCHOD Society conducted by
CYTER. Dr Ananda and Dr Meena led the session that was conducted at their main
office in Pondicherry between 4.30 and 6 pm on 24.6.2018. An interactive program
enjoyed and well taken by around 30 plus members of the society. The program was
coordinated by Sheetal Nayak of MGMCRI.

9. 25 June 2018: Regional Level Yogasana Competition for students of health
professions educational institutions of Pondicherry.
A Regional Level Yogasana Competition was conducted on 25.6.2018 at Lecture hall,
MGMCRI for students of the Health Professional Education institutions of
Puducherry and more than 80 students participated in the competition with prize
winners from MGMCRI, IGIDS, KGNC, AVMC's college of Nursing, physiotherapy
and audiometry and CYTER.
28 June 2018: Yoga for school children of urban schools in Pondicherry.
Mass Yoga awareness programme for students and staff at SR Subramaniyan Govt.
High School in Saram, Pondicherry in collaboration with the Department of
Community Medicine, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College & Research Institute on 28
June 2018 conducted by Dayanidy G, Lecturer, CYTER along with
Danushapnadeesh, Yoga Instructor, DrVasundhara, MPhil Student, CYTER and
Health Educator Mr Shanmugam R from Dept. of Community Medicine, MGMCRI.

10. National Seminar-Cum-CME on “SWASTHA MANAS: Mental Health and Well-
Being through Yoga” At SBV on 26 June 2018
The grand finale of the SBV IDY 2018 celebrations was the National Seminar-cum-
CME on “Swastha Manas: Mental Health and Well-being through Yoga” that was
held on 26 June 2018 at SBV campus. More than 100 delegates from six countries and
seven Indian states attended the sessions with eminent experts from all over India.
The first session of the day was on "Physiological basis of mental illness" and an
excellent presentation was delivered by Dr. Kaviraja Udupa from NIMHANS,
Bangalore. In his lucid presentation he delved into the details of how mental
illnesses occur and explored the mechanisms through neuro-physiology. He
elucidated various studies on yoga and mental health and the audience gained
immense knowledge form the session.
This was followed by the inaugural function with the Presidential Address by Prof
KR Sethuraman, Vice Chancellor of SBVU who said that CYTER combines rigorous
scientific approach with faithful adherence to the traditions of Yogic practice to
create an effective therapy that is complementary to modern medicine. He reiterated
the whole hearted support of the management of SBV for Yoga therapy as an
effective complementary therapy and that these services are offered to all patients.
He emphasized need for clinicians to move from “pathogenesis, factors causing
pathology to salutogenesis a search for factors supporting health & wellbeing”.

11. Special Address was given by Ammaji Yogacharini Meenakshi Devi Bhavanani,
Director of ICYER at Ananda Ashram, Pondicherry. She stressed on the need to have
a questioning attitude as exemplified by the great Rishis in the Vedic and
Upanishadic lore. Wellness depends on the choices we make, and the only freedom
we have is to choose our attitude towards life. When we adopt an attitude of
acceptance, we realize how blessed we are, and then life becomes a heaven rather
than a hell. She commended SBV on its innovative efforts towards developing
positive health rather than merely focusing on disease.
AnMoU was signed between CYTER of SBV and School of Indology of the
DevSanskriti Vishwavidyalaya, Haridwar and felicitations offered by Prof N
Ananthakrishnan, Dean PG, Research Studies and Allied Sciences of SBV.
The souvenir and CD of the International Day of Yoga 2018 celebrations at Sri
BalajiVidyapeeth, Pondicherry compiled and edited by Dr AB Bhavanani,
DrMeenaRamanathan and Sri G Dayanidy was released on the occasion along with
the Third Edition of DrMeena's book on, "Applied Yoga".

12. In his Keynote address on Human Excellence and Yogic tools for mental health and
wellbeing, Dr Chinmay Pandya, Pro-Vice chancellor of DevSanskriti
Vishwavidyalaya, Haridwar explored the importance of unraveling human potential
and helping it manifest in the world today. He gave numerous examples of how
seemingly ordinary people could make a difference in the world by making their
own small and sustained efforts towards helping humanity. He quoted Swami
Vivekananda in saying, “All souls are potentially Divine" and added that it is up to
us to manifest that through an attitude of service for the society and entire humanity.
Participants were treated to an interactive practice session on Yoga for Mental
Health by DrMeena Ramanathan, Deputy Director, CYTER and this was followed in
the afternoon by a humour filled, enlightening session by "Overcoming negative
mind sets through yoga therapy" by DrKausthub Desikachar of the
Krishnamacharya Healing & Yoga Foundation, Chennai. He brought out succinctly
the great teachings of the Yoga sutras and Hatha Pradipika in removing the
blockages within us that are sustaining negativities. “It is only when you break
through the blockages from within, that you can truly attain a state of ease with
yourself", said he. He stressed on the concept of Swastha Manas, being an inner state
of existence where one is established in their own essential nature and not trying to
merely copy others or live by the rules set for us by others.

13. This was followed by an invigorating Panel discussion on Mental Health in Different
Communities moderated by DrAnandaBalayogiBhavanani, Director CYTER.
Different perspectives on mental health, the challenges in various communities and
the role of yoga in it was discussed with the Senior Citizen Community represented
by Prof. AmbujamSreedevi, HOD, Dept. of DVL, MGMC&RI, the Transgender
Community by DrSameera MJ, Dept. of Anesthesiology, MGMC&RI, the Special
Children Community by MrsChitra Shah, Founder, Satya Special School, and the
Women’s Community by DrVananjaVaithiyanathan, Founder, Jothi Eye Care. Dr
Naveen G H from the Chettinad Academy of Research and Education, Chennai gave
the perspectives of brining Yoga therapy into a hospital set up and shared his
experiences in the field of Yoga and mental health at NIMHANS and in CARE.