'Surya-Namaskar' Indian Medical Association

Aiming to take 'Surya-Namaskar', the ancient Indian exercise cum 'Sadhana' in worship of the Sun god, to an international level attained by 'Yoga', the medical fraternity here has undertaken a novel project .

As many as 500 doctors in the city would do 12 'Namaskaras' every day for one year at a school ground here under the aegis of Indian Medical Association (IMA) to generate scientific data relating to the health benefits of the posture involving all body parts. Describing the venture as the first of its kind in the country, Dr Dilip Sarda, president of IMA, Pune branch, told PTI that at the end of 365 days the participating medicos, who include two who have undergone by-pass heart surgery, would be reassessed for health parameters to record the changes since they started doing the 'Surya-Namaskars'.

What we want to establish at the global level is the importance of this unique age-old Indian exercise dedicated to the Sun god as per vedic verses is its relevance to fitness in the present era where life-style diseases like diabetes and blood pressure are on the rise, Dr Sarda said.