Hindus have commended Miami (Florida) headquartered Baptist Health South Florida (BHSF) offering various free yoga classes.
These classes by BHSF ( which describes itself as “a faith-based organization guided by the spirit of Jesus Christ…”) are reportedly held on various days and times in Miami (Kendall Branch Library, Bayfront Park and A.D. Barnes Park), Pinecrest (Village of Pinecrest and Pinecrest Library), Coral Gables (William H. Kerdyk Jr. Park) and Pembroke Pines.
Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, termed it as a step in the positive direction by BHSF to make multi-benefit yoga available free of cost.
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged all US healthcare organizations to offer free yoga classes to patients and communities.
Yoga, referred as “a living fossil”, was a mental and physical discipline, for everybody to share and benefit from, whose traces went back to around 2,000 BCE to Indus Valley civilization, Rajan Zed noted.
Zed further said that yoga, although introduced and nourished by Hinduism, was a world heritage and liberation powerhouse to be utilized by all. According to Patanjali who codified it in Yoga Sutra, yoga was a methodical effort to attain perfection, through the control of the different elements of human nature, physical and psychical.
According to US National Institutes of Health, yoga may help one to feel more relaxed, be more flexible, improve posture, breathe deeply, and get rid of stress. According to a “2016 Yoga in America Study”, about 37 million Americans (which included many celebrities) now practice yoga; and yoga is strongly correlated with having a positive self image. Yoga was the repository of something basic in the human soul and psyche, Rajan Zed added.
“Yoga combines physical exercise with meditation to help you reduce stress while increasing flexibility, balance and strength”, a BHSF announcement points out. BHSF website also states: Research supports the many health benefits of yoga, including increasing strength and flexibility, improving lung function and lowering blood pressure.
A not-for-profit BHSF describes itself as “largest healthcare organization in the region” with eight hospitals and 579,492 patient encounters in 2016, and claims to having been recognized as “one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies”. William H. Dickinson and Brian E. Keeley are Trustees Chairman and President respectively.
Source: World Hindu News (WHN)