Vivekananda Yoga University in US to hold its first convocation on June 12

Washington: Vivekananda Yoga University in the United States will hold its first convocation on June 12 where a batch of 23 students will be awarded graduation certificates. The maiden convocation of the university is likely to be attended by a host of eminent Yoga practitioners, academicians and leaders from the field.

The event will be held in Los Angeles, where the university's campus is presently located. “We are proud to announce that in the path laid out by Swami Vivekananda who brought Yoga to the west in 1893, we have brought a vision of holistic approach to Yoga with its applications supported by modern scientific research. It is best of the east meets with best of the West,” said Dr H R Nagendra, chairman of Vivekananda Yoga University’s board of trustees.

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The top Yoga guru is also the chancellor of SVYASA University, the world’s first Yoga university in Bengaluru, which he founded in 2002. “It is a matter of great pride that the Vivekananda University is hosting its first convocation. All the credit goes to Dr Nagendra for establishing this university in the United States, which will go a long way in creating an army of trained yoga practitioners and researchers in the west,” said Prem Bhandari, founding director of Vivekananda Yoga University (VaYU).

The Vivekananda Yoga University, which was jointly launched by Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan and Chairperson of the Standing Committee on External Affairs P P Chaudhary during a virtual event held at the Consulate General of India in New York in June 2022, is provisionally approved and licensed by the California Bureau of Private & Postsecondary Education (BPPE).

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VaYU brings in a value proposition of high-quality graduate education and research at a very affordable price through its unique online-based curriculum, said its president Professor Sree N Sreenath. According to the university, the first batch of 23 students in the Master of Science (Yoga) Programme are graduating. VaYU curriculum focuses on three learning objectives: the science of how and why Yoga works, art of practicing the yogic techniques deeply and treating common diseases using Yoga with an evidence-based approach, said Provost Dr Srinivasa Reddy.

Dr Manjunath N K, pro vice chancellor and director research of SVYASA, would also be attending the convocation along with other dignitaries.