Yoga guru Swami Ramdev, as part of his mission to raise Rs 100 crore for his proposed yoga and ayurveda university, has visited several US cities and taught yoga at camps that attracted a large number of people, mostly Indians and other South Asians.
About 10,000 people participated in the camps conducted in New York, New Jersey and other states, the organizers said.
Many participants shed 10 pounds of weight after attending just two sessions, according to Animesh Goenka of the Heritage India group, the main organiser of the yoga camps in New York and New Jersey.
Ramdev is the founder of the Divya Yog Mandir Trust and the Patanjali Yogpeeth in Hardwar in Uttarakhand in India. He conducts monthly yoga camps and gives TV shows in India.
''Yoga can prevent diseases; it can't cure the illnesses that need surgery,'' Ramdev told UNI at the conclusion of a camp on nearby Long Island where about 1,300 people participated.
''We don't wish away the modern medicine, but yoga certainly helps prevent certain diseases and reduces the negative effects of some others.''
In his brief interview, he urged Indian-Americans and others to preserve their cultural heritage and teach its values to fellow Americans. He urged the community to help their poorer brethren back home. His two-hour sessions comprised pranayama, asanas and lectures.
A team of ayurveda professionals, accompanying Ramdev, offered health-related information at no charge to camp participants.
When Ramdev's project is completed, it will comprise a yoga university, a hall that accommodates 5,000 people to practice yoga, a research center to study the benefits of yoga and ayurveda and a hospital to treat 5,000 patients a day.
