Yoga for Concentration

Dr H R Nagendra holds PhD in Mechanical Engineering from IISc, Bangalore. After receiving his doctorate in 1968, he served as faculty of IISc in Department of Mechanical Engineering. Then, he went to Canada as Post Doctoral Research Fellow in the University of British Columbia, Canada in 1970. From there, he moved to NASA Marshall Space Flight Centre, USA as Post-Doctoral Research Associate in 1971 and moved to Engineering Science Laboratory, Harvard University, USA as a Consultant in 1972. He served as Visiting Staff at Imperial College of Science and Technology, London later. In 1975, he joined Vivekananda Kendra, a service mission as a whole-time worker.  Director of Training Centre, Vivekanandapuram, Kanyakumari. Between 1975 and 1993, he served as the All India Secretary, Yoga Shiksha Vibhag, Vivekanand Kendra, Kanyakumari. He is the founder and President of Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana, Bengaluru.

Currently, He is the Chancellor of Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana, a Yoga University in Bangalore. He is also Chairman of Task force of AYUSH, Govt, of India, New Delhi. He has published 30 Research Papers in Engineering and more than 120 research papers on Yoga. He has authored and co-authored 40 books on Yoga. He has received several awards for his life time achievement in the field of yoga including Padma Shri award by Govt. of India in 2016.

Dr Manjunath N K BNYS., PhD, DSc

Pro-Vice-Chancellor & the Director of Research

Dr. Manjunath N K is the Pro-Vice-Chancellor & the Director of Research at S-VYASA University. He has completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Naturopathy & Yogic Sciences from Mangalore University and a Ph.D. in Yoga & Geriatric Medicine from S-VYASA University. He has also been awarded the Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) (Honoris Causa) from S-VYASA University for his contributions to Yoga Research. He has 26 years of Academic, Research, and Administrative experience and has published 70 research papers in journals indexed in international bibliographic databases. His research interests include Psychophysiology of Yoga, Neural correlates of meditation, Aging and rehabilitation. He has guided several students of Ph.D., M.D., and M.Sc. He is also the Editor of International Journal of Yoga (IJOY) and reviewer of various international journals. Dr. Manjunath has delivered lectures on evidence-based Yoga therapy and conducted workshops at prestigious institutions and Universities across the world including Harvard Medical School, USA, Monash University, Australia, Royal College of Medicine, London, Shanghai University of Sports, China, Pharma University, Italy etc. He serves as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee, Department of Science and Technology, Research advisory committee, Integrative Medicine initiative, Niti Aayog, Core committee, Yoga accreditation in higher education, NAAC, Govt. of India and Steering committee, Yoga programs and accreditation, Yunnan Minzu University, China etc. He is the Vice-President of Vivekananda Yoga University, California, USA, Vice-president of Asian Yoga Therapy Association, Singapore, and the Founding Director of the global chain of Integrative Medicine clinics and hospitals with the brand name Vivekananda Health Global.

Subject Matter Expert and Course Coordinator

Dr Apar Avinash Saoji, BNYS, PhD

Dr Apar Avinash Saoji is a gold medalist and University topper when he pursued his Bachelors in Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences (BNYS) from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bengaluru. He has done his doctoral work on the Psychophysiology of Yogic Breath Retention (Kumbhaka) from S-VYASA University, Bengaluru. He has worked as Technical Consultant at the National Institute of Naturopathy, Pune before following his passion for teaching and research. He currently works at S-VYASA as the Principal of the School of Yoga and Naturopathic Medicine. He is also the head of the MD program at S-VYASA. He has 18 peer-reviewed publications and several presentations at national and international conferences. His research interest includes the application of Yoga and Naturopathy in Health and Disease and understanding the underlying mechanisms involved. He is a recognized PhD guide for S-VYASA and AIIMS Rishikesh. He is external moderator for the School of Natural Medicine, Faculty of Community Medicine, University of Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa. He is an associate editor for CCRYN Indian Journal of Yoga and Naturopathy.