Heartfulness Educational Trust (HET) Hyderabad and the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY), Mumbai have entered into a mutual collaboration for the dissemination of Yoga nationally and worldwide for a period of five years. The MoU was signed on Sep 28 at the HET headquarters in Hyderabad.
The main objective of this collaboration is to jointly design, implement, and promote Yoga education, research, wellness, and outreach initiatives in alignment with the national vision of the Ministry of AYUSH, while leveraging the strengths of both institutions: MDNIY’s academic and policy expertise, and Heartfulness Institute’s implementation capacity, meditation expertise, and global presence.
The key areas of collaboration under the MoU include: 1. Theme-based wellness events 2. School Yoga Education Programmes 3. Joint regional and global outreach of Yoga programmes 4. Yoga for special populations, including persons with disabilities 5. Internships and youth skill development 6. Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan and 7. Creation of a Yoga Museum.
As part of the School Yoga Education Programmes, HET and MDNIY will jointly develop and disseminate Yoga practice and yogic lifestyle programmes for schools, aligned with CBSE, ICSE, NCERT, and AYUSH guidelines. The programme will train school educators through workshops and Heartfulness–MDNIY-certified teacher-training programmes, and create region-specific educational material integrating both the scientific and experiential dimensions of Yoga practice and lifestyle.
HET and MDNIY will also develop joint programmes for visually, hearing, and otherwise differently abled individuals. Both institutions will train certified teachers to deliver these specialised programmes with joint recognition.
HET and MDNIY will utilise Heartfulness centres and its network of practitioners in more than 150 countries to disseminate and conduct AYUSH-endorsed outreach and training programmes. The two institutions will also represent the MDNIY–HET collaboration in Yoga and wellness diplomacy through Indian Cultural Centres, Embassies, and Indian Missions abroad, and jointly organise regional Yoga and wellness conclaves, expos, and workshops in India and other countries.
The theme-based wellness events will include jointly organised Common Yoga Protocol sessions on stress management, emotional and integrative wellness, and meditation programmes, particularly during the International Day of Yoga, National Yoga Week, and other significant occasions in India and abroad.
Dr Jyoti Keswani, Director, MDNIY and CCYRN, and Dr Ishwar Acharya, Programme officer, MDNIY, unveiled the MoU in the presence of Revered Daaji – Guide of Heartfulness and President of Shri Ram Chandra Mission.
Dr Jyoti Keswani, Director, MDNIY and CCYRN, said, “It is the coming together of Pujya Daaji’s vision and our mission to elevate holistic living and make lives more purposeful. Towards this, we will jointly promote, coordinate, and disseminate global Yoga programmes, design an academic calendar and execute events and programmes for each year, provide joint certification of students by both MDNIY and HET, collaborate on data integrity and analysis, and disseminate research findings.”
Heartfulness Meditation sessions will be integrated into MDNIY programmes, and Heartfulness meditation will be offered monthly and on a lifelong basis at MDNIY locations, free of charge, with meditation support from Heartfulness.
The partnership will facilitate internship opportunities for MDNIY students at Heartfulness Yoga and wellness centres, youth empowerment programmes combining Yoga training, leadership, and community service, and skill-certification modules for young Yoga professionals to enhance their employability and practical experience.
Under the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, the two institutions will collaborate on joint Yoga and wellness initiatives. The collaboration will also facilitate the creation of a Yoga Museum at Kanha Shanti Vanam.
MDNIY’s responsibilities will include providing complementary Yoga instructors and support staff as required, supporting collaborative research projects, and finalising research proposals with the approval of the competent authority, including recording parameters, data collection, and data analysis.
HET will provide its infrastructure and global practitioner network to host Yoga programmes internationally, offer the Yoga for Unity YouTube channel to MDNIY for suitable content, invite MDNIY experts and resource persons, and support the execution of approved research proposals, including enrolment, interventions, and data collection in accordance with the approved protocols.
“Yoga is not merely a practice; it is a way of harmonising the body, mind, and heart, and of awakening the deeper potential within every human being. This partnership between HET and MDNIY brings together academic excellence, research, lived experience, and a global implementation network. Together, we hope to make the benefits of Yoga and meditation accessible to people everywhere, nurturing healthier individuals, more compassionate communities, and a more peaceful world,” said Revered Daaji- Guide of Heartfulness and President of Shri Ram Chandra Mission.
