On Tuesday, June 18, Ayush body CCRNY (Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy) organised a conference on ‘Yoga for Space’ at S-VYASA University campus, Bengaluru, in collaboration with SVYASA Yoga University, Bengaluru, the Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Bengaluru, IIT Delhi, and Human Space Flight Centre ISRO, Bengaluru, and NIMHANS

As people across the globe prepare to celebrate International Day of Yoga, ISRO and CCRNY decided to take it into the next orbit – quite literally.

On Tuesday, June 18, Ayush body CCRNY (Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy) organised a conference on ‘Yoga for Space’ at S-VYASA University campus, Bengaluru, in collaboration with SVYASA Yoga University, Bengaluru, the Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Bengaluru, IIT Delhi, and Human Space Flight Centre ISRO, Bengaluru, and NIMHANS.

“We see many things happening related to yoga around the globe. This year, we said – why not go into space?” said Dr Raghavendra Rao M, director, CCRNY.

Dr C Geethakrishnan, deputy director, Human Space Flight Centre, ISRO, said that yoga can play a crucial role in crew safety measures and must necessarily have a role in astronaut training. Not just the number and durations of space missions have increased over the years, but importantly, India’s activity has been steadily increasing in this area, he shared. “Earth is the cradle of humanity, but one cannot remain in the cradle forever,” he quoted, to drive home the point that space exploration had become a necessity. “Just as sending people to orbit in Gaganyaan was important, equally crucial is bringing them back safely,” he said.

SURVIVING PHYSIOLOGICAL CHALLENGES

The gathering of scientists discussed the need for devising a yoga protocol that could help astronauts endure the severe conditions necessarily involved in space missions. They pointed out that all body systems were affected due to:

• Cosmic radiation – which can lead to increased DNA damage posing a risk of cancers and other health issues.
• Effects of microgravity – leads to muscle atrophy, bone loss, fluid imbalance, altered immune response.
• Psychological Stress – owing to limited resources, loneliness, depression.
• Space Adaptation Syndrome – including motion sickness, disorientation, nausea.
• Altered Circadian Rhythm – that is, issues with the sleep-wake cycle.
• Limited Access to Healthcare – and thus, need for self-care.