BHI and MGH Celebrate International Day of Yoga
BHI and MGH Celebrate International Day of Yoga
The Benson-Henry Institute (BHI) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) celebrated the International Day of Yoga with thousands of employees at the hospital’s annual Employee Appreciation Picnic June 21st. BHI serves as the hospital’s center of integrative health and wellness, offering yoga and tai chi classes, guided meditations and Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) programs.
At the employee picnic, BHI staffers provided information on the institute’s programmatic offerings, provided de-stress and chair yoga information and Director of Yoga Programs Laura Malloy, LICSW demonstrated gentle yoga moves to the thousands of employees who visited the booth on the Bullfinch Lawn.
“This was a wonderful setting to share information about the benefits of yoga and connect with those who have a practice or would like to start a yoga practice,” said Laura Malloy, LICSW, BHI’s Director of Yoga Programs.
Celebrations were held in more than 180 recognizing the importance of Yoga, the 5,000-year-old physical, mental and spiritual practice that got its start in India. Yoga is an important of self-care, and can help to slow the effect of stress and aging on both the body and mind. The celebration at MGH was supported by hospital administration, including MGH President Dr. Peter Slavin and was acknowledged by Shiripad Naik, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for the Government of India’s State for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy (Ministry of AYUSH).
BHI is pleased about a burgeoning relationship with AYUSH; this spring, Medical Director Darshan Mehta, MD, MPH helped organize a symposium on Integrative Medicine and the Role of Yoga and Ayurveda at Harvard Medical School. The symposium drew hundreds of participants from around the world. Participants included Dinesh Patel, MD, Emeritus Chief of Arthroscopic Surgery at MGH, BHI Director Dr. Gregory Fricchione and Research Director John W. Denninger, MD, PhD.
“Our founder, Dr. Herbert Benson, was one of the first doctors in the Western Hemisphere to recognize the importance of eastern practices in managing stress and improving health. Many of the mind body practices that we recommend have origins in India and its very exciting to see that come full circle,” Dr. Mehta said. “We’ve adopted these eastern practices and studied their efficacy in scientific practice. There’s a beautiful irony in being part of this new partnership.”
