‘Yoga Stops Traffick’ programme to be held on March 14

Yoga practitioners from over 40 countries will participate in the 18th edition of ‘Yoga Stops Traffick’, an international programme organised by Mysuru-based Odanada Seva Samsthe. This programme aims to use yoga as a humanitarian tool to create a movement against human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Odanadi Seva Samsthe founder directors Stanley and Parashuram, addressed a press conference in Mysuru on Thursday and said that yoga practitioners in countries like England, the United States, Australia, the Netherlands, Mexico, Sweden, France, Argentina, Estonia, Canada, Thailand, Ireland and Finland, among others, will join the international event simultaneously.

In Mysuru, the yoga session will be held in front of the Mysuru palace at 7.30 a.m. on Saturday.

Over the last three decades, Odanadi Seva Samsthe has been working for the empowerment of women and children, who have been exploited through human trafficking, sexual abuse and various social problems. 

“The main objective of this programme is to mobilise moral and social support for Odanadi’s initiatives at the local level. With the idea of ‘One Day - One Voice’ for human equality, Odanadi has adopted yoga as a medium to raise a unified voice across the world. Crimes such as trafficking and sexual exploitation that degrade human dignity continue to occur, and Odanadi believes that adopting yoga and the values associated with it can help curb such problems,” said a statement issued by Odanadi here.

Another objective of this programme is to spread human values in society through yogis and build a healthier and more humane society. “Odanadi gratefully acknowledges that members of the global yoga community, who practise yoga wearing the ‘Yoga Stops Traffick’ tshirt and purchase it with goodwill, also contribute a modest financial support for Odanadi’s initiatives,” the statement said.

Chairperson of Karnataka State Women’s Commission Nagalakshmi Choudhary and Minister in-charge of Mysuru district H.C. Mahadevappa will participate in the programme along with founder-president of Chaitanya Yoga Education and Research Foundation B.P. Murthy.

Children and associates of Odanadi, residents of Mysuru, students from various colleges, yoga enthusiasts, heads of yoga schools in Mysuru, NSS volunteers, and others are also expected to participate in the programme.