The new monarch who believes in healing power of yoga, ayurveda

London, September 9

King Charles III, Britain’s new monarch who ascended to the throne on the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, has a strong connection with India and its age-old traditions of yoga and ayurveda.

The 73-year-old King, who has made several visits to India as the Prince of Wales over the years, has focused many of his charitable efforts on India through his British Asian Trust – founded by him in 2007 to tackle poverty and hardship in South Asia.

The royal spoke of his “great love for India” when he launched an emergency Covid appeal last year and helped raise millions during India’s severe pandemic wave.

“Like many others, I have a great love for India and have enjoyed many wonderful visits to the country. Indian aid and ingenuity has been a support to other countries throughout this immensely difficult time. As India has helped others, so now we must help India,” he said at the time.

It was in the wake of Covid that he reflected upon the healing and therapeutic power of yoga, which he described as an “accessible practice” that helps manage stress.

“This pandemic has emphasised the importance of preparedness, resilience and the need for an approach which addresses the health and welfare of the whole person as part of society, and which does not merely focus on the symptoms alone,” he said, in a recorded video message for a virtual healthcare event called Wellness After Covid in May last year.

“As part of that approach, therapeutic, evidenced-informed yoga can contribute to health and healing. By its very nature, yoga is an accessible practice which provides practitioners with ways to manage stress, build resilience and promote healing,” he said.

In April 2018, he hosted PM Modi at the Science Museum in London to launch a new Ayurvedic Centre of Excellence, aimed at creating a first-of-its-kind global network for evidence-based research. His wife Camilla is also believed to practice yoga.